2003 NCAA Regional Championships Come to Columbus – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 28, 2003
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2003 NCAA Mideast Regional Championship Page
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium will serve as the host site of the first annual NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Mideast Regional Championships Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31. The field will consist of the region’s top performers coming from a total of 76 men’s squads and 77 women’s teams.
2003 NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Where: The Ohio State University, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
When: Friday, May 30, 12 p.m.; Saturday, May 31, 12 p.m.
Main Information: /sports/c-track/spec-rel/osu-c-track-03regional.html
HIGHLIGHTING THE REGIONAL FIELD
Headlining the event will be stiff competition in numerous events as the region’s top athletes face off, including the women’s 100-meter hurdles as the Top 2 competitors from last season will return to race for the regional title. Reigning national champion Perdita Felicien of Illinois will face Lolo Jones of Louisiana State among others in the event. Felicien has narrowly edged Jones in the descending order lists by just .02 heading into the regional meet.
The distance events also feature returning title-winners in 3,000-meter steeplechase champion Daniel Lincoln of Arkansas and 10,000-meter champ Boaz Cheboiywa of Eastern Michigan. Lincoln and Cheboiywa, both seniors, established venue records at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium in their respective events a year ago. Lincoln also took third in the men’s 5,000 meters in 2002 and ranks just behind Cheboiywa in the descending lists heading into the regional. The final returning NCAA Champion is Tennessee’s Gary Kikaya in the 400-meter hurdles. Kikaya will face 2002 third place finisher Pete Coley of LSU in the regional heats. Kikaya ranks at the top of the descending orders list this season with a 45.57.
100-meter third placer Pierre Browne of Mississippi State, who leads the current descending orders list with a scorching 10.09 figure, will lead the field in that event. Following closely behind Browne is teammate Marquis Davis, who clocked a 10.10 April 4; the same day Brown scored his best mark. Joining Browne and Davis is Brian Johnson of Southern University, who timed a 10.28 a day earlier to qualify. Johnson also will compete in the long jump, where he placed third at last season’s nationals with a 26-1.50. Browne joins Johnson as a competitor in multiple events as he will chase medals in the men’s 200-meter dash, where he took third a year ago. Once again, Browne’s stiffest competition in the 200m could be teammate Davis, who tops the descending list in the event.
The women’s 200-meter dash features a pair of LSU Tigers, Stephanie Durst and Muna Lee, who return after third and fourth place finishes in 2002. Lee sits atop the descending list in the 100-meter dash with a 10.39, while standing second in front of Durst in the 200m with a 22.74.
Other Top 3 individual performers set to take action at the regional meet include Bennie Brazell of LSU and Fred Sharpe representing Auburn in the 400-meter hurdles, while Chris Mulvaney of Arkansas and Josh Spiker of Wisconsin will take to the track in the men’s 1,500 meters.
OHIO STATE REGIONAL QUALIFIERS Men: Event – Best Mark: Rusty Azbel Hammer – 183-2 Joel Brown 110m H – 13.76×3 200m Dash – 21.07 Derrick Butler 5,000m – 14:21. 92 10,000m – 29:33.11 Drew Carter Long Jump – 24-7.75 Jeff Cerveny High Jump – 6-9.75 Bryan Duby Hammer – 189-6 Nosa Ehimwenman Triple Jump – 51-3.75 Long Jump – 24-0.25+ Aaron Fisher Steeplechase -8:48.23 5,000m – 14:19.41 Sjaan Gerth Steeplechase – 8:53.68 George Hoover Javelin – 211-11 Seth MacCarter Pole Vault – 16-0.75 Billy Mills High Jump – 6-11 Greg Norman 100m Dash – 10.48 John Norman Hammer – 194-3 Brian Olinger Steeplechase – 9:10.74 Dan Taylor Hammer – 217-5* Discus – 190-10* Shot Put – 67-0.75% Greg Norman, Drew Carter, Michael Jenkins, Joel Brown 4×100 relay – 40.46
Women: Event – Best Mark: Erin Carter Shot Put – 51-9.25 Nicholette Chambers 400m H – 1:00.95 Rosalind Goodwin Triple Jump – 42-2 Long Jump – 19-5.50 Brandi Hogan 100m H – 13.65×2 Katy Houser Hammer – 174-6 Dalanda Jackson 400m H – 1:01.14 100m H – 13.76×2 Krista Keir Discus – 186-1* Shot Put – 52-4.50 Shelaine Larson Hammer – 185-10 Discus – 152-10 Keturah Lofton Hammer – 195-3 Molly Logan 100m H – 13.34+ 400m H – 1:01.36 Alexis McCall Shot Put – 50-8 Discus – 156-8 Shayla Moore Triple Jump – 42-5.50+ Tami Smith High Jump – 5-11.25 Amarachi Ukabam Discus – 183-2 Shot Put – 50-7.50 Hammer – 175-2 * Ohio State record +wind-aided
TEAMS TO WATCH
Not only will the event be chalk full of outstanding individual athletes, but also will feature conference championship teams from the Big Ten, Southeastern, Big East and Mid-American Conference, among others. SEC men’s champion Arkansas will compete with Big East champ Notre Dame, while Michigan will represent the Big Ten as its title-holder on the women’s side and will pit itself against SEC powers Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Florida and the Fighting Irish, who claimed second in the Big East on the women’s side.
The Mid-American conference also will be represented by both its men’s and women’s teams as Central Michigan will compete on the men’s side and Eastern Michigan on the women’s.
Other programs representing the Big Ten will include Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Illinois.
TAYLOR NAMED BIG TEN OUTDOOR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Junior thrower Dan Taylor earned Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year accolades after claiming all-conference honors in three events at the 2003 conference championship meet as he claimed first place in the men’s shot put with a heave of 64-8 Sunday. Taylor added second place finishes in the hammer and discus as the All-American shattered his previous OSU record with a 217-5 in the hammer.
UKABAM SCORES OUTSTANDING BIG TEN FRESHMAN PERFORMER
Freshman Amarachi Ukabam, the 2003 conference champion in the discus, earned the Big Ten Female Freshman of the Year award.
Ukabam solidified the discus title with a 170-11 besting teammate and defending conference champion Krista Keir, who took third.
Ukabam has recorded a season-best 183-2 in the event, receiving the April 8 female Big Ten Athlete of the Week award.
BUTLER, GERTH AND KEIR NAMED DISTRICT IV ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
Senior distance man Derrick Butler, the 2003 Big Ten champion in the 10,000-meters, was awarded for his outstanding academic status by the NCAA and Verizon as a 2003 Academic All-American in District IV. Butler carries a 3.89 grade point average in chemical engineering.
Fellow distance runner Sjaan Gerth, a junior, joined Butler as a first team honoree as he was recognized for his 3.91 grade point average in bio-chemistry/ biology.
Senior thrower Krista Keir, the OSU record-holder in the discus, also earned recognition with her 4.00 GPA in sports and leisure studies.
BUTLER AND KEIR FINALISTS FOR BIG TEN MEDAL OF HONOR
The Big Ten Medal of Honor is given annually at each institution in the conference to the male and female athletes of the graduating class who have attained the greatest proficiency in both academic and athletics.
Track and field senior student-athletes Krista Keir and Derrick Butler were two of 12 finalists for the award at Ohio State. Each has won Big Ten titles in their respective areas, while also carrying grade point averages near or at 4.00.
SEVEN BUCKEYES CROWNED BIG TEN CHAMPIONS, 10 NAMED ALL-CONFERENCE
Ten individuals on the Ohio State track and field team received All-Big Ten honors by placing either first or second in their respective events at the 2003 conference meet.
Leading the way with accolades in three events was junior All-American thrower Dan Taylor, who defended his 2002 title in the shot put with a field-best 64-8, while also earning conference honors in the discus and hammer throw, where he shattered his own OSU record with a heave of 217-5.
Also repeating as Big Ten champion was senior high jumper Tami Smith as she recorded her fifth-straight combined indoor and outdoor conference title with a season-best leap of 5-11.25.
Two other Buckeyes were awarded with recognition in multiple events as senior sprinter Joel Brown took first place in the men’s 110-meter hurdles equaling his season-best 13.76. Brown then combined with fellow sprinters Greg Norman, Drew Carter and Michael Jenkins to score a second place finish in the 4×100-meter relay clocking a season-best and NCAA regional qualifying 40.46.
The second OSU athlete to claim honors in two events was distance man Aaron Fisher, who recorded a championship effort in the 5,000-meter run with a career-best 14:19.41, while also taking second in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with another career mark of 8:48.23. Senior Derrick Butler added a second distance title in the men’s 10,000-meter run with a 31:36.16 winning performance.
The women’s throw team once again thrived at the competition as freshman Amarachi Ukabam claimed her first Big Ten title with a mark of 170-11 in the discus.
Big Ten indoor pentathlon champion Nicholette Chambers completed the 2003 multi-events sweep with a 4,982-point showing to win the women’s heptathlon. The junior used first place efforts in the 100-meter and 800-meter events en route to the Big Ten title.
17 BUCKEYES NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
Ohio State was well-represented in the Academic All-Big Ten recognition as eight from the men’s side and nine from the women’s team were honored as Academic All-Big Ten recipients.
The winners on the men’s side included distance runners Derrick Butler, Aaron Fisher, Sjaan Gerth, Nate Hutchinson, Rob Myers and Jon White. Also on the men’s side was thrower John Norman and jumper Jeff Cerveny.
The nine on the women’s side were Nicholette Chambers, Tiffany Davis, Becky Heintz, Katie Houser, Krista Keir, Jennifer Ordway, Stephanie Ray, Sarah Sergent and Tami Smith.
4X100 RELAYS LATEST TO JOIN REGIONAL RANKS – OSU TOTAL AT 31
The 2003 Big Ten Outdoor Championships marked the final opportunity to post qualifying marks to the NCAA Regional Championships.
The men’s 4×100-meter relay squad is the latest to join the Ohio State regional contingent as Greg Norman, Drew Carter, Joel Brown and the 31st Buckeye to earn a bid, Michael Jenkins, clocked a season-best 40:46.
Others included in the list are 2002 Indoor All-Americans Dalanda Jackson (400-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles), Tami Smith (high jump) and three-time qualifier George Hoover (javelin).
Nine Buckeyes have qualified in multiple events as Dan Taylor and Amarachi Ukabam have posted qualifiers in the shot put, discus and hammer throw, respectively. More recently, Shelaine Larson (discus) and Nosa Ehimwenman (long jump) are the latest to join the crew. With his bid in the 4x100m, Brown joined Taylor and Ukabam as a three-event qualifier.
In all, the throwers lead the way with an impressive 16 qualifying scores, while the jumpers have added nine of their own.
Other recent Buckeyes to join the list are throwers Bryan Duby and Rusty Azbel, both in the hammer, and hurdler Molly Logan, who has now qualified in two events with her 1:01.36 in the 400-meter hurdles, which joins her 100-meter hurdle time of 13.39 as a regional qualifier.
Distance runners Derrick Butler and Aaron Fisher also have qualified for two events.
OHIO STATE IN TOP 4 OF BOTH BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
The Ohio State men used conference championship efforts by sprinter Joel Brown, thrower Dan Taylor and distance runner Aaron Fisher, to score 111.5 team points and place fourth behind Indiana (113.0), Purdue (148.0) and host Minnesota (168.5), while the women also tallied a fourth place standing fueled by title-winning performances from Tami Smith and thrower Amarachi Ukabam en route to an event total of 83.0 team points. Michigan defended its 2002 women’s crown with 137.0 team points.
The men’s fourth place overall finish is its third Top 4 placing in the last four seasons, while the women’s fourth place standing is its highest since scoring third in 2000.
SMITH SCORES FIFTH BIG TEN TITLE IN HIGH JUMP
Senior Tami Smith traveled to the Big Ten Championships in search of her second-straight conference outdoor high jump title in as many seasons. Smith recorded a field-best 5-11.25 to record her fifth-consecutive high jump title combined in the indoor and outdoor events.
Smith recorded her third-consecutive title at the indoor conference meet in March with a leap of 5-9.75.
TAYLOR SEVEN-TIME BIG TEN WEEKLY HONOREE
Taylor, the 2003 outdoor conference performer of the year, was named to his seventh Big Ten Athlete of the Week honor May 12 following yet another record setting performance Saturday. The 2003 Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year shattered his own previous Ohio State program standard of 187-4 with a 190-10 first place performance in the men’s discus. The mark also serves as a venue record at Akron’s Lee Jackson Field.
A previous winner three times during the indoor campaign, Taylor matched that total in the outdoor season as he was named the April 29 honoree following titlewinning performances at the Penn Relays. The most recent honor serves as Taylor’s seventh thus far in 2003.
Taylor now has collected Big Ten Athlete of the Week merits thus far in 2003 coming Jan. 14, Jan. 22, Feb. 11, April 1, April 15, April 29 and Tuesday’s honor.
BUCKEYES PEAKING AT RIGHT TIME
Numerous Buckeyes scored season-best performances at the conference championship meet. Included in the list was Taylor, who eclipsed his own OSU record in the hammer throw (217-5), and Brown, who equaled his career-best 13.76 to win the 110-meter hurdles.
The high jump events saw both Tami Smith and Billy Mills earn season-best marks as Mills leapt 6-11, while Smith marked a 5-11.25 to win the conference title.
The men’s 4×100-meter relay team posted a season-high 40.46 to take second in the conference relay competition.
Senior Erin Carter also bested her career-plateau in the shot put with a United States Track and Field U.S. Championships qualifying 51-9.25.
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER RECORD FALLS
An Ohio State program record has fallen in each of the eight events this outdoor season as Krista Keir kicked off 2003 with a 186-1 to best her previous OSU mark of 182-4 in the discus at the season-opening Baldy Castillo Classic.
Since Keir’s effort, Dan Taylor has gone on an eight-week tear where he has set an OSU standard in the throw events at each meet. Taylor’s first mark came at the Arizona State Invite when he scored a 204-10 to win the hammer. A week later Taylor topped his own mark in the hammer at the Ohio State Relays and coupled that performance with a record-setter in the discus as well (187-4).
Taylor also eclipsed his record in the hammer for a fourth time this season to win the Penn Relays Men’s Collegiate Hammer Throw Championship of America with a 209-8. Sandwiched between his OSU outdoor marks was a Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium record effort of 65-6.25 in the shot put at the All-Ohio Championships.
At the Jesse Owens Track Classic, Taylor moved past his own stadium record in the shot put and his OSU mark in the hammer, while setting the standard in the discus a week later at the Campbell/ Wright Open.
Taylor capped-off the regular season with a OSU record 217-5 to place second in the hammer throw at the Big Ten championships.
CARTER AND JENKINS A WELCOME RETURN
The Jesse Owens Track Classic marked the welcome return of two speedy wide receivers from the OSU football team. Juniors Drew Carter and Michael Jenkins, competing in their first event since joining the football team for spring drills, helped lead Ohio State to an exhilarating photo finish victory in the men’s 4×100-meter relay and a regional qualifying 40.46 to take second at the Big Ten Championships.
TAYLOR SECOND PLACE? NOT LIKELY
With his title in the shot put at the Big Ten Championships, Taylor now has claimed first place in 12 of his last 17 throw events. In all, Taylor posted first place in 12 of 14 regular season indoor events to lead to 24 wins in 31 total events during regular season meets.
Taylor also took first place in both the weight and shot put at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
GARY, CROGHAN HIGHLIGHT JESSE OWENS DISTANCE FIELD
In the Jesse Owens distance carnival, former OSU star and Olympian Mark Croghan bested the field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase narrowly missing the Jesse Owens Classic record with an 8:39.34. The steeplechase also saw marked success for three current Buckeyes as Sjaan Gerth scored a season-best 8:53.68 to take second, while Aaron Fisher placed third with another season-mark of 8:56.72. Brian Olinger rounded out the OSU effort taking 10th with a 9:10.74. Olinger scored the third Ohio State season-best of the event.
Another former Olympian and Buckeye great Robert Gary, who serves as the Ohio State distance coach, ran in the men’s 5,000-meters, but dropped out midway through the race to coach his competitors. Tim Broe, also an Adidas team member, finished the event in a Jesse Owens Stadium record 13:41.00. OSU senior distance runner Derrick Butler claimed second behind Broe as he regionally qualified for his second event with a 14:21.92.
TAYLOR SINKS TEETH INTO TRACKSHARK.COM HONOR
Dan Taylor, who was named both Male Track Athlete of the Penn Relays and Big Ten Athlete of the Week was named Athlete of the Week by trackshark.com for his performance at the Penn Relays.
In all, Taylor has reaped six Big Ten weekly awards, one USTA honor and two Male Athlete of the Tournament honor
SEVEN SCORE SEASON OR CAREER-BESTS AT PENN RELAYS
The Penn Relays showcased several Buckeye personal and season-best efforts. Included in the group were Tami Smith, who equaled her 2003 mark of 5-8.75 to place fourth in the high jump, while Joel Brown clocked a career-low 13.76 in both the prelims and finals of the 110-meter hurdles to take fourth overall.
Freshman Amarachi Ukabam established career-highs in both the hammer and shot put as her 178-3 in the hammer earned a third place standing in the Women’s Championship of America.
Dalanda Jackson (1:01.14 – 400m hurdles), Rusty Azbell (183-3 – hammer) and Erin Carter (50-9.50 – shot put) all set career-bests, while junior Alexis McCall heaved a season-best 50-6.25.
HAPPY RETURNS
The Baldy Castillo Invitational March 21 and 22 marked the returns of a pair of Ohio State All-American performers in senior Dalanda Jackson and junior George Hoover.
Hoover, the 2000 and 2001 conference champion in the javelin, posted a 209-4 in his first collegiate event since the 2001 NCAA championships at the Baldy Castillo and topped that effort with a 211-11 to lead the field at the Arizona State Invitational.
Jackson, an All-American in 2002, captured first place in either the 100-meter hurdles or the 400m hurdles in each of the first three weeks of competition.
UKABAM HONORED BY BIG TEN
Ohio State freshman thrower Amarachi Ukabam was deemed Big Ten Athlete of the Week April 8 after claiming first place in both the women’s shot put and the hammer throw Saturday at the 2003 Ohio State Relays.
Ukabam scored a career-best 49-7 to win the women’s shot put adding her second regional qualifying mark in the event this season, while also claiming first in the women’s discus with another regional mark of 159-6.
ASSISTANT COACH GARY COMPETES IN U.S. 8K CHAMPIONSHIP
Ohio State cross country head coach Robert Gary (Ohio State, 1996) finished 11th at the 2003 United States 8K Championships Saturday in New York City’s Central Park.
Running against one of the strongest and deepest fields put together for a USA national championship, Gray clocked 23:09 in wet conditions over the rolling 4.97-mile course. Olympian and pre race favorite Meb Keflezighi missed the course record by two seconds to win in 22:28.
Former Ohio State distance great and Olympian Mark Croghan, Gary’s training partner, finished 17th posting a mark of 23:16.
NEXT UP
NCAA Championships at Sacramento, Calif. June 11 through 14.
