Buckeye Sports Shorts – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | General
June 27, 2003
The Ohio State athletics program finished third in thestandings for the National Collegiate Directors of Athletics2002-03 Directors’ Cup, which marked the Buckeyes’ highest rankingin department history. A total of 20 OSU sports collected pointstowards the Directors’ Cup as Ohio State totaled 1,074.75 points totop its previous best finish of sixth place in 2000-01. OSU’snational championship football team garnered 100 points, thehighest total of any Buckeye squad, towards the NACDA Directors’Cup. Three other teams also received at least 80 points, includingmen’s gymnastics (second, 90 points), women’s fencing (fourth, 80)and women’s golf (fourth, 80). Craig Krenzel and Stacey Gordon werenamed OSU Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Krenzel is thefirst football player to receive the honor of OSU Male Athlete ofthe Year since Eddie George in 1996. Krenzel is just the fifthfootball player to receive the award since its existence. Gordonbecomes the fifth volleyball player to receive OSU’s Female Athleteof the Year honors and the first since Vanessa Wouters did so in1998.
Junior football player Tim Anderson (Jr., Clyde, Ohio/Clyde) and senior volleyball player Katie Virtue (Sr., St. Charles, Ill./St. Francis) were selected as recipients of the Big Ten’s first Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. One member of each varsity team on every campus was chosen by the institution and named Big Ten Conference Sportsmanship Award winners for their respective sports. From each university’s list, two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners were selected. The Sportsmanship Award winners were chosen based on a criterion of sportsmanship and community service. The winners are student-athletes who observe the rules and intent of their sports’ rules at all times. The individuals must be fair and respectful to their opponent, and in addition, be enthusiastic about the game, enjoy playing it, and win or lose, do their absolute best at all times. The recipients shall also be active on their campus communities.
Ninety-eight current and former Ohio State student-athletes received degrees Friday, June 13, during the university’s commencement services. Among the graduates were current standouts Keaton Anderson, Derrick Butler, Nicholette Chambers, Sean Connolly, Suzanna Hyatt, Jennifer Link, Vincent Ng, Donnie Nickey, Kenny Peterson, Tamara Smith and Katie Virtue and former Buckeye Shawn Springs.
The men’s and women’s golf teams will conduct the 18th annualPro-Am Monday, June 30 at the OSU Scarlet Course. Several formermen’s and women’s golfers who have gone on to the professionalranks will be on hand to help raise money for scholarships andcourse renovations. To date, nearly $1.6 million has been raised tobenefit the golf programs. The event begins at 10 a.m. andadmission is free. First year awards offered through NationalAssociation of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) werepresented Saturday, June 14 in Orlando, Fla., at the 11th AnnualNational Workshop
Ohio State won four categories…
– Best Ticket Sales Piece – Women’s Basketball
– Best Activation Program with a Sponsor – Legends of the ShoeBobbleheads
– Best New-Revenue Generating Idea – Legends of the ShoeBobbleheads
– Best Newspaper Display Ad- Women’s Gymnastics
Two former members of the men’s gymnastics team were added to the2003 World Championships squad after the U.S. GymnasticsChampionships Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich. Blaine Wilson led thegroup of five former and current Buckeyes with a third placetwo-day total of 112.125. Raj Bhavsar placed sixth with a two-daytotal of 110.175 points. Randy Monahan (So., Elizabethtown, Pa.)led all current Buckeyes placing 26th with a score of 104.1. JameyHoule (Jr., Enfield, Conn.) and Ryan Schwartzkopf (Sr., Columbus,Ind.) competed in the preliminary round but did not compete in thefinals. The top eight men from the U.S. Gymnastics Championships,including Wilson and Bhavsar, were named to the U.S. National Teamimmediately following Sunday’s awards ceremony. Wilson and Bhavsarlater were named to the preliminary World Team. They will attendthe World Championship Preparation Camp July 9-18 in Columbus,where the selection committee will determine which four athletes(plus one alternate) will compete at the 2003 World GymnasticsChampionships Aug. 16-24 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim inCalifornia. The Top 2 finishers at the national championshipsalready have clinched a spot on the World Team. The baseball teamfinished as high as 17th in the final national polls which werereleased this week after Rice beat Stanford to win the CollegeWorld Series Monday night. The Buckeyes finished 44-21 and were twogames away from advancing to the CWS in Omaha, Neb. The NationalCollegiate Baseball Writers Association gave the Buckeyes theirhighest ranking of the season, picking them 17th in their final Top35 poll. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper tabbed Ohio State 18th inits Top 30 rankings, while USA Today Sports Weekly/ESPN selected it20th in its Top 25. OSU was 21st in the final Baseball America Top25 poll. The rankings are the highest for the Buckeyes since 1999when Collegiate Baseball selected the Buckeyes 11th in its finalpoll. Allan Johnson, the Director of Football Strength andConditioning for The Ohio State University football team wasinducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall ofFame in a ceremony June 1 at the York Barbell Museum in York, Pa.Johnson was one of 37 persons selected to the Hall by the board ofdirectors of the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall ofFame. Johnson is one of the most respected and well-known names inthis important athletic profession, having spent four years as astrength coach for the Baltimore Orioles and 13 years with WestVirginia University. He has had several articles published invarious fitness magazines, including The American Fitness Quarterlyand The National Strength and Conditioning Association Journal.Johnson was one of 10 strength and conditioning coaches nationwideto receive the title of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach in2001, the same year he joined the OSU staff. 10 Buckeyes competedat the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Sacramento StateUniversity as Joel Brown (ninth in hurdles), Drew Carter (seventhin the long jump), Aaron Fisher (19th in 3,000-meter steeplechasepreliminaries) and Dan Taylor (third in shot put and eighth indiscus) competed for the men, while Krista Keir (discus), KeturahLofton (13th in hammer prelims), Molly Logan (semi-finalist in the100-meter hurdles), Shayla Moore (10th in triple jump), Tami Smith(high jump) and Amarachi Ukabam (discus and shot put) highlightedthe OSU women’s contingent. Brown, Carter and Moore scoredAll-America honors in their respective events, while Taylor earnedAll-America honors in both the shot put and discus with Top 10showings.
Note: During the summer months, Ohio State Athletics Good Stuff will not be released weekly.
