Ohio State Track and Field Welcomes Purdue and Indiana – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Jan. 21, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State track and field team returns to Columbus to begin the first of two meets at French Field House to close out the opening month of the indoor season. This week, the Buckeyes will face Big Ten foes Indiana and Purdue before competing in the 2004 Ohio State Invitational the following week on Jan. 31.
PAIR OF OHIO STATE THROWERS CLAIM BIG TEN ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
A pair of Ohio State throwers claimed the men’s and women’s Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Week Tuesday following first-place performances in both the weight throw and shot put at the Kentucky Invitational this past weekend. Senior Dan Taylor, who garnered the weekly award for the eighth time in the last two seasons after setting an American collegiate record in the weight throw in the season-opener last week, set a University of Kentucky venue record in the shot put and took first in the weight. On the women’s side, Amarachi Ukabam automatically qualified for the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships with her effort in the weight throw, while also posting the top mark in the shot put.
Taylor opened the event Friday with an effort of 73-feet – 7.25-inches to capture first in the weight and completed the sweep with a Nutter Field House all-time shot put mark of 66-5.25. Both of Taylor’s efforts served as automatic qualifiers to the NCAA championships. Ukabam, the reigning conference freshman of the year, recorded an NCAA Indoor championships automatic qualifier in the weight with a heave of 65-7.75. Her 51-4.25 first-place throw in the shot put also served as a provisional qualifier.
Taylor won seven weekly conference honors last season, including the final outdoor athlete of the week award May 12, 2003. Over the last two seasons, Taylor has earned Big Ten athlete of the week honors on nine occasions. Ukabam won her first award April 8, 2003. Taylor and Ukabam have combined with junior thrower Keturah Lofton to claim first place in all eight throw competitions in the two meets this season.
LAST WEEK: OSU AT KENTUCKY INVITE
The Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in their first road test of the 2004 season at the Kentucky Invitational.
Ohio State throwers Dan Taylor and Amarachi Ukabam, who posted first-place marks in the weight throw Friday, completed the sweep of the throw events as each topped the field in the shot put Saturday.
Taylor, who set an American collegiate record in the weight throw at the season-opening Buckeye Invite last week with a throw of 76-feet – 2.25-inches, claimed first place in the weight with a 73-7.25 effort Friday night and followed that effort Saturday with a Nutter Field House all-time shot put mark of 66-5.25 to claim first place.
Fellow Buckeye thrower Amarachi Ukabam, the reigning Big Ten outdoor freshman of the year, completed the Ohio State sweep in the weight with an automatic qualifier of her own at 65-7.75. Junior Keturah Lofton fell just behind Ukabam in second place with a toss of 65-3.50, which also served as an automatic mark.
Ukabam also heaved a 51-4.25 to finish first in the shot put, while teammate Shelaine Larson followed in third place with a 49-11.75. Both marks served as provisional qualifiers to the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Ohio State’s success in the field events extended into the triple jump, where senior Nosa Ehimwenman captured first place with a leap of 50-3.50. On the women’s side, OSU claimed third and fourth place in the event as juniors Rosalind Goodwin took third (41-1.75) and Shayla Moore placed fourth (40-1.25).
Senior Seth MacCarter bested his NCAA qualifier posted last week at 15-5 in the pole vault with a 16-0 effort to claim fifth-place.
Ohio State continued its success in the field events as the jumps squad, which claimed first place in the men’s triple jump Friday night, scored solid marks in the men’s high jump and women’s long jump.
Senior Billy Mills tied for first place in the high jump with a leap of 6-10.25, while Goodwin followed with a second-place effort in the long jump as she posted a mark of 19-3.50.
The Buckeyes were led by Jenna Harris in the sprints events as the freshman clocked a 7.52 in the women’s 60-meter dash to claim third place.
The women also scored well in the 3,000 meters as senior Lyndsi Gay finished second with a time of 9:54.07, while teammate Robyn Detty followed in fourth place with a time of 10:10.19.
BUCKEYES THROWERS 8-FOR-8 SO FAR IN 2004
The Ohio State throw squad has competed in eight total events in the early going in 2004 and have walked away from either the shot put or weight throw with a first-place standing on each occasion.
Taylor has fueled the men’s side with record-shattering first place finishes in both the weight and shot put in the two meets this season, while Lofton and Ukabam have combined to take top honors in each throw event this season. Ukabam has won the shot put at both the Buckeye and Kentucky Invites and was first in the weight at UK, while Lofton scored first place in the weight at the Buckeye Invite.
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER RECORD
This past week senior thrower Dan Taylor once again set a record at the Kentucky Invitational. The senior, who already broke the American collegiate record in the weight throw in the opening event this season, established a Nutter Field House standard at the event Saturday with a throw of 66-5.25 in the shot put.
HARRIS OFF TO FAST START
This past weekend freshman Jenna Harris established herself as the squad’s top sprinter on the women’s side during the 2004 Kentucky Invitational as she posted top times for OSU in the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. During the event, Harris posted times of 7.51 and 24.51 respectfully.
TAYLOR SETS AMERICAN COLLEGIATE RECORD AT BUCKEYE INVITATIONAL
Five-time All-American Dan Taylor kicked off the 2004 season in grand fashion as the reigning Big Ten indoor and outdoor athlete of the year established an American collegiate record in the weight throw with a heave of 76-2.25 (23.22 meters), surpassing the previous mark of 74-8.5 held by Kevin Mannon of Wyoming.
Taylor’s performance eclipsed his previous Big Ten and Ohio State weight throw records set March 3, 2003 at 22.35 meters, while falling shy of the NCAA record 24.02-meter mark set by Libor Charfreitag – a native of Slovakia – of SMU March 9, 2001.
Taylor also scored a first-place standing in the shot put with a throw of 66-6.5. His combined efforts in the weight throw and shot put Saturday set the all-time best performance in the two events in the history of indoor track and field. Taylor, whose career-best in the shot put is 69-11, now holds the all-time combined career record between the two events.
TAYLOR DEEMED UNITED STATES TRACK AND FIELD MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Taylor was named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after setting an American collegiate record in the weight throw Saturday at the Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.
Taylor also was named USATF athlete of the week March 16, 2003 after claiming Top 3 marks in both the weight and shot put at the 2003 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
TAYLOR UPS FRENCH FIELD HOUSE WIN STREAK TO FIVE AND SEVEN-OF-EIGHT
With his victories in each of the weight throw and shot put competitions Saturday at the Buckeye Invite, Taylor claimed his seventh crown in eight total events at French Field House during the past three seasons.
Additionally, Taylor, who scored first place in 12 of 14 indoor throw events last season prior to the NCAA Championships, now has claimed top honors in 14 of the last 16 regular season throw events since the beginning of the 2003 season.
TAYLOR AND UKABAM REPRESENT OHIO STATE AT PAN AM GAMES
Throwers Dan Taylor, a senior, and sophomore Amarchi Ukabam celebrated their Big Ten championship seasons last year as selections to the 2004 United States Pan American Games members.
Taylor competed in the senior games in the Dominican Republic, while Ukabam scored a junior championship in the discus in Barbados.
OSU’S WARNER NAMED TO U.S. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS STAFF
Jack Warner, Ohio State track and field assistant coach, was officially named to the 2005 United States World Championships coaching staff in December. Warner will serve as the sprints and hurdles coach at the event held in Helsinki, Finland. Dates for the championships are to be announced in the future.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2004
All the achievements earned both individually and as a unit in 2003 will serve as a solid stepping stone for the 2004 Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field team.
Buckeye head coach Russ Rogers, who enters his 16th season at the Ohio State helm, looks for banner performances from a strong returning class of seniors and juniors, while also seeking solid contributions from a talented freshmen class.
The Buckeyes boast a group of seniors dually loaded in talent and leadership as two-time All-American Dan Taylor leads a unit rich in experience at the national level.
Taylor is the reigning Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year in both the indoor and outdoor campaigns as he looks to defend his conference titles in the weight throw and shot put in the indoor season and add conference crowns in the hammer and discus to his outdoor shot put title in 2002 and 2003.
Fellow senior Joel Brown also returns to defend his Big Ten title in the outdoor high hurdles.
Senior distance man Rob Myers returns for the indoor season in hopes of gaining his second straight All-America honor, while freshman Aaron Fisher will seek to defend his 2003 Big Ten title in the 5,000 meters.
Additional points should come from defending indoor and outdoor multi-events champion senior Nichollette Chambers and sophomore sensation Amarachi Ukabam, who topped the conference field in the discus last season and later won the NCAA Mideast Regional championship in the same event en route to being named Big Ten Outdoor Freshman of the Year.
THE WHEN AND THE WHERE – THE 2004 OHIO STATE SCHEDULE
Highlighting the indoor season are four home events at French Field House, including the opening event of the season as OSU welcomes competing schools to the Buckeye Invitational Jan. 10. After traveling to the Rod McCravy Invite at the University of Kentucky, the Buckeyes close out the month of January with consecutive home meets as Indiana and Purdue travel to Columbus for the annual tri-meet between the Buckeyes, Boilermakers and Hoosiers Jan. 24 before French serves as the venue for the 2004 running of the Ohio State Invitational Jan. 31.
The Buckeyes take to the road for the next two weeks, competing in the Indiana Invitational Feb. 6-7 and the Nittany Lion Invitational on the campus of Penn State University Feb. 13-14 before closing the indoor regular season at home as host of the Scarlet and Gray Invitational Feb. 22.
Ohio State will head to the Big Ten championships Feb. 28-29 with the men set to compete at Ann Arbor, Mich., while the women’s competition will take place at Iowa City, Iowa. The indoor campaign concludes March 12 -13 in Fayetteville, Ark. for the NCAA Championships.
2003 CROSS COUNTRY WRAP UP
The Ohio State men’s and women’s cross country teams once again posted strong seasons under the direction of men’s head coach Robert Gary and women’s head coach Chad Myers.
This past fall, the women’s team posted its highest finish at the 2003 Big Ten Championships, while the men qualified for the NCAA championships for the third time in four years. Pacing the Buckeyes down the stretch was senior co-captain Rob Myers who earned First Team All-Big Ten honors as he placed sixth at the Big Ten championships.
Leading the way for the women’s team was senior Lyndsi Gay as she paced the Buckeyes during the first four meets of the season before being sidelined with an injury at the end of the year.
UP NEXT
Ohio State remains in French Field House next week as the squad plays host the 2004 Ohio State Invitational. The event gets underway at 11 a.m.
