Buckeye Track Sends Four to NCAA Indoor Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 10, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field teams will send four representatives to the 2004 NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Friday and Saturday in the University of Arkansas’ Randall Tyson Indoor Track. Senior thrower Dan Taylor (Middlefield, Ohio/ Berkshire) will compete for the men as a favorite in both the shot put and weight throw events, while junior jumper Rosalind Goodwin (Prospect, Ky./ Ballard) and sophomore thrower Amarachi Ukabam (Creve Couer, Mo./ Marquette) will vie for All-America status in two events as well. Junior thrower Keturah Lofton (Zainesville, Ohio/ Zanesville) makes her second appearance at nationals in the weight throw.
The 2004 NCAA Indoor National Championships will be aired Wednesday, March 17 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
TAYLOR REPEATS AS BIG TEN WEIGHT AND SHOT PUT CHAMPION
Ohio State senior Dan Taylor succeeded in defending his 2003 indoor weight and shot put titles at the 2004 conference meet as he posted a Michigan track record setting heave of 66 feet, 11 L inches (66-11.25/ 20.40m) in the shot in day one. He then scored his second conference weight throw title in the last two seasons as he snapped the Michigan Indoor Track Building venue mark and his own Big Ten championship meet standard with a winning 75-8.25 (23.07m) measure. Taylor is the first Buckeye to repeat as Big Ten champion in two events since Aaron Payne did so in 1990 and 1991 in the 55-meter and 200-meter dash events.
GOODWIN TALLIES SWEEP OF BIG TEN LONG JUMP AND TRIPLE JUMP
Junior jumper Rosalind Goodwin, who set Ohio State and Iowa venue records to win the long jump Saturday at 20-9, also bested her own OSU standard and Hawkeye venue record to win the triple jump with a leap of 43-6.50 (13.27m). Goodwin, who hails from Louisville, Ky., has established an Ohio State record in either the long or triple jumps in five consecutive events.
Goodwin is the first Buckeye to sweep the indoor long and triple jumps. She is the first to win the triple jump since Shandi Boyd-Pleasant in 1997 and the first in the long jump since Theresa Diggs in 1987.
LOFTON WINS WEIGHT TITLE, UKABAM SCORES RUNNER-UP IN WEIGHT AND SHOT PUT
Keturah Lofton was responsible for setting an Iowa track record with her winning mark of 65-7.75 in the weight throw as Buckeyes staked the Top 3 spots in event. Sophomore Amarachi Ukabam, who claimed runner-up in the shot put Saturday, took second behind Lofton with a 63-5 (19.33m) as she staked to all-conference honors in both the weight and shot put.
Lofton earned All-Big Ten honors for the second time in her career. Ukabam, the reigning outdoor female freshman of the year in the league, added her first indoor all-conference honor.
Former Buckeye Katy Craig was the last to win the women’s weight at the indoor Big Ten meet in 2002.
U.S. COACHES ASSOC. NAMES TAYLOR GREAT LAKES MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Taylor was named Great Lakes Regional Male Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field Coaches Association Tuesday. The native of Middlefield, Ohio established the American collegiate record in the weight throw on three separate occasions this season, including his current standard of 78 feet, 9 L inches (78-9.25/ 24.01m) set at the regular season-ending Scarlet and Gray Invitational Feb. 21. The five-time All-American followed that effort at the Big Ten championships, where he successfully defended his 2003 conference titles in both the weight and shot put with heaves of 75-8.25 and 66-11.25, respectively.
Taylor, who also holds the second best mark in the weight throw in the country this season, was unbeaten in 15 throw events in 2004 and travels to the NCAA meet with aspirations of becoming Ohio State’s first male indoor national champion since 1980.
TAYLOR SEEKS TO IMPROVE ON TOP 3 MARKS FROM 2003 NCAA’S
Taylor claimed national runner-up in the shot put last season at the NCAA indoor meet. He added a third-place standing in the weight at the event as well. The Buckeye posted a 69-11.75 (21.33m) to place second in the shot behind Carl Myerscough of Nebraska, who tossed a 70-6.25.
In the weight, Taylor grasped third with a heave of 68-10.75 (21.00m) to place behind winner Thomas Freeman of Manhattan and Colorado State’s Drew Lofton, who each eclipsed 70 feet.
GOODWIN OUT TO ADD SECOND ALL-AMERICAN AWARD TO JUMPS TEAM IN LAST TWO SEASONS
Ohio State jumper Shayla Moore earned All-America status in the triple jump in the 2003 outdoor national meet. This season, fellow jumper Rosalind Goodwin has turned in a career year, setting OSU indoor records in both the triple jump and long jump. The Big Ten champion in both events seeks to join Moore as an All-American this weekend in Fayetteville.
LAST TIME OUT: BUCKEYES COMPETE IN LAST CHANCE AT NOTRE DAME
The Buckeyes sent four of their athletes to the University of Notre Dame to compete in the Alex Wilson Invite which serves as a last chance meet for athletes to qualify for the 2004 NCAA Championships. The two-day event was held at the Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Ind.
Shayla Moore opened day two of competition in the women’s triple jump as she placed fourth with a leap of 41 feet, 6 inches. Also competing for the Buckeyes, Saturday was Tamecia Brown, who competed in the 800-meter run. During the event, Brown provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships and set a school record in the event posting a time of 2:08.87.
Friday night’s action saw the continued emergence of Brian Olinger, as he posted the second fastest time in the 5,000-meter run in OSU history, with a time of 13:59.72.
BUCKEYES BOAST SIX ALL-BIG TEN HONOREES
For their first and second-place efforts at the 2004 Big Ten Indoor Championships, Goodwin, Lofton, Taylor and Ukabam all received all-conference honors.
RECAP – THE 2004 BIG TEN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The OSU women, competing in Iowa City, Iowa, scored a Top 4 standing with 88.83 points, falling shy of team champion Penn State and its 115.0 total points. The men, who traveled north to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the event, placed seventh with 51.0 points. Wisconsin defended its 2003 men’s indoor team title with 174.5 points.
Record setting efforts by senior Dan Taylor and juniors Rosalind Goodwin and Keturah Lofton highlighted Ohio State’s showing at each venue as Taylor and Goodwin gained their second conference titles on the weekend, while Lofton added her the first of her career. Taylor, who won the shot put Saturday with a Michigan track record setting heave of 66 feet, 11 L inches (66-11.25/ 20.40m) to defend his 2003 championship in the event, scored his second conference weight throw title in the last two seasons. The Middlefield, Ohio native broke the Michigan Indoor Track Building venue mark and his own Big Ten championship meet standard with a winning 75-8.25 (23.07m) measure.
Goodwin and Lofton teamed to lead the women’s effort as the Buckeyes posted their second consecutive fourth-place showing at the indoor conference meet. Goodwin, who set Ohio State and Iowa venue records to win the long jump Saturday at 20-9, also bested her own OSU standard and Iowa venue record to win the triple jump with a leap of 43-6.50.
Lofton also was responsible for setting an Iowa track record with her winning mark of 65-7.75 in the weight throw as Buckeyes staked the Top 3 spots in event. Sophomore Amarachi Ukabam, who claimed runner-up in the shot put Saturday, took second behind Lofton with a 63-5 (19.33m), while junior Shelaine Larson grabbed third place with a career-best 62-1 (18.92).
THE 2003 NATIONAL MEET REVISITED
Dan Taylor, the 2003 Big Ten Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year, competed in the championship’s initial event as he claimed third place with a 21.00m (68-10.75) effort in the weight throw. Taylor scored his mark on his first throw of the day as he recorded his first Top 5 finish in national competition.
Taylor captured a second-place finish in the men’s shot put with a 21.33-meter effort, falling just shy of the 21.49-meter mark set by champion Carl Mayerscough of Nebraska.
Distance runner Rob Myers advanced to Saturday’s finals with a qualifying mark in the preliminary rounds of the mile run. In the finals, Myers clocked a 4:07.36 to earn eighth and garner All-America accolades. Chris Mulvaney of host Arkansas won the event with a 4:05.70.
Hurdler Molly Logan competed in the 60-meter hurdles prelims, but failed to earn a berth in the finals, as did senior hurdler Joel Brown, who missed earning a berth in the final by .01 with a mark of 7.78 in the men’s 60-meter hurdles. Brown was awarded All-America honors for his time.
Also competing for the Buckeyes in the throws was senior Krista Keir in the women’s shot put, where she recorded a 15.20m (49-10.50) effort in the finals to place 17th and sophomore Keturah Lofton, who recorded a 19.01m mark to earn an 11th place finish.
MERRIMAN THE LAST BUCKEYE TO WIN INDOOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Goodwin, Lofton, Taylor and Ukabam will aspire to score Ohio State’s first NCAA indoor championship since former Buckeye Donnica Merriman accomplished the feat in the 60m hurdles in 2001.
TAYLOR SETS AMERICAN COLLEGIATE WEIGHT MARK FOR THIRD TIME IN ’04
Dan Taylor eclipsed his own American collegiate record in the weight throw for the second time in three weeks Saturday at the Scarlet and Gray Invite in French Field House. The senior posted a winning mark of 78 feet, 9 1/4 inches (78-9.25/24.01 meters) as he narrowly missed setting a NCAA record in the event by a mere centimeter. Taylor fell shy of the NCAA mark of 24.02 meters set by Leibor Charfreitag of Southern Methodist at the 2001 NCAA Championships.
The 78-9.25 defeated his previous standard of 76-3, which he set at the Indiana Invite.
Taylor initially set the American collegiate record figure of 76-2.25 Jan. 10.
GOODWIN LEAPS PAST OSU RECORDS
Ohio State junior long jumper Rosalind Goodwin won her sixth straight long jump competition Feb. 28 at the Big Ten meet. In doing so, Goodwin posted a provisional qualifier in the event for the fourth week in a row and bested her previous Ohio State record of 20-6.50 with a 20-9 leap to score 10 first-place points for the Buckeyes.
Goodwin, who has turned in NCAA provisional qualifying performances in each of the last three triple jump competitions, set OSU and French Field House records with her winning effort of 43-3 at the Scarlet and Gray Invite. She followed that with a leap of 43-6.50 to win the conference title at the Big Ten meet Feb. 29.
TAMECIA BROWN SNAPS OSU RECORD IN THE 800 METERS
At the 2004 Sykes/Sabock Challenge Feb. 14, Ohio State senior Tamecia Brown clocked a school record time of 2:10.51 in the 800-meter run. Brown bested that mark at the Alex Wilson Last Chance meet at Notre Dame March 6 with a 2:08.87.
The previous record of 2:10.98 was held by Mandy Osmond in 2000.
MYERS RUNS AT 2004 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HUNGARY
Ohio State senior Rob Myers, who is redshirting the 2004 indoor season, competed in the 2004 World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Budapest, Hungary. During the event, Myers placed seventh in preliminaries of the men’s 1,500-meter run, finishing in a time of 3:43.73.
The Rushville, Ohio native qualified for the event while competing at the 2004 United States Indoor Track and Field Championships, as he posted a time of 3:40.80 to finish first in the in the 1,500-meter run.
TAYLOR AND LOFTON DEEMED BIG TEN ATHLETES OF THE WEEK, TAYLOR HONORED BY TRACKSHARK.COM
Ohio State laid claim to both the men’s and women’s side of the Big Ten Athlete of the Week honor for the third time this season as throwers Dan Taylor and Keturah Lofton received the honor Feb. 24. The weekly award is the fifth this season for Taylor and the second in the last two weeks as the senior shattered his own American collegiate record in the weight throw at the Scarlet and Gray Invitational Saturday at Ohio State’s French Field House. Lofton also won the weight with a career best 67-4.
Taylor eclipsed his own American collegiate record in the weight for the second time in the last three weeks as he narrowly missed setting a NCAA record in the event by a mere centimeter. Taylor fell shy of the NCAA mark of 24.02 meters set by Leibor Charfreitag of Southern Methodist at the 2001 NCAA Championships.
The five-time All-American and defending Big Ten champion in both the indoor shot put and weight throw opened the day with a season-best 67-1.25 to win the shot put competition. The Middlefield, Ohio product has placed first in each of the 14 throw events this season as he heads to the Big Ten indoor championships Saturday and Sunday at Ann Arbor. Mich.
For Lofton, the honor served as the first of her career and the second by an Ohio State thrower this season. Fellow Buckeye Amarachi Ukabam won the accolade after a pair of first-place marks at the OSU Tri-meet. Lofton captured the weekly honor with a career-best 67-4 to win the weight, while also taking third in the shot put behind Ukabam with a 48-1.75. Lofton, whose throw automatically qualified her for the 2004 NCAA Championships March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark., shared the women’s award with fellow thrower Sarah Adelaine of Michigan.
In addition to Taylor’s Big Ten honor, his 12th in the last two seasons, he also was recognized by trackshark.com for his efforts as the internet publication named him athlete of the Week.
MAKE IT 15-of-15 FOR TAYLOR IN ’04
Senior thrower Dan Taylor won both the weight throw and shot put at the Big Ten Championships. In doing so, Taylor notched his 14th and 15th wins this season in as many throw events.
Taylor shattered his own American collegiate record in the weight and posted a season-best to place first in the shot put.
MOVIN’ ON UP: ALL-TIME PERFORMANCE CHARTS
In addition to the Ohio State records set in the women’s pole vault, 800-meter run, triple jump and long jump and the men’s weight throw this season, numerous Buckeyes have etched their names into the OSU all-time performance lists.
Goodwin heads the field as she has moved into the No. 1 position in both the triple jump (43-6.50) in addition to her top mark in the long jump (20-9), while Tamecia Brown now owns the school title in the 800m at 2:08.87.
Throwers Lofton and Ukabam moved into the Top 3 in both the weight and shot put this season. Ukabam recorded a 52-9.25 in the shot put and a 65-10.50 in the weight earlier this season, while Lofton boasts the third best score in the weight at 67-4.
Senior Lyndsi Gay clocked the third-fastest time in OSU history in the 5,000 meters at the Indiana Invite.
Pole vaulter Becky Heintz claimed the top spot in the women’s annals as she became the first Buckeye woman to eclipse 12 feet. Fellow vaulter Robyn Mroz staked the No. 2 spot with a mark just shy of 12 feet. On the men’s side, senior Seth MacCarter owns the third best all-time at 16-8.75.
ASST. COACH GARY PLACES THIRD AT U.S. CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ohio State men’s cross country coach Robert Gary, competed in the 2004 United States Cross Country Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. The two-day event served as a qualifier for 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, March 20 in Brussels, Belgium.
The Top 6 finishers in the Open and Junior races were eligible to compete in the event.
Gary (1993-96) highlighted the event as he placed third in the men’s open 4-kilometer and second in the 12-kilometer divisions, posting times of 11:15 and 35:07, respectively, to earn a spot on the world cross country team. Gary will compete in the 4-kilometer run at the World Cross Country Championships.
Connor (1996-99), who completed his Buckeye career two years ago, still trains with the team and placed sixth in a time of 11:22 in the men’s open 4-kilometer event to earn a spot on world cross country squad.
TAYLOR AND UKABAM SCORE BACK-TO-BACK BIG TEN ATHLETES OF THE WEEK JAN. 20 AND 27
Ohio State throwers Dan Taylor and Amarachi Ukabam not only have dominated their competition in the throw events this season, winning 14 of the 16 throw competitions, but the tandem has nearly owned the Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors in 2004 before recipients from other Big Ten institutions claimed the honors Feb. 3.
Taylor garnered his third award in as many weeks Jan. 27 after first-place performances in both the shot put (65-0.75) and weight throw (73-9.75) at the Indiana-Purdue-Ohio State Tri-Meet with NCAA indoor championship automatic qualifying marks in both events.
Ukabam scored her second honor in as many weeks with first placers in the weight and shot put as well. Ukabam’s mark in the weight (65-10.50) served as an automatic national qualifier, while her effort in the shot put (52-8.25) provisionally qualified for the NCAA’s.
Taylor’s weekly honor is his 10th in the last two seasons. The award is the third won by Ukabam in her career.
BUCKEYE THROWERS TAKE FIRST PLACE IN 29 OF 32 EVENTS IN ’04
The Ohio State throw squad has competed in 32 total events in 2004 and has walked away from either the shot put or weight throw with a first-place standing on 29 occasions.
Taylor has fueled the men’s side with record-shattering first-place finishes in both the weight and shot put in the eight meets this season,including two Bi g Ten title.
Keturah Lofton and Ukabam have combined to take top honors in all but one throw event this season. Ukabam has won the shot put at the Buckeye and Kentucky Invites, the Tri-meet, the Ohio State Invite, the Scarlet and Gray Invite and was first in the weight at UK and in the tri-meet. She placed second in both the Big Ten events.
Lofton scored first place in the weight at the Big Ten meet and the Buckeye, Ohio State and Scarlet and Gray Invites, with a top mark of 67-4 at the Scarlet and Gray.
Buckeye junior Shelaine Larson placed second in both the weight and shot put at the Indiana Invite Feb. 7 and third in the weight at Big Ten’s.
TAYLOR COMPLETES FRENCH FIELD HOUSE CAREER WITH WIN STREAK IN 11 STRAIGHT EVENTS AND 13-OF-14
With his victories in each of the weight throw and shot put competitions at the Buckeye Invite, the IU-PU-OSU Tri-meet, the Ohio State Invite and the Scarlet and Gray Invite, Taylor claimed his 11th straight crown and 13th in 14 total events at French Field House spanning the past two 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 26 of the last 28 regular season throw events since the beginning of the 2003 season.
BUCKEYE MEN RANKED No. 11 BY TRACKWIRE.COM
The Ohio State men’s team was recognized as the No. 11 team in the country by the Feb. 25 Trackwire.com poll. The Buckeyes are one of six Big Ten squads in the Top 25 as Minnesota is rated the highest at No. 5, with Wisconsin ranked in a tie for 19th. Michigan, OSU, Purdue and Indiana fall in between the Golden Gophers and Badgers. Arkansas in ranked No. 1. Fellow Southeastern teams – Auburn and LSU – completed the Top 3.
TAYLOR SETS AMERICAN COLLEGIATE RECORD TO OPEN 2004 SEASON
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 DEEMED USATF MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – JAN. 12
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 AND UKABAM REPRESENT U.S. 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.
MYERS, BROWN AND LOGAN PREPPING FOR RETURN IN OUTDOOR SEASON
Ohio State senior Rob Myers, who has exhausted his indoor eligibility and will join the Buckeyes as a scoring competitor in the outdoor season, clocked the third-best time run by an American this season in the men’s mile with a time of 4:00.17, Feb. 6 at the Indiana Invitational to win the event as an unattached competitor.
Myers’ time in the mile qualifies him for the 2004 US Indoor Championships, where he plans to run his second race of the indoor season in preparation for the outdoor campaign.
Two fellow seniors who also have used their eligibility in indoor season are competing well in the hurdles events as unattached competitors. OSU seniors Joel Brown, an All-American in both the indoor and outdoor sessions in 2003, and Molly Logan have turned in top times in the men’s and women’s 60-meter hurdles in preparation for their return to the Buckeye squad in the outdoor season.
Brown most recently turned in a 7.81 to claim second at the Indiana Invitational, while Logan topped the field in the same event on the women’s side with a time of 8.30. Logan also clocked an 8.30 to win the event at the Ohio State Invite Jan. 31. Brown claimed first at the OSU Invite in a time of 7.92 and added a 7.64 in the 55-meter hurdles in the indoor opener to win first place at the Buckeye Invite Jan. 10.
HARRIS CONTINUES TO ROLL IN FIRST SEASON
Freshman Jenna Harris has established herself as the squad’s top sprinter on the women’s side as she has posted top times for OSU in the 60m dash and the 200m dash in each of the last five meets, including Top 5 marks at the Big Ten championships.
During the UK Invite, Harris posted times of 7.51 and 24.51 to win and added first-place times in both the IU-PU-OSU Tri-Meet and the Ohio State Invite.
Most recently, Harris posted season-bests in the 60m and 200m as she timed a 7.48 in the 60m at the Sykes/Sabock Challenge and a 24.18 in the 200m and winner in the 60m at the Scarlet and Gray Invite last week.
HEINTZ BECOMES FIRST BUCKEYE WOMAN TO CLEAR 12 FEET IN POLE VAULT
Senior Becky Heintz and sophomore Robyn Mroz each posted the top mark in the pole vault event at the OSU Invitational Jan. 31 with an Ohio State all-time height of 11-11.75.
The mark stood for just one week as Heintz became the first Buckeye to clear 12-feet in the women’s pole vault, setting a record with a height of 12-1.50 to place second at the Indiana Invite.
Heintz and Mroz snapped the previous mark held by Mroz, who cleared 11-8 Feb. 14, 2003.
Ironically, both Heintz and Mroz share the outdoor pole vault standard at Ohio State as well at the same height of 11-11.75.
WHAT’S AHEAD
The Buckeyes will open the 2004 outdoor schedule for the second straight year in Tempe, Ariz. for the Baldy Castillo Invite March 19-20.
