Ohio State Track and Field Opens 2006 Indoor Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Jan. 12, 2006
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Columbus, Ohio — The Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field teams will compete in the 2006 Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 13-14. The University of Kentucky will play host and events will be held in Nutter Field House in Lexington Ky.
KENTUCKY INVITATIONAL
JAN. 13-14, 2005
FRIDAY-6 P.M., SATURDAY-10:30 A.M.
Nutter Field House – University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.)
2006 Kentucky Invitational
Ohio State will compete against a deep field, inculding Big Ten rival Michigan, starting Friday at 6 p.m. and continuing at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Recapping the 2005 Kentucky Invitational
Seniors Shelaine Larson and Rosalind Goodwin led the way for the women’s squad as they scored first-place finishes in their respective events. Larson, who provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships in the weight throw in day-one, notched a personal-best mark of 46-feet, 8 3/4-inches in the shot put. Goodwin, who also provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships Friday in the triple jump, posting a performance of 19-04 3/4 in the long jump.
On the men’s side, senior distance runner Jacob McCauley and junior Brian Olinger led the way with strong showings in the mile and 3,000-meter events. McCauley won the mile, posting a time of 4:15.13. In the 3,000-meter run, Olinger placed second, smashing his previous personal-best time of 8:18.80, which he set last season at the 2004 Kentucky Invitational. His time of 8:10.25 Saturday placed him second to former cross country and track teammate Rob Myers, who finished first in a time of 8:09.38. In the women’s sprint events, the Buckeyes received strong performances from sophomore Jenna Harris. Harris competed in the 60, 200-meter dashes and 4×400-meter relay, finishing second, fifth and third, respectively. In the 60-meter dash, she finished in a time of 7.52, In the 200, she notched a showing of 24.42. Harris completed her day by running the final leg of the 4×400-meter relay team that finished with a time of 3:49.52.
In the men’s sprints, the Buckeyes received Top 10 performances from Gerald Griffin and John Morris in the 400-meter dash. Griffin finished the race sixth in a time of 48.65, while Morris finished eighth in 48.94. The men’s sprinters closed the meet in the 4×400-meter relay by winning their heat in a time of 3:14.26 to place fourth overall.
Tony Cole and Todd Dutch qualified for the 60-meter dash in times of 6.88 and 6.89. Dutch also ran in the 200-meter dash, finishing seventh in a time of 21.46.
Additionally, Ohio State also received strong performances from Jessie Stringer and Shayla Moore as they finished sixth in the high jump and seventh in the long jump, respectively.
Gary and Olinger Honored for Outstanding Efforts In 2005 Cross Country Season
The NCAA announced its men’s cross country regional awards Nov.19 prior to the 2005 National Championship meet Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind. Ohio State head coach Robert Gary was named 2005 Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year, while senior co-captain Brian Olinger earned 2005 Great Lakes Runner of the Year honors.
Gary guided the Buckeyes to a second-place finish at the 2005 Big Ten Championships, a third-place team score at the 2005 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships and an 11th place finish at the NCAA Championships. Olinger led the Ohio State pack in each of the races, taking 10th at Big Ten’s before winning the regional event Nov. 12.
For the season, Gary and Olinger also combined to lead Ohio State to three event team titles and an all-time best sixth-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis in September.
Olinger Earns Second Consecutive All-American Honor on the Cross Country Course
Ohio State senior Brian Olinger was awarded his second straight All-American honor in cross country in 2005. Olinger earned the award with an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21. It was an improvement on his 21st-place finish from a year ago and was the crowning achievement for a Olinger in a season in which he finished in the Top 10 four times for the Buckeyes. Additionally, Olinger was Ohio State’s first individual champion at the Great Lakes regional.
Men’s Newcomers
Russ Rogers, Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field head coach, announced the addition of seven recruits for the men’s team. The class of 2009 boasts three scholastic national champions and nearly 20 individual titles at the state level.
A pair of 2005 high school national champions heads the list in middle-distance specialist Jeff See, who comes to Ohio State from Middletown High School in Middletown, Ohio and Brandon Cathcart, a jumper from Salisbury, N.C. In June of 2005, See claimed the national championship in the boy’s mile run in a career-best 4:03.53. See also was a four-time Ohio High School Athletics Association state champion, winning three consecutive 1,600-meter titles and one 800-meter run crown in 1:51.18. He also was a regional and state cross country champion.
Cathcart will join the Buckeye jumps team after claiming the 2005 National High School Championship in triple jump. He owns a career-best leap of 50 feet, 5 1/4 inches and won back-to-back North Carolina state championships in the triple. He also added a long jump state title and owns a career long jump mark of 24-2 1/2.
Two more runners are among the group of recruits. Levi Fox and Elon Simms come to Columbus after top showings at the 2005 Ohio State Championships. Fox claimed the state title in the 3,200 meters in 9:05 while competing for Troy High School. Fox also had a career-best 4:15 in the 1,600m. Simms was the runner-up at the Ohio state championships in 800m last season with Fremont Ross and owns a top time of 1:52.51.
Also on the track, Mathew Comer won the Michigan state championship in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and was runner-up in the 100-meter high hurdles. Adam Wilhelm, another Fremont Ross product, was the 2005 Ohio State Championships runner-up in the 400-meter dash and will supply instant support in the long sprints.
In the field, the Buckeyes will welcome pole vaulter Brian Chard from Caledonia River Valley High School. He won the Ohio state championship in 2005, clearing the bar at 15-3.
“I am excited about this recruiting class,” Russ Rogers, who will enter his 19th season as Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field head coach, said. “It is talented and deep on the track and in the field. I expect each of the recruits to make an immediate impact on our team and help us finish near the top of the Big Ten this year. We have a young team, but we are talented and that is what excites me the most.”
The Buckeyes also anticipate a boost from Ted Ginn Jr., who is expected trade the football cleats for track spikes after completing his track and field redshirt year in 2005. At Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ginn was a national champion in 110-meter high hurdles his junior year and held the top time in the country his senior season at 13.23. He was a two-time state champ in the 110m event and earned another state title in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles his senior season of 2004, winning in 36.73. He added the Ohio title in the 200 meters in 2004 as well. Ginn also has been timed at 10.5 in the 100m and was runner up at the state level in the 200m in 2002, timing 21.16, and second in the 400m in 2003 and `04, clocking a 46.57.
In addition to Ginn, Rogers also foresees several more possible contributions from student-athletes currently with the Ohio State football team.
“I’m looking forward to three other football Buckeyes coming out in the spring,” Rogers said. “Malcolm Jenkins has run a 47.8 in the 400 meters, Jamario O’Neal was second in the state (Ohio) last year in the 100 meters and Brian Hartline was the state champion in both the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles.”
Ohio State also will welcome a pair of transfer student-athletes in 2006. John Dunham comes to Columbus from the University of Tennessee as a specialist in the 400 meters. At the high school level, Dunham was a two-time 400m Ohio state champion for Wheelersburg High School. Chris Watkins, who transferred from Toledo, will add to the Buckeyes sprint squad as well, mainly in the 200 meters. He placed third in the Ohio state meet in 2003 at Toledo Whitmer High School.
The Buckeyes also will welcome back the return of a veteran in the spring in Brian Olinger, who redshirted the outdoor schedule last year. Although he sat out collegiate competition, Olinger ran at the 2005 United States Track and Field Championships and placed fourth in the 3, 000-meter steeplechase. A month later, he clocked the second-fastest time by an American collegiate athlete in the steeple at a meet in Europe, finishing in 8:19.56.
Women’s Newcomers
Russ Rogers, Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field head coach, announced the addition of four recruits to the women’s team for the up coming season. The class includes a pair of signees from Ohio, while also featuring recruits from Arizona, Indiana, Maryland and Michigan.
“This is the best recruiting class we have had in the last three to four years,” Rogers, who will coach the Buckeyes for his 18th season in 2006, said. “When you add this class to the athletes we have returning, we have a chance to do really well in the Big Ten. We could be in the Top 3, or possibly win the conference.”
Ayrizonna Favours, a native of Columbus, comes to Ohio State as a multi-sport star at Columbus Eastmoor Academy. A 12-time letterwinner in basketball, soccer and track and field, Favours was a four-time Ohio Division II state champion in the 400-meter run and helped Eastmoor win Division II team state titles in both 2004 and `05. Her best times include a 53.1 in the 400m, 24.4 in the 200m and 12.01 in the 100m dash. She also anchored Eastmoor to a 3:47 best in the 4x400m.
Also on the track, Detroit native Jessica Jones comes to Columbus as a multiple individual Michigan state champion. She spent her freshman and sophomore years at Renaissance High School before switching to Mumford High for her final two seasons. At each school, she claimed state titles in each of the 200m and 400m dashes. Jones’ personal-best times include 54.4 in the 400m and 24.21 in the 200m. She also helped Mumford set the Michigan state record in the 4×200-meter relay (1:39.12). In national competition, Jones finished second in the indoor 400m at the 2005 Nike Indoor National Meet.
The Buckeye track unit also added a top-flight hurdler in Bever-Leigh Holloway, of Greenbelt, Md. Holloway won individual state titles in both Maryland and Nevada. In her freshman season, she won Nevada state crowns in the 100-meter hurdles and the 100m and 200m dashes. She completed her career in Maryland with state championships in the 100m and 300m hurdles for Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Holloway boasts personal-best times of 14.34 in the 100m H and 43.87 in the 300m H. She also helped Roosevelt High to indoor Maryland state titles in 2004 and `05 and outdoor state championships in 2003 and `05.
In the distance events, Rachel Stichter already has made her presence felt on the Ohio State women’s cross country team, routinely running third on the squad in five meets this season. At Wawasee High School in Milford, Ind., Stichter was the 2005 Indiana State Champion in the 3,200-meter run (10.41.77) and a two-time team most valuable runner. She holds the Indiana regional record for the 3,200m and a section mark in the 1,600m (5:06.87 in 2004).
In the field, Cori Tarzwell, of Mesa, Ariz., will help offset the loss of three seniors on the throws team. The 2004 Arizona State Champion in the shot put owns a career-best throw of 142-11 1/2 in the discus. In 2005, she doubled as the state runner-up in the shot and discus.
In addition to its recruiting class, Ohio State also has added transfer Veronica Vance to the jumps unit. Vance comes to Ohio State after spending two seasons as Bowling Green’s top performer in the triple jump. At the 2005 All-Ohio meet at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Vance placed third behind former Buckeye All-American jumpers Rosalind Goodwin and Shayla Moore. Vance’s top marks include 40-4 in the triple and 18-7 on the long jump.
Women’s Cross Country Team Took Big Strides In 2005
The women’s tcross country team made big steps this season. They started out with a big victory in the Xavier Invitational, which was the first time in four years the women’s team has won a meet. They followed up the Xavier victory with an impressive showing at the Cederville Invitational as they took second place.
The women’s team then got another win at the Louisville Invitational. The next two meets also were impressive for the women as they took second at the All-Ohio Championships and came in fifth at the National Invitational.
The Buckeyes picked up the pace at the Big Ten Championships as they improved on there 11th-place finish in 2004 and turned in a ninth-place finish.
The season ended at the Great Lakes Regional Championships as the Buckeyes came in 16th. The women’s team has a very promising future as they will return all of their runners from there ninth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
Up Next
The men’s and women’s teams will be on the road again January 20-21 as the head to Bloomington, Ind. to compete in a tri-meet with conference rivals Indiana and Purdue.
