2006 Track and Field Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Jan. 6, 2006
A youthful Ohio State roster in 2006 will look for leadership from five returning Big Ten champions this season. That roster will have the added test of filling the shoes of five lost league champions as well.
“We have a lot to replace this season on both the men’s and women’s teams,” Russ Rogers, who begins his 18th season as Ohio State head coach, said. “We lost Rosalind Goodwin and Shayla Moore in the jumps. They were good for at least 18-19 points at the Big Ten meet the last two seasons. That type of production is difficult to replace. Shelaine Larson always was able to score big points as well and we will miss her.
“We lost a little less on the men’s team, but there are still guys we have to make up for,” Rogers continued. “Aaron Fisher won several Big Ten championships in the distance events and guys like John Morris and Greg Norman are gone in the sprints too. We’ll miss Brian Duby in the throws as well.”
Although the Buckeyes have much to replace, a unique combination of youthful experience, along with talent, will be on display all season.
“Sure there is a lot to replace, but you’ll have that,” Rogers said. “I am excited about our team this season. We have a lot of our top performers back that have won meets at this level. When we combine that with our new athletes, that gets me excited.”
Key Returnees
MEN
Anthony Cole – So., Sprinter … 2005 Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year … league champion in 60-meter dash indoors … placed in Top 5 in league in 100- and 200-meter dashes outdoors. Todd Dutch – Sr., Sprinter … Top 3 performer in both 100- and 200-meter dashes in outdoor season.
John Ealy – So., Distance … Mideast regional qualifier in 5K outdoors … 2004 Big Ten Cross Country Freshman of the Year.
Dan Glaz – Sr., Distance – Two-time NCAA Mideast regional qualifier in 5K … U.S. junior champion in 10K.
Marios Iacovou – So., Jumps – All-American in high jump in 2005.
Lenny Jatsek – So., Thrower … NCAA Mideast qualifier in discus.
Braden Martinez – So., Distance … Mideast regional qualifier in 5K outdoors.
Brian Olinger – All-American in 2005 in indoor 5,000 meters … 2004 Big Ten champion in outdoor 5K … personal-best of 8:19.56 in the steeplechase timed in July …two-time cross country All-American.
Rogers on men’s returnees
“Todd (Dutch) and Tony (Cole) will be strong in the sprints,” Rogers said. “They both have a chance at winning at the Big Ten meets in the 60, 100 and 200 meters. Marios was an All-American and he could do very well win the high jump. Brian Olinger is a leader on this team. He has a shot at the indoor 5,000 (meters) and should be the league favorite in the outdoor steeplechase. John Ealy, Braden Martinez and Lenny Jatsek have a good chance at scoring big points at Big Ten’s too. We also have Scott Hudepohl, who could go 1-or-2 in the decathlon.”
WOMEN
Nicole Gliem – Jr., Distance … two-time regional qualifier in 5K … ran in 2005 NCAA meet in 5K.
Jenna Harris – Jr., Sprints … Big Ten champion in indoor 60-meter dash and outdoor 100m dash … placed second at N.Y. Armory Invite 60m … outdoor regional qualifier in 100m and 200m.
Keturah Lofton – Sr., Throws … 2004 Big Ten champ in hammer … 2004 All-American in hammer … Big Ten record holder in hammer at 204 feet, 7 inches.
Melanie Price – Jr., Distance … regional qualifier and school record holder in women’s steeplechase.
Jessica Stringer – Jr., Jumps … 2005 Big Ten outdoor high jump champion … national qualifier.
Rogers on women’s returnees
“Jenna (Harris) is a Big Ten champ, Jessie (Stringer) is a Big Ten champ,” Rogers said. “They are back and have a good chance at repeating. The return of Keturah Lofton will help out a lot as well. She was a Big Ten hammer champion two years ago. In distance, we have Nicole Gliem and Melanie Price. Both can score big at the league meets too.”
Key Losses from 2005
MEN
Aaron Fisher – Two-time All-American in steeplechase … 2004 Big Ten champ in steeple, league runner-up in 2005 … 2003 conference champion in 5K
Bryan Duby – 2005 Big Ten weight throw champion … two-time regional qualifier in hammer … 2005 NCAA qualifier in hammer.
WOMEN
Tiffany Davis – 2005 national qualifier in hammer and weight … two-time regional hammer qualifier.
Rosalind Goodwin – Six-time Big Ten champion with three league crowns in each of the long jump and triple jump … five-time All-American … Ohio State record holder in indoor and outdoor triple.
Shelaine Larson – Three-time All-Big Ten honoree in throws … NCAA qualifier for three seasons in hammer and weight.
Shayla Moore – 2005 Big Ten outdoor triple jump champion … two-time All-American in triple jump.
Dalanda Jackson – All-American in 60m and 100m hurdles.
Newcomers Invade OSU Roster
With all of its departures from the 2005 season, Ohio State was able to reload with the signing of numerous top-flight recruits on both the men’s and women’s sides this fall.
MEN
The men’s class of 2009 is comprised of seven student-athletes who accounted for three scholastic national championships 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, 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.
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. Cathcart also could add depth to Ohio State’s relay teams.
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,” Rogers 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.”
WOMEN
Rogers announced the addition of four recruits to the women’s team in October. 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 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.
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.
Transfers of Note
In addition to its stellar recruiting classes, Ohio State also added several impressive transfer student-athletes. Veronica 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.
The men 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.
“Veronica has the ability to come in and score major points for us in the jumps right away,” Rogers said. “John and Adam will add a lot to our sprints team and they will help in our relays, too.”
The Schedule
Ohio State will once again compete in one of the top schedules in the country in 2005-06 as the Buckeyes work their way to the Big Ten and NCAA meets at the height of the indoor and outdoor seasons.
“We upgraded both our indoor and outdoor schedules this season,” Rogers said. “We are going to go to some of the biggest meets in the country this year and, with our talent, we will be competitive. Going to meets like the New York Armory, Mt. SAC, Sea Ray and Penn Relays preps our athletes to be at their best when we head to the Big Ten and NCAA meets.”
Indoor Schedule
The 2005 indoor season begins with a pair of meets on the road. The Buckeyes open the season at the Kentucky Invitational Jan. 13-14 before their first test against league foes at the Indiana/Ohio State/ Purdue Tri-Meet in Bloomington, Ind., Jan. 21. Ohio State will again compete in two home meets at French Field House in 2006. The Buckeyes welcome visiting teams the Ohio State Invitational Jan. 28 and the Scarlet and Gray Invitational Feb. 18 before heading to the Big Ten indoor meet Feb. 25-26 at Iowa for the men and Wisconsin for the women.
The indoor schedule also is highlighted by a trip to the 2005 Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City Feb. 3-4 and a trek the following week to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State Classic Feb. 10-11.
Outdoor Schedule
The outdoor season gets underway with consecutive trips west as Ohio State competes at the Arizona State Invitational (March 25-26) and the UNLV Invitational (April 1). Several members of the distance team also will run at the Stanford Invitational the weekend of March 25-26.
After the trek west, the Buckeyes return to Columbus for the first of its two home meets in 2006. Ohio State welcomes teams from across the state to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium for the 2006 All-Ohio Meet April 7-8. The remainder of the month of April features three top-flight meets in the Mt. SAC Relays (Walnut, Calif.,/April 14-16), Sea Ray Relays (Knoxville, Tenn./April 15-16) and the Penn Relays (April 27-29).
In May, the Buckeyes head back to Columbus for another top meet in the Jesse Owens Track Classic, which will celebrate its 21st running May 6-7.
The postseason begins May 12-14 in East Lansing, Mich., for the 2006 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Two weeks later, Ohio State’s qualifiers will head back to Knoxville for the 2006 NCAA Mideast Regional meet and those who advance to the national meet will compete June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif.
