Ohio State Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Concludes Action at NCAA Regional Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 27, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the final day of the 2006 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships Saturday at the University of Tennessee’s LaPorte Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. Many Buckeyes punched their tickets to the 2006 NCAA Championships on June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif.
The women’s team finished the regional meet with a team score of 14 points. They came in tied for 16th at the regional meet.The men accumulated 10 team points and tied for 27th.
For the women, senior Keturah Lofton took second in the hammer throw with a mark of 204-7. Lofton’s toss qualified her for the NCAA championships. Lofton a three-time All-American and recent Big Ten Medal of Honor winner, also holds the school record in the hammer. Junior Jenna Harris took fifth in the 200m dash with a time of 23.60, a season best mark. By placing in the Top 5 Harris qualified for the 2006 NCAA championships.
On the track for the men, Senior Brian Olinger won the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 8:45.18. Olinger came in second in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Big Ten Championships and is the current 10,000m champion. With this mark Olinger qualifies him for the NCAA championships. Olinger is the Ohio State record holder in the indoor 5,000m and the outdoor 10,000m.
“I’m just excited to get through regionals without any major catastrophes,” Olinger, whose season-best in the steeple is 8:45.05, said. “I still feel like I’m really coming around. I’m still training really hard so I’m looking forward being able to back off a little bit. I want to go after a fast run and put myself in a position to win a title at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento.” In the field, Patrick Whalen took 17th in the shot put with a mark of 53-8 ½.
The Buckeyes are back in action in two weeks on June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif. for the 2006 NCAA championships.
