Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
May 31, 2006
Athletes of the Week
The varsity four of Patricia Goodeman, Mary Sheehan, Peta-LeighDakyns (pea-ta lee DAY-kins) (Fr., Johannesburg, South Africa),Sarah Mominee (MOM-in-ee) and coxswain Susie Wilson fought hardthroughout its Grand Final at the 2006 NCAA Rowing ChampionshipsMay 28, and set a school record by taking third place, the highestany Buckeye boat has ever finished in an NCAA Grand Final. Brownjumped out to an early lead and held it from the 500-meter mark tothe finish. It was a battle for second through fourth place though,with Ohio State, California and Washington State bow-to-bow in thelast 500-meters. The three boats finished 0.7 seconds apart, withCal crossing second at 7:45.350, followed by the Buckeyes(7:45.780) and WSU (7:46.091). Brown won the race with a time of7:41.103. Fellow Big Ten team Michigan State was fifth at 7:49.335and Washington was sixth at 7:54.032 to round out the event. Thewinners of the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor were KeturahLofton (Zanesville, Ohio) of the women’s track and field team andfencer Jason Rogers (Los Angeles, Calif.). Each member institutionin the conference gives the award annually to the male and femaleathletes in the graduating class who have attained the greatestproficiency in both academics and athletics. The Big Ten Conferenceoffice established the award in 1914 for men and an additionalaward for the top female was instituted in 1982. This honorincludes a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship.
Lofton, a three-time All-American and five-time All-Big Ten Conference honoree, was the 2004 Big Ten champion in the hammer throw (outdoor) and the weight throw (indoor) and is the current OSU record holder in both events. Lofton placed second in the weight throw at the 2006 indoor championships with her OSU all-time best toss and second in the 2006 outdoor conference championships in the hammer throw.
In addition to her athletic achievements, Lofton received her undergraduate degree in dental hygiene in 2005 and is working on a second degree in sociology. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten Conference recipient who obtained recognition on the Dean’s List, Lofton is a five-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
A member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team, Rogers also was a part of two OSU squads that finished second and third, respectively, at the 2005 and 2006 NCAA championships. Individually, Rogers was a bronze medalist at the 2002, ’03 and ’06 national championships.
Academically, Rogers is a three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and a 2006 Rhodes Scholarship finalist as a psychology major. Rogers earned second-team academic All-American honors in 2003 and followed his ’03 achievement with a first-team accolade in 2005.
Athletics Good Stuff
The Ohio State Department of Athletics held its annualScholar-Athlete Banquet Wednesday at the Greater ColumbusConvention Center to honor its student-athletes for their academicand athletic accomplishments. At the event, a number of seniorawards were given out, while 434 OSU Scholar-Athletes also wererecognized.
The winners of the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor were Keturah Lofton (Zanesville, Ohio) of the women’s track and field team and fencer Jason Rogers (Los Angeles, Calif.). Each member institution in the conference gives the award annually to the male and female athletes in the graduating class who have attained the greatest proficiency in both academics and athletics. The Big Ten Conference office established the award in 1914 for men and an additional award for the top female was instituted in 1982. This honor includes a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship.
The Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor male finalists were: Andrew Bender (men’s lacrosse/Wooster, Ohio), Boaz Ellis (men’s fencing/Zippori, Israel), Scott Green (men’s tennis/North Canton, Ohio) and Brian Olinger (cross country and men’s track and field/Fresno, Ohio). The female finalists were: Danielle Dietrich (women’s soccer/Cincinnati, Ohio), Carly Grimshaw (synchronized swimming/Markham, Ontario), Ninett Kossowsky (women’s rowing/Taucha, Germany), Beth Tompkins (women’s rowing/Westerville, Ohio).
Four student-athletes – Bender, Sarah Obee (rowing/Toledo, Ohio), Stephanie Raftery (synchronized swimming/Cincinnati, Ohio) and Brandon Schnittker (football/Sandusky, Ohio) – received the Corwin A. Fergus Memorial Award.
Grimshaw received the Leann Grimes-Davidge Award which is a tribute to Grimes-Davidge’s contributions to athletics at Ohio State.
Raftery received the M/I Homes Foundation Award, which has been awarded annually since 1976.
Drew May (men’s lacrosse/St. Louis, Mo.) received the Pierce Phoenix Award.
The newly established men’s Varsity O Scholarship was awarded to Todd Wojtkowski (Youngstown, Ohio) of the men’s tennis team.
Varsity O team awards included the men’s diving team and the women’s cross country team for the top GPA. The Most Improved Team GPAs were awarded to the men’s rifle team and the women’s pistol team.
The rowing team concluded the 2006 NCAA Championships Sunday bytaking fifth place in the standings with 52 points, the highestpoint total ever collected by the team. In theirseventh-consecutive national championship appearance, the Buckeyestied Washington State in points, but the Cougars placed fourth byfinishing one spot higher in the first varsity eight Grand Final totake the tie-breaker. This is the fourth Top 5 team finish by theBuckeyes, who also placed fifth in 2002 and was fourth in 2001 and2005. The NCAA championships were hosted by the Princeton NationalRowing Association and Rutgers University and held at a 2,000-metercourse on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. All three NCAAdivisions (I, II, and III) competed for their respective nationaltitles at the regatta.
Racing in all three Grand Finals for the first time in Ohio State history, the first varsity four recorded another team first by posting the highest Grand Final finish in any NCAA tournament race, placing third. The highest any Buckeye boat had previously finished was fourth in all three events. OSU’s second varsity eight tied its best finish with fourth place and the seventh-ranked first varsity eight boat placed fifth.
The track and field teams competed at the 2006 NCAA MideastRegional championships last weekend in Knoxville, Tenn. ThreeBuckeyes earned bids to the NCAA championship meet June 7-10 inSacramento, Calif., with Top 5 regional finishes. Senior BrianOlinger captured a regional title by taking first place in themen’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 8:45.18.
For the women, fellow senior Keturah Lofton earned her third trip to the NCAA outdoor meet with a runner-up mark of 204 feet, 7 inches in the women’s hammer. Junior sprinter Jenna Harris will join the pair of seniors in Sacramento. She gained a berth at nationals with a fifth-place time of 23.60.
Women’s lacrosse KC Carter has been named a second-teamWest/Midwest All-Region selection by the Intercollegiate Women’sLacrosse Coaches Association. She was one of 128 players honored bythe IWLCA. Carter, an American Lacrosse Conference first teamselection, started all 16 games for the Buckeyes this season. Sherecorded team-highs of 28 goals, 32 points, 25 ground balls, 34draw controls and 12 caused turnovers and added four assists forOhio State. Junior third baseman Ronnie Bourquin was named Big TenBaseball Player of the Year and starting pitcher/utility playerJ.B. Shuck was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Bourquin, thefourth Buckeye to earn player of the year honors, also was aunanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection, while Shuck, theschool’s ninth freshman of the year, was named to the second team.Sophomore outfielder Matt Angle also was a unanimous first-teamselection, while junior left-handed starting pitcher Dan DeLuciaand junior second baseman Jason Zoeller also garnered first-teammention. Joining Shuck on the second team were senior shortstopJedidiah Stephen and sophomore catcher Eric Fryer. Junioroutfielder Jacob Howell and sophomore left-handed pitcher CoryLuebke each were named to third-team All-Big Ten selections. OhioState concluded its season last week by going 2-2 to finish thirdin the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes beat Purdue 2-1 andNorthwestern (9-0) before sustaining setbacks to Minnesota (7-3)and Michigan (3-2). The Major League First-Year Player Draft willbe held Tuesday and Wednesday (June 6-7). The National Golf CoachesAssociation named women’s golfer Brittany Adams an AcademicAll-American at its annual banquet May 26. The banquet, held inColumbus, Ohio, following the 2006 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships,honored women’s golfers for their athletic and academic success.Adams competed in 24 rounds for the Buckeyes, traveling to eightinvitationals during the season. She recorded a season-low 73 atthe Lady Buckeye Invitational April 22. She traveled to her secondBig Ten championships April 28-30, helping Ohio State earn asecond-place finish. A biology major, Adams was recognized afterearning a 3.5 or above grade point average as well as athleticachievements throughout the season. She recently earned her fourthOSU Scholar-Athlete award. Assistant wrestling coach Tommy Rowlandsand volunteer assistant coach Joe Heskett qualified for the U.S.World Team Sunday after finishing third in the 2006 World TeamTrials at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Buckeyejunior J.D. Bergman finished fourth. The Top 3 finishers in eachweight class qualified.
Buckeye assistant Lou Rosselli also was at the tournament, as he is one of the 2006 U.S. Freestyle World Team coaches.
The first tournament for the U.S. squad will be the 2006 World Championships Sept. 26-Oct. 2 in Guangzhou, China.
Junior men’s golfer Colin Biles earned Ping All-Midwest Regionhonors after leading the Buckeyes in scoring average (73.5) androunds played (40) this season. The Columbus, Ohio, native also wasa second team All-Big Ten honoree. He represented Ohio State at theNCAA Central Regional earlier this month in Chardon, Ohio, where hefinished tied for 56th individually. Men’s lacrosse seniormidfielder Andrew Bender was part of the winning Division I-IIsquad at the 65th annual North/South Senior All-Star Game,presented by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Associationand STX Lacrosse, last Friday in Villanova, Pa. The Division I-IIsquad downed the Division III team, 17-6.
Bender scored twice in the game. He scored the third goal of the contest, as his squad jumped out to a 5-0 first-quarter lead. He also tallied with four seconds remaining in the third quarter. Bender had four shots and two groundballs in the game.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Wednesday, June 7 – Sunday, June 25
Wednesday, June 7
Track and Field at NCAA Championships
Sacramento, Calif.
Thursday, June 8
Track and Field at NCAA Championships
Sacramento, Calif.
Friday, June 9
Track and Field at NCAA Championships
Sacramento, Calif.
Saturday, June 10
Track and Field at NCAA Championships
Sacramento, Calif.
Thursday, June 22
Track and Field at USATF Championships
Indianapolis, Ind.
Friday, June 23
Track and Field at USATF Championships
Indianapolis, Ind.
Saturday, June 24
Track and Field at USATF Championships
Indianapolis, Ind.
Sunday, June 25
Track and Field at USATF Championships
Indianapolis, Ind.
