Women’s T&F Heads to Big Ten/SEC Challenge – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State women’s track and field team travels to Bloomington, Ind., Saturday to compete in the Big Ten Southeastern Conference challenge.
BIG TEN SEC CHALLENGE
Days: Saturday 11 a.m. 3:30 p.m.
Venue: Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse
Meet Information: www.iuhoosiers.com
LAST WEEK
Friday – Ohio State opened its 2008 indoor season last Friday inside Nutter Field House on the campus of the University of Kentucky.
Senior Veronica Jatsek won her first weight throw event of the season with a toss of 67 feet, 11 inches topping the field by almost eight feet. The toss by Jatsek has provisionally qualifiers her for the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Last season, Jatsek was an All-American in the weight throw, joining her brother and fellow Buckeye Lenny as an All-American.
Sophomore Ashley Bowden also competed for Ohio State and finished 15th in the pole vault with a jump of 10 feet, 6 inches.
Saturday – On the track, junior Ayrizanna Favours took fourth place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.36. Freshman Letecia Wright grabbed fifth-place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.65. In the 400m , sophomore Ashley Caldwell took tenth in a time o 57.34. In the 4×400-meter relay Ohio State took fifth in a time of 3:48.79.
In the field freshman Chelsea James took fifth in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 4 1/4 inches. In the long jump fellow freshman Alana Gray took fifth with a mark of 18 feet, 5 inches.
2008 SEASON OUTLOOK
The core of a young 2007 roster returns for the 2008 version of the Ohio State women’s track and field team. In 2008, second-year head coach Karen Dennis will mix in a collection of untested talent with three returning All-Big Ten performers, a pair of All-Americans and a record-setting 4×400-meter relay team.
“Our goal as a staff was to recruit around the talent we currently had on our roster,” Dennis said. “We have made improvements in the areas of increasing our depth as well as our team diversity. We are looking forward to the addition of incoming talent blending with the fine returning group of student athletes on our team.”
Senior All-Americans Jenna Griffin, formerly Jenna Harris, and Veronica Jatsek join junior Ayrizanna Favours as the undoubted leaders of the team. Harris has consistently ranked as one of the top sprinters in the Big Ten, owning three sprint titles in the last three seasons. In 2007, she displayed her versatility, winning the Big Ten 60-meter dash and then claiming All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 400 meters. She shattered the Ohio State indoor 400m record en route to her first All-American award.
Jatsek doubled as an All-American recipient in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. She was an All-American in the indoor weight after a second-place Big Ten finish in the event. Outdoors, she set the conference meet record on her way to earning the league title in the hammer. She added a seventh-place national finish a month later in the weight.
Favours has established herself as a contender at the conference level and now is on the doorstep of becoming one of the top 200-meter runners in the nation in her junior campaign. Last season, she was an all-conference performer in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
“Our upper classmen are the backbone of our team. They bring to the program leadership and excellence both on and off the track. As a team, individuals often feed off the strength of others,” Dennis said. ”That is what Jenna, Veronica, Ayrizanna and Chandra Krempel do best; they provide outstanding examples of what is expected to win. They have also been known to get in your face if you fail to uphold their team expectations. As a coach I appreciate that quality of commitment exemplified by student leaders in the athletic arena. Athletes on our team respect their peers.”
Favours and Harris were contributors to Ohio State’s record-setting 4×400-meter relay team that topped the program’s all-time mark indoors in 2007. Ashley Caldwell and Ashley Jones were part of that team as freshman. Junior Chandra Krempel also spent time on the 4x400m team the last two seasons.
“Our relays should be a lot of fun this year. With the incoming frosh Letecia Wright, Betheny Swanson and the return of redshirt frosh Saryna Ferguson we should be strong in every relay we put on the track from the short relays to the distance medley relays,” Dennis said. “When our relays are winning they give the entire team an exciting way to either start the meet, or end the day.”
In the field, Ashley Riehm comes off a redshirt season to add strength to the throws squad. Ohio State finds itself thin in experience in the jumps area. Jessica Stringer, a three-time Big Ten high jump champion, completed her career in 2007, as did Veronica Vance, one of the top triple jumpers in the conference. Rashana Lord will look to pick up where Vance left off in the horizontal jumps. Kim Willet will seek to break her own pole vault record in her senior season.
“We will have a young field group, however a talented group. Laura Allred will step into big shoes left by Jessica Stringer in the high jump, and Alana Gray, Chelsea James and Ashley Davis will be an exciting addition to the jumps and multi event areas,” Dennis said. “We also have some young throwers in Courtney Krempel, Molly Creamer and Aleese Lewis. Beth Bionca will join us in the pole vault area. It will take time for all of them to adapt to our level of competition, but they are smart and eager to learn.“
The distance area welcomes back several veteran runners, led by senior Laura Piper. Sarah Foster, Lydia Kern, Katie Koehler, Kelly Schwieterman, Rachel Stitchter and Emily Thompson will look to build upon their freshman seasons.
SCHEDULE
The indoor schedule started last weekend Jan. 11-12 at Kentucky for the Rod McCravy Memorial and continues this Saturday as the Buckeyes travel to Indiana University for the Big Ten SEC Challenge in Bloomington, Ind. The Buckeyes head back to Bloomington for the second week in a row for the Indiana Relays Jan. 25-26.
Several Buckeyes will step onto the national scene the next week at the New Balance/ New York Armory meet in New York City Feb. 8-9, while others will remain in the state of Ohio the prior week, traveling to the Akron Invitational Feb. 1-2.
Ohio State will return to Columbus to play host to its only home meet of the season, the Buckeye Invitational Feb. 16. The postseason begins March 1 with first-day action at the 2007 Big Ten Indoor Championships in Minneapolis.
After a short break, Ohio State will reconvene for the outdoor season, starting April 3-6 at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas. The Buckeyes will remain in the west April 10-13 at the Mt. Sac Relays in Big Walnut, Calif.
For the second-consecutive season, the All-Ohio Championships will be contested in Cincinnati. The 2008 version will be contested April 18-19. Similar to the indoor season, Ohio State will run in a meet at the site of the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships June 4-7 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The Buckeyes will tune up at the Drake Relays April 24-26.
The outdoor regular season concludes with Ohio State’s only home meet, the 24th running of the Jesse Owens Classic May 2-3 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The meet highlights athletes from all levels, including high school, collegiate, post-collegiate and professional, and has a history of featuring future Olympic hopefuls.
The 2008 Big Ten Outdoor Championships are slated for Champaign, Ill., May 15-18 before the Buckeyes return to Fayetteville for the 2008 NCAA Mideast Regional meet.
BUCKEYES GRAB 2007 POST-SEASON HONORS
Ayrizanna Favours and Veronica Jatsek, members of the Ohio State women’s track and field team, received their 2007 All-Big Ten honors from the league office May 16, 2007. Jatsek set an outdoor conference meet record in winning the hammer championship, while Favours raced to a runner-up time in the 200-meter dash.
Jatsek, from Walton Hills, Ohio, extended to 208 feet, 2 inches for her first career Big Ten title and Ohio State’s second league hammer crown in the last four seasons. Jatsek’s heave bested the meet record held by former Buckeye Keturah Lofton, who won the 2004 conference title with a distance of 200-7. Jatsek’s mark rates second in the Mideast region. All-time at Ohio State, Jatsek’s heave stands second to Lofton’s 209-0 3/4 mark set last season.
Jatsek also garnered Ohio State’s Big Ten Sportsmanship award. Her brother, Lenny Jatsek, was named Ohio State’s Sportsmanship honoree on the men’s side as well. Lenny placed in the Top 5 in a pair of events at the outdoor championships last weekend. In the 2007 indoor season, he successfully defended his weight throw conference crown.
Favours, from Columbus Eastmoor Academy, clocked a season-best time of 23.71 to cross the finish line in second place in the 200m and earn her second-team honor. Favours also was a second-team award winner at the 2007 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
JATSEK WINS FIRST CROWN
Her brother, Lenny Jatsek, has a pair of Big Ten titles in the men’s weight. Now, Veronica Jatsek has a league crown of her own. A second-place finisher in the weight at the 2007 indoor conference meet, she followed Lenny’s footsteps in becoming an All-American in the event at the 2007 NCAA Indoor meet. Veronica posted the top hammer mark in the conference during the regular season at 201-9 1/4, nearly 7 feet better than the No. 2-rated hammer mark.
Jatsek won the Big Ten hammer crown with a meet record toss of 208 feet 2 inches. That is the second-best in Ohio State history and the second-best toss in the Mideast regional.
NOT DOING HER COMPETITION ANY FAVOURS
Aryrizanna Favours is one of the most versatile sprinters in the Big Ten this season and ranked seventh or better in three events last season. Heading into the Big Ten championships she rated fourth in the conference in the 400m with a top time of 54.32, set April 21 of last season. She also is ranked sixth in the 200m (24.16/ May 5) and seventh in the 100m (11.9/ May 5).
The Columbus native also anchors the women’s 4×100-meter relay and helped the Buckeyes set a season-best of 47.20 at the Jesse Owens Classic May 5.
Favours recently scored 26 team points for the Buckeyes at the All-Ohio Championships. She did it with wins in the 200m and 400m dashes, and a fourth-place finish in the 100m.
Favours is making a name for herself as one of the best sprinters in Ohio State history. With her time at the 2007 Big Ten Outdoor Championships Favours now also holds the fifth-best time in Ohio State history in the 200-meter dash (23.71). Favours is still after the school record held by Donica Merriman of 23.02 set in 1999. She currently holds two of the top five times in Ohio State history in the indoor 400m (3rd-53.47, T4th-54.14). Favours has also been a member of the last three 4×400-meter relays teams to break the indoor school record (2006-3:39.95; 2007-Armory-3:39.77; 2007-Sykes-Sabock-3:38.63).
HARRIS, JATSEK SCORE ALL-AMERICA HONORS AT INDOOR NATIONALS
Ohio State had two student-athletes earn All-American honors at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships March 10. Jenna Harris finished eighth in the 400m dash final in a time of 53.31.
In field events, junior Veronica Jatsek placed seventh in the weight throw to earn her first All-America honor at a distance of 66-9 3/4.
THE JATSEK’S: ALL-AMERICAN SIBLINGS
A year after her brother, Lenny Jatsek, captured All-America honors by finishing 13th in the weight throw at the 2006 NCAA indoor meet, Veronica Jatsek added another national award to the family. Veronica, competing in her first NCAA championships, placed seventh in the weight throw to earn her first All-America honor at a distance of 66-9 3/4.
HARRIS SHATTERS OSU 400-METER MARK
Jenna Harris, running in just her third 400m event of the 2007 season, established a program record in advancing to the national final in the event at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships. Harris clocked a time of 52.74 to place fourth in the preliminary round. That mark snapped a 24-year old OSU standard set by 1988 U.S. Olympian Diane Dixon, who set the record at 53.17 Feb. 19, 1983. In the final, Harris took eighth (53.31).
JATSEK RETURNS TO DEFEND 2007 HONOR
The Big Ten announced its all-conference teams following the 2007 Women’s Indoor Championships in Champagne, Ill. Ohio State had two of the team’s top competitors honored.
Junior Veronica Jatsek was named second team All-Big Ten with her second-place finish in the weight throw. Jatsek’s toss of 68-5 3/4 is the fourth-best in Ohio State history and a season-best. It is an NCAA provisional qualifying toss and sixth-best in the country this season. Jatsek had the best throw by a non-senior by 12-11 1/4. It is Jatsek’s first Big Ten postseason award. Jatsek’s brother, Lenny, also took Big Ten honors in the weight throw after winning the league title in the men’s event. It is the first time that a brother-sister combination has taken All-Big Ten honors in the same year since Tonya and Tyrone Williams of Illinois were both on the All-Big Ten team in 1995.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will take a week-off and will then head to Akron, Ohio for the Akron invitational on Feb. 1.
