Women’s T&F: Seven Buckeyes Named All-Big Ten; Five on First Team – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State women’s track and field team collected postseason awards following the 2008 Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Champaign Ill., last weekend. Five Buckeyes took home first-team honors and two were named to the second team.
“The women who were named first- and second-team all-conference really worked hard individually and together to earn this distinction,” head coach Karen Dennis said. “Obviously we are proud to have so many represented. Seniors Veronica Jatsek, Jenna Griffin and Chandra Krempel worked hard to bring this team back to respectability. Their leadership motivated, encouraged and challenged younger team members to the importance of working hard to compete at the highest level. Coaches teach, but it’s not worth a point if you don’t have player coaches among your squad.”
Jenna Griffin, who won the Big Ten Medal of Honor Wednesday evening, earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as one of the standouts of the championships, claiming the fourth and fifth Big Ten titles of her career over the weekend. Griffin won the Big Ten title with a career best in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.46. With that mark Griffin now holds three of the Top 6 times all-time at Ohio State in the 100-meter dash. Griffin recaptured the title she originally won in 2005 as a sophomore. She has two other Big Ten titles in the 60-meter dash. The mark ranks her 12th in the Mideast Region. Griffin is the first Buckeye to win multiple titles in one championship since Rosalind Goodwin did so in 2005 (long jump and triple jump) – For the championships Griffin, either individually or as part of a relay team, scored 36 points for the Buckeyes.
“This is my fifth year, so it was very important to me to go out with a bang,” Griffin said. “I was very happy that I accomplished that goal.”
Griffin, along with Letecia Wright, Bever-Leigh Holloway and Ayrizanna Favours made history setting a school record in the 4×100-meter relay. The team posted a the record with a time of 44.51 in the preliminary round of the 4x100m — a facility record — and then took the title the next day with a time 44.63. The Big Ten title is the first for Wright, Holloway and Favours and the fifth for Griffin. The 4×100-meter relay title is the first in Ohio State history and the time of 44.51 is currently ranked 10th in the Mideast Region.
A year after setting the Big Ten meet record in the hammer throw, Veronica Jatsek put on a dominating performance in her final Big Ten meet. Jatsek won the title in the hammer throw for the second-consecutive season with a toss of 203 feet, 6 inches. This toss bested the field by 20 feet, 4 inches. Jatsek now holds three Big Ten titles for her career and is looking for her fourth All-American honor. Jatsek currently holds the 15th-best toss in the country this season and the third-best toss in the Mideast Region. Jatsek took fourth in the shot put with regional qualifying toss of 50 feet 5 1/4 inches. Jatsek had 15 of Ohio State’s points for the championships.
“It feels good to bring it home one more time as a senior,” Jatsek said. “Last year I pointed to Big Ten’s. This year I’m hoping to stretch that out to regional or the NCAA championships. It still feels good to come out on top. Every throw started to feel a little bit better, but it still wasn’t going anywhere. On my last throw, my older brother said `You’re letting the ball get a little bit ahead of you’ and told me to relax and have fun. It turned out to be my best throw by over a meter.”
Earning second-team All-Big Ten honors were Chandra Krempel and Ashley Caldwell as members of the second-place 4×400-meter relay team that along with Griffin and Favours, finished with a time of 3:37.24. The time qualifies them for the NCAA Mideast Regional championships and ranks 10th in the region and 35th in the nation. The same team holds the indoor 4×400-meter relay record.
The Buckeye will not compete this week but will be back in action at the 2008 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Fayetteville Ark., May 30-31.
