Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
Athletics
The Ohio State Varsity “O” Association named the 12 members July 9 who will be inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame the weekend of Sept. 5-6.
The 2008 class includes: Men Drew Durbin (gymnastics), John Edwards (baseball), Bobby Hoying (football), Fred Keller (lacrosse and soccer), Bob Todd (baseball coach) and Jeff Uhlenhake (football); Women Krista Keir (track and field), Amy Langhals (golf), Maxi Meissner (rowing), Megan Mirick (lacrosse), Carolina Moraes (synchronized swimming) and Isabela Moraes (synchronized swimming).
In all, 82 women have been inducted since 1993 and 233 men have been honored since 1977.
Baseball
Head Coach: Bob Todd
Ohio State sophomore Drew Rucinski was named one of the Valley Baseball League’s Pitchers of the Week July 8. Playing for the Luray (Va.) Wranglers, Rucinski did not allow a run in 7.0 innings pitched during the prior week.
Men’s Basketball
Head Coach: Thad Matta
Brandon Miller, one of the most successful players in Butler basketball history, returned to the Buckeyes as an assistant men’s basketball coach, Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach, announced July 8. Miller returns to Columbus after spending one season at his alma mater as an assistant coach and three seasons on Matta’s Ohio State staff (2005-2007).
Junior David Lighty will hold a live online chat from 3-3:30 p.m. Thursday to answer fans’ questions. Fans may access the online chat on the live events page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Football
Head Coach: Jim Tressel
Six Buckeyes were listed among the top offensive and defensive players to watch this season in college football on the 2008 Watch Lists for the 72nd Maxwell Award and the 14th Chuck Bednarik Award June 30.
The Maxwell Award has been presented to the outstanding collegiate football player in America since 1937. Named to the Maxwell watch list is senior quarterback Todd Boeckman, senior wide receiver Brian Robiskie and junior running back Chris Wells.
Senior linebackers Marcus Freeman and James Laurinaitis joined senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins on the Bednarik watch list which has been presented since 1995.
Jenkins also made the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award preseason “watch list” which includes 40 of the nation’s best defensive backs July 8. The Thorpe Award is one of college football’s most sought after and prestigious awards.
Robiskie was honored July 6 by the Columbus City Council. Council member Hearcel Craig presented a resolution commending Robiskie, an honors student in marketing, for his recognition as one of three national finalists for the Arthur Ashe Sports Scholars Award, a first for an Ohio State student-athlete.
Head coach Jim Tressel released his new book, The Winners Manual, July 15. Co-written with Chris Fabry, The Winners Manual provides a rare glimpse into the mind of one of the most respected coaches in college football history and into the huddle of one of the most successful football programs of all time.
Women’s Golf
Head Coach: Therese Hession
Buckeyes Jennifer Cassidy and In Hong Lim, were named All-American Scholars by the National Golf Coaches Association July 7. Cassidy earned the award for the second-consecutive season while Lim received the honor after completing her freshman season. Criteria for the award include a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average and playing in 50 percent of the team’s competitive rounds.
Women’s Gymnastics
Head Coach: Carey Fagan
Carey Fagan has appointed Meredith Hoover, a former Penn State gymnast (2003-06) and Dublin, Ohio, native, to the Buckeyes’ coaching staff. Hoover completes the coaching staff that includes assistant Bill Lorenz and Fagan.
A three-time co-captain for the Nittany Lions, Hoover earned All-Big Ten honors three times, including first-team laurels in 2005 and 2006. She graduated with a degree in communications from Penn State in 2006 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Penn.
Men’s Lacrosse
Head Coach: Nick Myers
Nick Myers was hired as the Ohio State men’s lacrosse head coach July 10. Myers spent the last three seasons as the head assistant coach for the Buckeyes. Myers has spent five seasons on the Ohio State coaching staff. He began his coaching career as the volunteer assistant for the Buckeyes for two seasons (2002, ’03) before rejoining the Ohio State staff as the head assistant for the 2005 campaign. He also spent two years (2004, ’05) as the top assistant coach at Butler. Myers replaces Joe Breschi, who left Ohio State to become the head coach at his alma mater, North Carolina.
The Buckeye lacrosse program will join the ECAC Lacrosse League for the 2009-10 season announced July 9. Ohio State and other current Great Western Lacrosse League schools Air Force, Bellarmine, Denver and Quinnipiac, will join existing members Fairfield, Hobart and Loyola to form one of the top lacrosse conferences in the country.
Junior-to-be James Green helped the United States claimed its sixth consecutive International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) U-19 World Championship with a 19-12 victory over Canada July 12.
Rifle
Head Coach: Pat Cherry
James Clark finished 13th in the 10-meter men’s air rifle competition at the 2008 USA Shooting National Championships (June 29-30) held at Ft. Benning’s International Shooting Complex in Columbus, Ga. He shot a 1,261.1 total in the competition and was the High A/B scorer in the competition with a 1,162.
In the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) National Service Rifle Rankings, Clark is currently ranked first in the Junior Northeast Region with a 1.0046 ranking and is third nationally. In the National Service Rifle Open rankings he ranks 87th. National rankings list the top 100 competitors according to ratings based on scores fired in CMP sanctioned events during the previous two years.
Synchronized Swimming
Head Coach: Linda Lichter-Witter
Buckeyes Jayme DeLancy, Barbara Nesbitt, Hannah Shively and Michelle Theriault helped the U.S. National Team II squad to a silver medal in the team routine at the 2008 Swiss Open in Zurich, Switzerland, held July 2-6. In addition to competing in the team event, Nesbitt also finished fourth in the solo with a score of 87.334.
Men’s Swimming
Head Coach: Bill Wadley
Jess Book, a three-time Academic All-American and All-American distance swimmer who helped Kenyon College win four Division III NCAA championships between 1998-2001, joined men’s swimming head coach Bill Wadley’s staff as a full-time assistant coach July 8.
Book, who graduated magna cum laude from Kenyon in 2001 with a degree in English and biology, returns to Ohio State after spending the past year as an assistant men’s and women’s swimming coach and admissions counselor at his alma mater. Book was a volunteer assistant men’s coach at Ohio State from 2005-07 while he was working on his master’s degree in sport and exercise studies, which he earned in 2007.
Men’s Tennis
Head Coach: Ty Tucker
Bryan Koniecko advanced to his second Futures tournament final June 12 in Peoria, Ill. Koniecko dropped a 7-6 (7), 6-2 decision to Jean-Yves Aubone. Earlier in the summer, Koniecko and Buckeye teammate Justin Kronauge advanced to the doubles final of the Buffalo Bills Future in Rochester, N.Y. En route to his finals appearance in Peoria, Koniecko won four-consecutive matches, which included three straight-set wins.
Steven Moneke, a native of Alten-Busick, Germany, survived the qualifying draw of 64 to compete in the field of 32 in the main draw of the Germany F8 Bitburger Tennis Grand Prix in Trier, Germany, June 23-29. Moneke then won back-to-back clay court matches before losing in the quarterfinals to No. 3-seed Jorge Aguilar of Chile 7-5, 6-3.
Balazs Novak, who hails from Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, made it through the 64-field qualifying round to compete in the 32-player main draw of a F2 tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, June 23-29. Novak met wildcard participant Marko Djokovic of Serbia in the first round of the clay event and dropped a 6-4, 7-6 (2) decision.
Men’s Track and Field
Head Coach: Robert Gary
Dan Taylor, a nine-time All-American thrower at Ohio State from 2001-04, came up 3.5 inches short of qualifying for a spot on Team USA at this year’s Beijing Olympics June 28 at the U.S. Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Ore. Taylor ended fourth with 20.80m/68-3, just 3.5 inches away from Beijing. Taylor, the 2004 NCAA Indoor shot put and weight throw champion, was the first student-athlete ever to win the NCAA Division I Indoor shot put and weight throw championships in the same year.
Two former Buckeyes made it to the final day of competition at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials. Joel Brown’s Olympic campaign ended July 6 after he placed 12th in the 110 hurdles with a time of 13:40. Brown had advanced to the semifinals running the event in a time of 13:49 in the quarterfinals July 5.
Rob Myers’ bid for Beijing also ended July 6 with his ninth-place finish in the 1,500-meter race. Myers took ninth with a time of 3:42.62.
Former Buckeye standout Brian Olinger had a seventh-place finish (8:36.09) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to end his bid for the U.S. Olympic team July 5. Olinger got off to a great start as he separated himself from the pack with two laps remaining. However, he could not hold off a hard charge by William Nelson and Joshua McAdams in the final laps.
Women’s Track and Field
Head Coach: Karen Dennis
Former Buckeye Keturah Lofton’s campaign came up short in the women’s hammer throw finals at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in Eugene, Ore. Her best toss of 215-02 registered in around 10 feet shy of qualifying for Beijing.
Wrestling
Head Coach: Tom Ryan
Reece Humphrey won a silver medal Thursday night for the U.S. freestyle team at the University World Championships. Humphrey dropped a 0-1, 4-0, 0-1 decision to Shigeti of Japan in the freestyle finals at 60 kg/132 lbs. Humphrey knocked off past Junior World champion Kaziev of Russia in his first match en route to the finals.
