Nation’s Best Await Buckeyes at Pre-Nationals – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s cross country team will get its first look at some of the nation’s top teams this Saturday when it heads to Terre Haute, Ind., for the 2009 Indiana State University Pre-Nationals.
Saturday’s 8k race not only allows a chance to scout some of the country’s top teams, but also the host course for the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships – Indiana State’s LaVern Gibson Champions Course is widely regarded as one of the most grueling 8,000-meters in the United States.
Competing in the white division, the Buckeyes will be tested by nine of the Top 30 teams nationally, including top-ranked Stanford, No. 4 Colorado and No. 6 BYU. The Cardinal are a four-time national champion, while the Buffaloes won their last national championship in 2006.
Fortunately for the Scarlet and Gray, No. 2 runner Taylor Williams returns this weekend after sitting out at the All-Ohio Championships with patella tendinitis. Ohio State’s Top 12 runners will all be in action this weekend at ISU.
Action gets underway at 11:00 a.m. EST with the men’s blue division race, followed by the white division and the Buckeyes at 11:40. A complete recap will follow after the contest on www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Top 30 Teams in the White Division
No. 1 Stanford
No. 4 Colorado
No. 6 BYU
No. 12 Iona
No. 18 Iowa State
No. 19 Arizona State
No. 21 New Mexico
No. 28 Florida State
No. 30 Minnesota
Buckeyes Fifth in USTFCCCA Regional Rankings
Ohio State dropped to No. 5 in the Oct. 13 Great Lakes regional rankings by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), a one-spot decline for the Scarlet and Gray. No. 13 Wisconsin remains the top-ranked team in the Great Lakes, followed by No. 19 Butler in second-place. No. 17 Indiana cracked the Top 3 for the first time this season, overtaking Big Ten rival Michigan, currently ranked fourth. In all, six Big Ten teams are represented in the Top 14.
Former All-American Olinger Added to Coaching Staff
Brian Olinger joined the Ohio State staff in August 2009 as a volunteer distance coach for both cross country and track and field.
A constant threat on the national stage, Olinger is one of the top American athletes in distance events, specializing in the 3000m steeplechase, in which he owns a personal record time of 8:19.56. Olinger has competed on some of track and field’s biggest stages, including the 2009 USATF Championships, the 2009 USA 7 Mile Challenge and the 2008 Olympic Trials.
During his four years in Columbus, Olinger was a five-time All-American, competing in five NCAA championship races while winning the 2004 Big Ten title in the 5000m (14:09.80). In June 2005, Olinger became just the second American collegiate athlete to break the 8:20 mark in the 3000m steeple at the KBC Night of Athletes in Heusden, Belgium.
“Brian is a great illustration of what you can accomplish when you get out with the team daily and put your best effort into getting better,” head coach Robert Gary said of Olinger. “He is a great role model for out student-athletes because he overcame struggles in our program and became an outstanding runner — I expect him to be a huge asset to our cross country and track teams because of this.”
Head coach Robert Gary
Robert Gary is in his fourth season as the head men’s track and field coach and his 13th coaching the cross country team at Ohio State.
Gary ended a decorated running career in 2005. In 2004, he became the fifth former Buckeye to gain a bid to two separate U.S. Olympic teams and continued running by making the finals for the 11th-straight year at the 2005 USA Nationals.
A 1996 participant at the Atlanta Games, Gary placed second in the men’s steeplechase at the Olympic Trials with a career-best 8:19.46. Eight years later, his third-place finish at the trials gained an automatic bid on the U.S. team headed to Athens, Greece for the 2004 Olympic Games.
Gary also earned honors as a cross country athlete, winning the 2004 Track and Field News Cross Country Runner of the Year. He qualified for the U.S. team for the second-straight season in both the four-kilometer and 12-kilometer events and finished as the top American at the 2004 World Championships in the 4k. Gary’s 2004 qualification to the world championships in two events marked the first time a U.S. runner made both teams in consecutive years and moved his tally to 11 national cross country teams qualified for.
In 2003, Gary qualified for his sixth United States world cross country team by winning the 2003 U.S. 4-kilometer Cross Country Championship in Houston, Texas. That same year, he claimed a third-place standing in the steeplechase at the USATF championships in June with a time of 8:24.82. Gary ended the year by representing the U.S. at the 2003 Outdoor World Championship en route to earning a No. 3 ranking by Track and Field News. During the 2002 outdoor campaign, Gary ran the fourth-fastest time by an American in the 3000-meter steeplechase. As a result of his performance, Gary was ranked among the Top 10 in the U.S. for the seventh-straight year.
As a student-athlete at Ohio State from 1992-1995, Gary was a six-event All-American, winning the Big Ten 3000m steeplechase outdoor title in 1994, where he set the Ohio State and Big Ten record in the event. He was a three-time All-Big Ten selection and member of three Big Ten champion teams (1992 outdoor, and 1993 indoor and outdoor).
Along with his numerous accolades in cross country and track, Gary has established himself as one of the nation’s elite coaches. Former Buckeye greats Rob Myers (1500m), Dan Huling (steeplechase) and Brian Olinger (steeplechase) along with current Buckeye Jeff See (1500m) trained under Gary while preparing for the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. Myers, Huling and Olinger advanced to the finals of their events before coming up short while See – just a sophomore at the time – missed the finals by one spot. Gary was selected to be an assistant coach for Team USA’s U23 team in July 2008 at the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) meet in Toluca, Mexico. Joining him was See, who competed in the 1500m run. Myers and Huling finished the year having run the second-fastest times by an American in their respective events. At the 2009 USATF Championships, two former (Olinger and Huling) and one current Buckeye (See) qualified for final day competition, with Huling making the USA track and field team after a second-place finish in 8:32.86. In Sept. 2009, Huling ran the sixth-best steeplechase in U.S. history, finishing fourth at the Brussels Golden League in 8:14.69 while shattering the previous American-best time in 2009 by more than seven seconds.
Coach Gary’s student-athletes are known nationally for their work in the classroom – 18 members of the 2009 track and field team were named Academic All-Big Ten, while five members of the cross country team claimed the honor. The cross country team was named 2009 Division I All-Academic for the eighth straight season.
A recent inductee into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame, Gary received a degree in English education from Ohio State in the fall of 1996.
Last Time Out
Jeff See crossed the finish line in an 8k time of 26:07.9, leading the Ohio State men’s cross country team to a first-place finish at the 2009 All-Ohio Championships Oct 2.
The Buckeyes placed five runners in the Top 10, dominating two-time defending champion Malone 28-76 for their first title at the All-Ohio since 2006. It was the 11th win all-time for the Scarlet and Gray at the All-Ohio meet.
Ohio State ran in a tight pack for most of the muddy 8000 meters, before See and sophomore Adam Green (3rd in 26:23.1) broke away to challenge Cincinnati’s Eric Finan. See beat out the UC sophomore at the finish line by more than 12 seconds.
A pair of freshmen followed closely behind Green – Julian Meyer finished sixth in 26:33.4, followed by Donny Roys, who took eighth in (26:44.3). Christopher Olinger was the fifth Buckeye to complete the course, as the senior claimed 10th in 26:51.9. Rounding out scoring for the Scarlet and Gray were freshman Cory Leslie (27:40.3) and junior Chad Balyo (27:46.9).
Up Next
Ohio State competes Friday Oct. 23 at the Eastern Michigan Tune-up in Dexter, Mich.
