Ohio State Looking for Big Ten Sweep at 2011 Outdoor Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s track and field team is heading to Iowa this weekend for the 2011 Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
The Buckeyes won the Big Ten indoor championships this season for the first time in program history in February and are looking to follow up that victory with another crown at the outdoor championships. A win in the outdoor championships would also be Ohio State’s first.
Championship Basics
Days: Friday, May 13 (Noon – 10:15 p.m. ET); Saturday, May 14 (10:30 a.m. – 7:45 p.m. ET); Sunday, May 15 (Noon – 4:45 p.m. ET)
Venue: Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track – Iowa City, Iowa
Television: The Big Ten Network will televise the Big Ten championships on a tape-delayed basis on May 22 at 1 p.m. ET. Tom Werme, Craig Virgin, Rebecca Haarlow and Kara Lentz will call the action.
Buckeyes to Watch
Letecia Wright – Wright is looking to finish out her senior season with Big Ten titles in the 100m hurdles and 4x100m relay. The All-American’s 100m hurdles time of 12.87 is the top time in the conference this season and the fourth best in the nation. The Baltimore, Md., native is expected to be in contention for the top spot and improve on her third-place finish at last season’s Big Ten meet. Wright’s best performance on the season was at the 102nd Drake Relays where she ran her top 100m hurdles time, shattering the 10-year-old Drake Relays record and win the Drake event for the second consecutive year.
Christina Manning – The All-American won the conference title in the 60m hurdles at the Big Ten indoor championships this season, paving the way for Athlete of the Championship honors. This outdoor season Manning has been running well in the 100m dash and the 100m hurdles. The Waldorf, Md., native sits atop the leader board in the Big Ten in the 100m dash with a time of 11.58. The second-best time in the 100m hurdles in the conference also belongs to Manning as she looks to improve on that 12.97 to compete for the win.
Madison McNary – McNary is in her first season as a Buckeye after transferring from the University of Florida. At the Big Ten indoor championships she claimed first in the 60m dash after upsetting 12-time Big Ten champion and All-American Shavon Greaves of Penn State. The Tarpon Springs, Fla., native ran the 200m dash in 23.66 at the Jim Click Shootout early in the outdoor season. This time still stands as the fastest in the Big Ten. McNary hopes to stay on top and win the title in 200m dash.
Ashley Galbraith -The junior has enjoyed an impressive outdoor season in the high jump. At the Jim Click Shootout Galbraith cleared the bar for a personal-best mark of 1.80m (5-10.75). That has since stood as the No. 1 mark in the Big Ten and 13th best in the nation this season. Last season the Struthers, Ohio native finished the Big Ten championships with a bronze medal in the high jump and she is preparing to better that finish this season.
Kelcey McKinney – Also representing the Scarlet and Gray atop the Big Ten leader board is McKinney in the triple jump. The Dayton, Ohio native leaped 12.77m (41-10.75) at the 102nd Drake Relays to set a new personal-best mark. That mark is first in the conference and No. 33 in the nation. After finishing fourth in the triple jump at last season’s Big Ten championships the junior is again in contention for the win this season.
Scouting the Big Ten
Although no Big Ten school is in the Top 25, several are not that far out. No. 30 Minnesota is the highest ranked Big Ten team after improving nine spots from last week’s rankings according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). No. 34 Indiana, No. 36 Ohio State and No. 50 Michigan are the other Big Ten teams ranked in the Top 50 nationally as of May 10.
All 10 competing schools are ranked within the top 10 teams in their respective regions. The Buckeyes are currently second in the Great Lakes region behind Indiana. Other regionally ranked Big Ten teams in the Great Lakes region include No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 5 Michigan State and No. 9 Purdue. Penn State is first in the Mid-Atlantic region. Minnesota is ranked third in the Midwest region. Illinois and Iowa are also in the Midwest region where they are ranked No. 6 and No. 8, respectively.
Buckeye History at the Championships
Ohio State has never won a women’s outdoor track and field title, but has enjoyed a great amount of individual success at the championships.
The Buckeyes took home back-to-back Athlete of the Championship titles in 1999 and 2000. All-American Dominique Calloway received the honor at the 1999 meet after winning the 100m hurdles and contributing to a 4x400m relay victory. Big Ten Athlete of the Year and All-American Donica Merriman followed Calloway in 2000 after winning individual titles in the 100m hurdles, 100m dash and 200m dash, while anchoring the 1st-place 4x400m relay team.
Coach Mamie Rallins guided the Buckeyes to a second-place finish at the 1979 championships, Ohio State’s best finish in school history. The Scarlet and Gray have finished in the Top 5 in 19 of the 31 women’s outdoor finals.
Recapping the 2010 Outdoor Championships
The Buckeyes finished sixth at the 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Bloomington, Ind., with a total of 79 points.
With a mark of 50.65m (166-02) in the javelin Maggie Mullen claimed the lone title for Ohio State and the first of her career. Mullen’s throw shattered the school record that she set earlier in the year.
Christina Manning used a time of 11.77 in the 100m dash to cross the line for second place.
After qualifying 1-2 in the 100m hurdles preliminary Letecia Wright and Manning were unable to duplicate that finish. Wright (13.42) took third while Manning failed to finish the race.
In the 400m dash Shaniqua McGinnis battled to the finish to claim second in a season-best time of 52.84. That time was also the fifth best in Ohio State history.
Tori Brink broke the school record in the 3000m steeplechase with a then personal-best time of 10:44.99 to finish 11th.
McGinnis, Wright, Christienne Linton and Manning made up Ohio State’s 4x100m relay team. They used a season-best performance to finish third in 44.91.
With a second-place finish the defending outdoor champion 4x400m relay team broke the facility record. Latoya Sanderson, Nyjah Cousar, Ashley Caldwell and McGinnis crossed the finish line in 3:35.61.
Buckeyes in the National Rankings
Ten members of the women’s track and field team are ranked within the Top 50 in several event areas nationally. A look at where the Buckeyes sit:
Letecia Wright – No. 4 in the 100m hurdles, No. 14 in the 4x100m relay
Christina Manning – No. 9 in the 100m hurdles and No. 14 in the 4x100m relay
Ashley Galbraith – No. 13 in the high jump
Madison McNary – No. 14 in the 4x100m relay
Chesna Sykes – No. 14 in the 4x100m relay
Maggie Mullen – No. 30 in the javelin
Kelcey McKinney – No. 33 in the triple jump
Alexis Thomas – No. 36 in the hammer throw
Nyjah Cousar – No. 47 in the 400m hurdles
Tori Brink – No. 48 in the 3000m steeplechase
Big Ten Indoor Champions!
For the first time in school history Ohio State won the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field championship this season. In addition to top honors on the track, fifth-year head coach Karen Dennis was named Big Ten Coach of the Year by her peers and junior All-American Manning was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Championships.
McNary was also named as a First Team All-Big Ten performer. McKinney and Wright were named to the Second Team. Wright later collected All-American honors for the first time at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook!
The Ohio State women’s track and field team is now on Facebook. Visit www.facebook.com/OSUwtrackXC to catch up on the latest Buckeye news and notes.
Last Time Out
Ohio State competed in the 102nd Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa April 28-30.
All-American Wright had the best performance for the Scarlet and Gray on the meet. Wright used a personal-best time of 12.87 to not only win the hurdles, but break the 10-year-old Drake Relays record. The defending champion’s blazing time also is the No. 4 outdoor college time this year and the third best in school history.
Finishing directly behind Wright for second place was fellow All-American Manning in 12.99. Both hurdlers finished the race ahead of Baylor’s Tiffani McReynolds who held the No. 2 time in the nation going into the Drake.
The 4x100m relay team consisting of Wright, Manning, Sykes and McNary broke another Drake and Ohio State record in the finals, finishing second overall with a time of 43.93.
McKinney had the top performance in the field events. The junior used a mark of 12.77m (41-10.75) to take third in the triple jump. Setting a new PR in the process, McKinney made her way onto Ohio State’s all-time performer’s list. Her mark now sits as the fifth best in school history.
Up Next
Ohio State will travel to Bloomington, Ind., May 26-28 for the 2011 NCAA East Regional Preliminaries.
