Three Buckeyes Head to NCAA Indoor Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 8, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Three members of the Ohio State women’s track and field team will compete at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships in Nampa, Idaho, this weekend to represent the No. 19 Buckeyes as they take on the best of the best. Christina Manning, Chesna Sykes and Maggie Mullen are the three members of the Scarlet and Gray that will be competing.
“We’re looking forward to the NCAA indoor track and field championships as it represents the best in the country meeting together in Nampa to fight for team points,” said head coach Karen Dennis. “It seems the championships are becoming more and more challenging just to receive entry into this prestigious meet. We have three women that have earned their tickets and are excited about the opportunity to compete.”
Manning will be making her third appearance at the championships while Mullen will attend for the second year in a row. Sophomore Sykes will be making her inaugural appearance at the NCAA indoor meet. Last season, Manning was unable to make it to the finals in the 60m dash or 60m hurdles after coming up just short in the prelims. Mullen earned second team All-America honors by finishing ninth out of 17 competitors.
“Maggie Mullen and Christina Manning are seniors, they’ve been here before and they both know how competitive the meet will be. This is the second year Maggie has qualified in the weight throw. She has not thrown her best during the championship season this year and I think she’s right on schedule for an outstanding meet,” Dennis said. “Christina has a huge target on her back going into the meet ranked No. 1 in the 60m hurdles event. She’s been looking and training for this meet. She’s also going to run the 60m dash along with sophomore Chesna Sykes. This is Chesna’s first trip to the indoor NCAA meet as an individual. She has already proven she ranks among the best sprinters in the country.”
Championship Basics
Days: Friday, March 9 (4 p.m. – 10:25 p.m. ET) and Saturday, March 10 (1 p.m. – 10:40 p.m. ET)
Venue: Boise State University’s Jacksons Track at the Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho
Coverage: ESPN3.com will be streaming both days of the championships. Friday (http://es.pn/ncaa-tfchamp-day1) programming begins at 7:30 p.m. ET while Saturday (http://es.pn/ncaa-tfcham-day2) coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. Live video and highlights will also be available through NCAA.com.
“The road to the Olympics begins in Nampa for collegians with Olympic dreams. It should be an outstanding meet and we hope to make it memorable for each of these women representing our team,” said Dennis.
Ohio State Schedule
Friday
4:00 p.m. – Weight throw prelims and finals (Mullen)
7:45 p.m. – 60m hurdles prelims (Manning)
8:45 p.m. – 60m dash prelims (Manning and Sykes)
Saturday
8:45 p.m. – 60m hurdles finals
9:25 p.m. – 60m dash finals
Scouting the Field
60m hurdles – Manning enters the championships with the top time this season of 7.95. Brianna Rollins (7.97) from Clemson took the title last season and will be Manning’s biggest competition alongside fellow Clemson hurdler Bridgette Owens who also ran a 7.97 this season. LSU’s Jasmin Stowers (8.03) and UCF’s Jackie Coward (8.08) round out the top five seeds entering the race.
60m dash – Central Florida’s star freshman Octavious Freeman leads the pack with a time of 7.19 to enter the meet. Sykes (7.31) and Manning (7.23) will have to run their best to compete for the title. Oregon’s English Gardner (7.19) and Kai Selvon (7.20) from Auburn enter with the second and third best times, respectively. Manning is seeded No. 5 while Sykes is seeded No. 13.
Weight Throw – The top qualifier is Southern Illinois’ Jeneva McCall. McCall is seeded first with a mark of 23.76m (77-11.5) and she placed second last season. Indiana State’s Felisha Johnson (21.67m/71-1.25) and Kelly Closse of Texas Tech (21.62/70-11.25) are coming in second and third, respectively. Mullen comes in 15th with her personal-best mark of 20.78m, which she recorded at the Don Kirby Invite.
OSU History at the National Championships
The Buckeyes have produced two individual champions in Diane Dixon (400m dash, 1983) and Donica Merriman (60m hurdles, 2001). The highest team finish came in 1983, a 10th-place finish under head coach Mamie Rallins.
Manning Named Great Lakes Regional Track Athlete of the Year by USTFCCCA
Senior All-American Christina Manning was named the Great Lakes Regional Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the second year in a row March 7.
After an indoor campaign to be remembered in the record books, Manning picked up Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Championship honors after winning the 60m hurdles and 60m dash and recording a second-place finish in the 200m dash at the 2012 Big Ten indoor Championships where the Scarlet and Gray took second. Those performances, along with a stellar season, also landed Manning on the Bowerman Women’s Watch List which is for the prestigious Bowerman which is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation.
The Waldorf, Md., native turned in all of her top times at the Big Ten championships and her 60m dash and 60m hurdle times were NCAA automatic qualifying marks. Ohio State track history was also made by Manning at the conference championships as she broke school records with her times in the 60m dash (7.23) and 200m dash (23.43). Manning broke the Big Ten championship meet record in the hurdles with her personal-best time of 7.95 and tied the Ohio State school record in the race.
Three Buckeyes Named All-Big Ten
With conference titles in the 60m dash and 60m hurdles, Manning made her way onto the All-Big Ten list and was joined by senior Shaniqua McGinnis who used a victory in the 600m run to make her way on the list of All-Big Ten performers. Sykes earned a spot on the conference Second Team after placing second in the 60m dash directly behind Manning.
Last Time Out
The Scarlet and Gray finished the 2012 Big Ten Indoor Championships in second behind host team Nebraska. Ohio State finished with 106 points right behind the Huskers’ 114.50 points. The Buckeyes captured three individual titles, two silver medals and three bronze medals as they wrapped up the championships
Manning won the title in the 60m hurdles in 7.95, a Big Ten championship meet record and a tie with the Ohio State record. She also claimed a Big Ten title in the 60m dash in 7.23, a new school record. In the 200m dash, Manning crossed the line for second in 23.43 which was another school record. The senior also took home Athlete of the Championships and Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors for the second year in a row.
McGinnis won her first 600m run Big Ten title with a school record and Devaney Center facility record time of 1:28.14. A third-place finish in the 400m dash was also turned in by McGinnis.
Sykes (7.31) and Linton (7.38) took second and third, respectively, in the 60m dash for the Buckeye sweep.
Alexis Thomas led on the field events side with a throw of 20.48m (67-2.25) for the silver medal in the weight throw.
Up Next
Ohio State will take some time off before beginning their outdoor season at Central Florida March 24.
