Franklin Wins Again at the Drake Relays – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
April 24, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Junior Alexis Franklin won the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the Drake Relays for the second year in a row, highlighting the first day of competition in Des Moines, Iowa, for the Ohio State track and field team.
Franklin crossed the finish line in a season-best time of 57.40 seconds, the ninth-best time in Division I this season and the top time in the Big Ten. Last season, Franklin won in a time of 57.81 seconds.
A new school record was set in the women’s 4×800-meter relay as sophomore Rachel Weber, junior Tammy Berger, senior Janel Olberding and senior Katie Borchers crossed the finish line third overall in a time of 8:36.97. Oklahoma State was first in 8:27.88 and Washington second in 8:36.59. Borchers and Olberding were part of the former record-holding team, which ran a time of 8:39.80 at the 2013 Drake Relays.
Earlier in the day, Borchers finished third in her first 800-meter competition of the outdoor season, crossing the finish line in a time of 2:06.24, the second-fastest time in the Big Ten so far this year and a Top-30 performance nationally.
Ohio State qualified both 4×100-meter relay teams for Saturday finals. The women — junior Aliyah Everson, redshirt junior Aisha Cavin, senior Chesna Sykes and junior Aaliyah Barnes — finished first in their heat and second overall behind Ole Miss with a time of 44.75, while the men — junior Donovan Robertson, freshman Davon Anderson, senior Nick Batcha and senior Timothy Faust — were third in their heat and eighth overall in 40.54 seconds.
The Buckeyes’ 4×400-meter relay teams both advanced to tomorrow’s finals as well. Junior SoSo Walker, freshman Beatrice Hannan, Barnes and Cavin finished first in their heat and fourth overall in the women’s prelims in a time of 3:35.89, while the men — redshirt junior Antonio Blanks, junior Champ Page, Anderson and sophomore LaMar Bruton — won their heat and finished fifth overall in 3:07.98.
Other day one highlights:
· Sykes ran a season-best time of 11.57 seconds in the women’s 100-meter dash preliminary, taking second in her heat and placing third overall to secure a spot in the finals on Saturday. Faust also qualified for finals in the men’s 100, finishing third in his heat and seventh overall in a time of 10.70.
· Sophomore Jared Fleming, sophomore Anthony Johnson, freshman Kevin Blank and sophomore Dominik Seitzer placed fifth overall in the men’s 4×800-meter relay in a time of 7:31.96.
· The men’s 4×200-meter relay — Anderson, Bruton, Robertson and Batcha — claimed fifth place in a time of 1:24.53.
· Sixth place in the men’s long jump went to freshman Zack Bazile at 7.33 meters (24-0.75).
· Three Buckeyes qualified for the finals of the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Franklin won her heat and placed fourth overall in 13.65 seconds. Junior Jasmine Glover was seventh overall in a time of 13.81, while freshman Chantel Ray was eighth (13.87).
Competition resumes tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. ET.
