Buckeyes Well Positioned for Final Day at the Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 17, 2015
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Ohio State women’s track and field team is primed for a huge final day at the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships after burning up the track in preliminary heats Saturday afternoon at Ralph Young Field.
The Buckeyes have 19 entries in seven championship races on the track Sunday, the most of any team. Ohio State also expects to score big points in both the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays and should see points from several field events as well.
The highlight of the day for the Scarlet and Gray came in the 200-meter preliminaries, as all four competing Buckeyes secured spots in the championship race with personal-best times. Junior Aisha Cavin was first overall in 23.20 seconds, a Top-20 time in Division I this season and the No. 3 time in the OSU outdoor record book. Sophomore Aaliyah Barnes also won her heat with the third-fastest time of the day, a 23.34-second sprint. Senior Chesna Sykes was sixth overall in 23.43, while junior Aliyah Everson claimed the eighth and final qualifying position with a time of 23.61.
Cavin and Sykes also qualified for finals in the 100-meter dash. Cavin finished third in her heat and third overall in a personal-best time of 11.57 seconds, while Sykes won her section and placed sixth overall in 11.62 seconds.
The 400-meter prelim featured a first-place time by junior SoSo Walker, who crossed the line in a personal-best 52.67 seconds, a Top-20 performance in Division I this season and the No. 5 time in the OSU outdoor record book. Barnes will join in her the finals after posting the second-fastest time of the afternoon, a season-best run of 53.19 seconds.
Junior Alexis Franklin, the Big Ten leader in the 400-meter hurdles entering the championships, captured a win in her preliminary heat with the second-fastest time of the day (59.19). Franklin will also compete in the 100-meter hurdle finals alongside teammates Jasmine Glover and Alexandria Johnson. Glover, a junior, posted the fifth-best time in the preliminary heats (13.54), while senior Johnson (13.60) and Franklin (13.64) finished 1-2 in their section and seventh and eighth overall.
The reigning Big Ten 800-meter champion, senior Katie Borchers, will look to defend her conference title on Sunday after qualifying first overall with a time of 2:06.71. Sophomore Rachel Weber also qualified for the Buckeyes with an eighth-place time of 2:08.71.
Junior Tammy Berger opened the afternoon on the track with a third-place finish in her heat and seventh-place time overall in the 1500-meter preliminaries. Berger crossed in a personal-best time of 4:23.94, moving to No. 3 all-time in the OSU record book. She ran neck-and-neck with NCAA No. 1 Leah O’Connor of Michigan State and her Spartan teammate, Sara Kroll, for much of the race.
The lone scorer on the day for the Buckeyes was junior Allie Missler, who placed fifth in the javelin with a personal-best mark of 46.91 meters (153-11.00). Missler ranks No. 2 in the OSU record book in the event.
With four points from Missler in the javelin, OSU sits in 12th place through two days of competition. Minnesota is first with 71 points, followed by No. 13 Michigan State (52 points).
Events resume tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the triple jump trials and finals.
From Friday:
• Junior Minori Minagawa finished one spot shy of scoring for the Buckeyes in the 10,000-meter run, placing ninth overall in a time of 35:28.93.
Team Standings – 8 events scored
1. Minnesota – 71
2. Michigan State – 52
3. Nebraska – 51
4. Wisconsin – 30
5. Penn State – 24
6. Indiana – 20
7. Michigan – 15
8. Illinois – 13.5
9. Iowa – 11
9. Maryland – 11
11. Purdue – 9.5
12. Ohio State – 4
Ohio State Points Breakdown
Javelin – 4 points
