4×4 Relay Teams Highlight Impressive Final Day at the NCAA East Prelims – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 31, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State track and field team earned another seven entries to the NCAA outdoor championships Saturday evening at the 2015 NCAA East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla. After three days of intense competition at Hodges Stadium, a total of twelve individual Buckeyes and three relay teams secured trips to the national championships next month in Eugene, Ore.
The performance of the night — and of the preliminary round — came from the women’s 4×400-meter relay team. Racing in the final heat of the evening, Ohio State turned in a blistering time of 3:28.37 to edge Clemson at the finish line and claim the top overall time of the East preliminary round. Junior SoSo Walker, sophomore Aaliyah Barnes, freshman Beatrice Hannan and redshirt junior Aisha Cavin broke the previous school record set in 2008 by more than four seconds in posting the third-fastest time in Division I this season.
The men’s 4×4 team — redshirt junior Antonio Blanks, junior Champ Page, sophomore Davon Anderson and sophomore LaMar Bruton — nearly equaled the women with their performance, finishing second behind LSU in a season-best time of 3:02.67, the No. 4 time in the OSU record book and the sixth-fastest time in Division I this season.
Not to be outdone, the women’s 4×100-meter relay team also secured a ticket to Eugene. Rebounding from a disappointing outcome at the Big Ten championships, Barnes, Cavin, junior Aliyah Everson and senior Chesna Sykes produced a season-best time of 43.99, a Top-20 performance in Division I this season and the No. 4 time in the OSU record book.
Two Buckeyes moved on to Eugene in the 200-meter dash. Cavin finished second in her section and fifth overall in the women’s quarterfinal in a time of 22.86, while senior Timothy Faust was third in his heat and eight overall in the men’s quarters in a time of 20.40 seconds.
Junior Donovan Robertson claimed the final qualifying spot in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Robertson was third in his quarterfinal heat to claim an automatic bid and 13th-place overall in a time of 13.90.
In the field, redshirt junior J.C. Murasky earned his first trip to the national championships as a Buckeye with a sixth-place finish in the men’s shot put at 19.32 meters (63-4.75).
Ohio State’s NCAA Qualifiers
Donovan Robertson – men’s 110-meter hurdles
Aisha Cavin – women’s 200-meter dash
Timothy Faust – men’s 200-meter dash
SoSo Walker – women’s 400-meter dash
Aaliyah Barnes – women’s 400-meter dash
LaMar Bruton – men’s 400-meter dash
Antonio Blanks – men’s 400-meter hurdles
Katie Borchers – women’s 800-meter run
Jackson Neff – men’s 3000-meter steeplechase
J.C. Murasky – men’s shot put
Carly Pendleton – women’s discus
Zack Bazile – men’s long jump
Women’s 4×100-meter relay
Men’s 4×400-meter relay
Women’s 4×400-meter relay
Up Next
Ohio State competes at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore.
