Men 13th, Women 16th in USTFCCCA Outdoor Preseason Rankings – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 23, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State track and field is well represented in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason rankings, released Wednesday. The Buckeye men are ranked 13th in the inaugural poll, while the women are 16th. Both rankings are program bests since USTFCCCA began its rankings system in 2008.
The men totaled 121.32 in the opening poll of the outdoor season, second in the Big Ten behind ninth-ranked Illinois. Redshirt senior J.C. Murasky owns the No. 1 preseason mark in the shot put, while the men’s 4×400-meter relay is ranked fourth. Darrell Bush, a transfer from LSU, is fifth in the 400-meter dash, while redshirt junior Bill Stanley is No. 7 in the javelin.
Five Big Ten teams are represented in the men’s Top 30: No. 9 Illinois, the Buckeyes, No. 19 Penn State, No. 26 Purdue and No. 28 Minnesota. Oregon is the top-ranked team in the country, followed by No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 3 Florida.
The women enter the outdoor season as the top-ranked team in the Big Ten with 97.16 points. Ohio State is ranked third in the 4×400-meter relay, while redshirt senior Aisha Cavin and senior SoSo Walker are ranked seventh in the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash, respectively. Senior Alexis Franklin is also ranked in the Top 10, coming in at No. 9 in the 400-meter hurdles.
Four Big Ten teams are represented in the Top 25 on the women’s side: the Buckeyes, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 22 Michigan and No. 25 Wisconsin. LSU is the top-ranked team in the country, followed by No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Arkansas.
Up Next
Ohio State has two meets on the schedule for the weekend of March 25-26: the Power 5 Cardinal & Gold Challenge in Los Angeles, Calif., and the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C.
