Oliver Nikoloff Invite Up Next for Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
April 1, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 13/16 Ohio State will send a small contingent of athletes to Cincinnati, Ohio, this Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, for the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational.
Hosted by the University of Cincinnati, events begin at 1 p.m. ET Friday and 10 a.m. ET Saturday. Live results are available at the above link.
Men 13th, Women 16th in USTFCCCA Outdoor Preseason Rankings
Ohio State 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 points 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.
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.
Welcome Back!
The track and field team welcomes back several familiar faces for the outdoor season.
Cavin, the 2016 Big Ten outdoor champion in the 200-meter dash, made her season debut last weekend at the Alabama Relays. Cavin, a seven-time All-American, had previously exhausted her indoor eligibility and was not eligible to compete this winter.
Ehimwenman, 2016 Big Ten indoor champion in the long jump, also debuted last weekend. Like Cavin, Ehimwenman had previously exhausted her indoor eligibility and was not eligible to compete this winter.
Ohio State’s javelin throwers – Stanley, Jared Ballenger and Allie Missler – also return to competition this spring. Stanley, the Ohio State record holder and an All-American and Big Ten champion, is competing after sitting out for the majority of the past two seasons.
Buckeye Men Finish in NCAA Top 25
Ohio State finished in a 24th-place tie with Oklahoma State at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala., earlier this month, the team’s best finish at the indoor national championships since 2012.
Two Buckeyes – Murasky and freshman Nick Gray – earned First Team All-America honors. Murasky was a bronze medalist in the shot put, while Gray was the top freshman in the 200-meter dash, finishing sixth overall.
Last Time Out
The 13th-ranked men’s team defeated three of the top teams in the country – No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Texas and No. 16 USC – at the Power Conference Cardinal & Gold Challenge last Saturday in Los Angeles.
Behind individual wins from Murasky, Stanley, junior Jared Fleming and sophomore Kevin Blank, Ohio State closed the meet with 127 team points, finishing eight points ahead of the home-standing Trojans. Florida was third with 102 points, followed by Texas (96).
On the women’s side, No. 16 Ohio State finished fourth overall with 110 points. No. 4 USC was first with 129 points, followed by No. 7 Texas and No. 10 Florida in a second-place tie with 115 points.
Two individual champions reigned for the Buckeye women: senior Tammy Berger, who used a season-best time of 4:27.83 to win the 1500-meter run, and freshman Mikaela Seibert, who cleared 12.28 meters (40-3.50) to win the triple jump.
Up Next
Ohio State travels to Baton Rouge, La., for the Battle on the Bayou April 9.
