Olatoye and 4x400m Relay Named Earn First Team All-America Honors
3/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 11, 2017
College Station, Texas – For the first time in school history, the Ohio State women’s 4x400m relay team earned First Team All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday evening inside the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium, and Sade Olatoye topped off her tremendous indoor campaign with a fourth-place showing in the women’s weight throw.
“I couldn’t be happier for our four by four women and Sade,” director of track & field and cross country Karen Dennis said. “We came down here to College Station to make our presence known, and we got on the board in several events. We had a solid indoor season, now it’s time for us to move on to outdoors and keep progressing there
“Several of our athletes this weekend were competing at their first national meet, so to have the showing we did, I’m proud of our athletes.”
Entering the meet with the slowest seed time, the women’s 4×4 did not let that deter them from making history. Running in the first heat of three, the Buckeyes finished second out of four teams with a school record of 3:31.23. Beatrice Hannan circled the track twice on the first leg of the relay with a 53.92 split. Hannan then passed the stick onto Karrington Winters for the second leg (split of 52.85) of the relay.
Aaliyah Barnes sprinted the third leg with a blazing time of 52.34 and Maggie Barrie closed it out when she threw down a 52.14 interval. The women finished in sixth place after all four relay teams in the final heat went quicker than 3:31.23.
“Our women ran in a really competitive race this evening,” Dennis mentioned. “They came down here with the mindset that they were going to compete at the highest level, and they did that.”
Olatoye’s dominant sophomore season came to a close with her being named a First Team All-American. On her first throw of the competition, Olatoye launched the weight apparatus 21.69m (71-2) to put herself in second place. She was dislodged from the podium when Dolly Nyemah (Louisville) and Victoria Merriweather (Charlotte) registered better marks on their final throws. Olatoye’s accomplishments in 2017 consist of 10 event titles (seven weight throw and three shot put), school record holder in the weight throw and No. 3 in program history in the shot put.
“Sade had an incredible day today,” Dennis noted. “She has such a bright future as a Buckeye. She’s only a sophomore, if she keeps progressing like she has been, I fully expect to see her on that podium numerous times during her career.”
UP NEXT
Ohio State will head west to Tempe, Ariz., for the Baldy Castillo Invite on March 17-18.
