Ohio State Hosts Jesse Owens Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
May 3, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s track and field team hosts its first home meet of the season the Jesse Owens Classic on Saturday in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes will also honor former head coach Russ Rogers. High school events begin at 10 a.m. with college events to follow.
JESSE OWENS CLASSIC
Days: Saturday – 10 a.m. – 7:40 p.m.
Venue: Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Meet Information: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Live Results: www.deltatiming.com
Television: Tape Delay – Columbus Sports Network (air times to be determined)
THE “J.O. CLASSIC” TURNS 22
This weekend, athletes from all levels will converge in Columbus for the Jesse Owens Classic, which is in its 22nd running in 2007. Like the “J.O. Classics” of the past, the 2007 meet will present a stage for scholastic, collegiate and post-collegiate athletes to perform at their highest levels in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
A field of nearly 75 Ohio high school boy’s and girl’s squads will give way to top-notch college and post-collegiate fields in the evening portion of the schedule.
Whether at the high school, collegiate or professional levels, all competitors in each edition of the Jesse Owens Classic experience the true sense of the spirit and virtue of the four-time gold medal-winning hero.
In its history, the Jesse Owens Classic has served as a top venue for many future and former Olympians. Current and past record holders for the Jesse Owens Classic include Olympic medalists John Drummond, Michelle Finn, Allen Johnson, Edwin Moses, Dwight Stones and former Buckeyes Diane Dixon, Joe Greene and Butch Reynolds. Others of Olympic fame include Judi Brown, Roger Kingdom, Carl Lewis, Louise Ritter and Calvin Smith, as well as past OSU Olympians Mark Croghan and Stephanie Hightower.
“I am excited about the future of the Jesse Owens Classic,” Robert Gary, men’s head coach and Owens meet director, said. “For the 2008 edition, we will actively invite the best Ohio High schools, previewing the state meet in a very professionally run meet. Allowing high schoolers to watch the best college and professionals athletes compete should be a great draw. May 2-3, 2008 is also two weeks before major conference championship meets and we already have commitments from some great track and field programs.”
FOOTBALL PLAYERS LACE UP TRACK SPIKES FOR JESSE OWENS CLASSIC
Now that spring practice has concluded for the football team, several Buckeyes have turned their attention to the track and will run in the 2007 Jesse Owens Classic Saturday in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Last week at the Drake Relays, three Ohio State football players made their track debuts in the 4×100-meter relay. Freshman defensive back Chimdi Chekwa (Chim-dee Cheek-wah), junior All-Big Ten cornerback Malcolm Jenkins and sophomore wide receiver Dan Potokar joined All-Big Ten sprinter Anthony Cole in setting a season-best in the event at 41.57. The unit will look to improve that mark at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday.
A first-team all-league selection at cornerback last season, Jenkins was a track standout at Piscataway High School in New Jersey. He won a state title as a junior in the 400 meters and finished third in state in the 200m as a senior. He also ran hurdles, posting another third-place finish his senior season.
Competing for Grove City, Potokar displayed his track talent two years ago in the high school portion of the Jesse Owens Classic. The son of former Ohio State All-American wrestler Ed Potokar (1980-83), Potokar owns the 100-meter dash high school record at The Classic with his time of 10.85 seconds in 2005. Chekwa, from Clermont, Fla., was an all-state sprinter at East Ridge High School.
Cole will serve as the 4x100m anchor. The junior from Columbia, Md., is a two-time Big Ten champion, winning conference titles in the 60- and 200-meter dashes indoors. He was the Big Ten men’s freshman of the year in 2005.
Ohio State has had a strong tradition of football players excelling on its men’s track and field team. In 1992-93, running backs Butler By’not’e and Robert Smith and wide receiver Chris Sanders helped the Buckeyes win back-to-back Big Ten outdoor 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay titles. Sanders, a Big Ten champion and All-American in the long jump, also contributed to Ohio State Big Ten outdoor team championships in 1992 and ’93.
In more recent seasons, former Ohio State wide receivers Drew Carter (2000-03) and Michael Jenkins (200-03) ran relays for the Buckeyes. Carter, who also was an All-American long jumper in 2003, combined with Jenkins and Joel Brown (2001-04), a former three-time All-American sprinter, to reach the 2003 NCAA Mideast Regional meet in the 4x100m.
Carter holds the fourth-best long jump mark in Ohio State history at 26 feet, 3 1/2 inches. He trails some impressive company. Sanders is tied with Joe Greene (1987-90), a two-time Olympic bronze medalist (1992 and ’96), at No. 2 at 26-7. Owens holds the Ohio State record at 26-8 3/4, set in 1936, the same year he won four Olympic gold medals in Berlin, Germany.
BUCKEYES TO HONOR FORMER BOSS
The Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field teams will hold a banquet Friday at the Huntington Club in Ohio Stadium. The function will honor several track and field officials for decades of service. The event will conclude by honoring former head coach Russ Rogers, who spent 18 season at Ohio State from 1989-2006.
Rogers, who retired June 5, 2006, mentored more than 100 men’s and women’s student-athletes to All-America status and helped lead more than 120 Buckeyes to Big Ten titles. Rogers produced back-to-back conference outdoor men’s team titles in 1992 and ’93. The Buckeyes also won the indoor team crown in 1993. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year following both the 1992 and ’93 seasons.
“I am very excited to invite Coach Rogers back for the Jesse Owens Classic Banquet,” Robert Gary, men’s head coach and Owens meet director. “He will be honored for all of his service to the University, the Classic, and the fact that almost everyone in the audience would not be here were it not for Russ. It should be a very nice evening for everyone.”
At the national level, Rogers’ men’s teams placed in the NCAA outdoor Top 6 three times and in the indoor Top 10 three times. Rogers’ top NCAA finish with the men came in 1993, when the Buckeyes took the national runner-up spot. The previous season saw Rogers earn NCAA Coach of the Year honors after leading the Buckeyes to a fifth-place NCAA team score. In 2004, the Buckeye men tied for fourth nationally.
LAST WEEK: DRAKE RELAYS AND HILLSDALE GINA RELAYS
Friday – Ohio State competed at the Drake Relays Friday in Des Moines, Iowa.
In relay events, the 4×400-meter team of Matt Comer, Elon Sims, Steven Robinson and Gerald Griffin took ninth in a season best time of 3:09.31. Unfortunately, the ninth-place finish was one shy of reaching the finals Saturday. The mark does serve as a qualifier for the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional meet May 26-27 in Columbia, Mo.
The 4×100-meter relay team featured track debuts for Buckeye football players Dan Potokar, Malcolm Jenkins, an All-Big Ten defensive back, and Chimdi Chekwa, who joined All-Big Ten sprinter Tony Cole to post a time of 41.57, taking 13th in the prelims. Potokar is a sophomore wide receiver and Chekwa is a freshman defensive back.
Individually, Cole ran a 10.9 in the 100m prelims and missed qualifying for the final with a 24th-place finish. In the field, thrower Lenny Jatsek placed 20th in the shot put at a distance of 52 feet.
Hillsdale – Four members of the distance area broke away from the squad to travel to the 2007 Gina Relays in Hillsdale, Mich., Friday.
Junior John Ealy was the top Buckeye in the 5,000-meter run, pacing a mark of 14:07.72 to take fifth place. He trailed Brian Olinger, a former Ohio State All-American and current volunteer assistant coach, who finished in fourth place in 14:07.39.
Chad Balyo, a freshman miler, extended to the 5,000m event for the first time Friday and clocked 14:39.57 to hold 21st place. He was followed by Alex Bailey and Tom Roof, who placed 30th and 47th, respectively. In addition, Taylor Candella competed in the mile and crossed the finish line in sixth place (4:12.07).
Saturday – Ohio State competed in the final day of events at the 2007 Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Four Buckeyes posted qualifying marks for the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional meet.
For the second week in a row, junior Marios Iacovou was Ohio State’s top placer. He cleared 6 feet, 8 3/4 inches to claim runner-up honors in the high jump college and university open event. Also in the jumps, sophomore Brandon Cathcart set a season-best of 50-6 3/4 to place sixth in the triple jump and improve his Mideast standing.
In the throws, Pat Whalen reached 56-8 3/4 for eighth place in the shot put special section. His mark served as a regional qualifier. Earlier in the day, Whalen (163-0) and Lenny Jatsek (161-2) went 15th and 16th in the discus.
On the track, senior Glenn Collins paced a 9:09.84 to take sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Sophomore Matt Comer clocked 51.89 to take 12th in the 400-meter hurdles, ahead of classmate Elon Simms and his 26th-place time of 53.93. Comer’s mark is a regional qualifier. Senior Joe Gourley also assured himself a trip to the regional meet with a fifth-place time of 1:49.71 in the 800m.
SIMMS TAKES FIRST CAREER BIG TEN ATHLETE OF THE WEEK APRIL 24
The Big Ten named Elon Simms co-track athlete of the week April 24. He shared the honor with Keith Hopkins of Purdue. Simms led the Buckeyes to a third-place finish at the All-Ohio Championships as he racked up 23 team points for the Buckeyes.
The award is the first AOW for the sophomore from Fremont, Ohio. Simms took home a second-place finish in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in a time of 51.74. Simms’ time is the best in the Big Ten this season and is sixth in the Mideast region. Simms placed third at the 2006 Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the 400m IM hurdles and with NCAA regional qualifying time is among the top contenders for the conference crown this season.
“Obviously I think Elon (Simms) is one of our most talented student-athletes,” head coach Robert Gary said. “But I believe equally important is his high goals and work ethic.”
Simms also was a member of the Buckeye 4×400-meter relay team that won the event in a season best time of 3:09.87. The mark is an NCAA regional qualifying time and is the second-best in the Big Ten this season. Simms also placed fourth in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 47.97.
REGIONAL BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes added Joe Gourley to its core of NCAA regional qualifiers to bring the team total to six individuals and one relay (4×400-meter relay).
Junior Marious Iacovouv – Hit an NCAA regional mark at the All-Ohio Championships with a leap of 6-10 1/2.
Junior Dave Ebersole – Opened the season with an NCAA regional mark of 198-4 in the hammer throw at the ASU Invitational.
Sophomore Elon Simms – Named the Big Ten track athlete of the week on April 24 after hitting an NCAA regional in the 400-meter IM hurdles.
Sophomore Patrick Whalen – Hit a season best and NCAA regional mark at the All-Ohio Championships with a toss of 57-6 1/2 in the shot put.
Sophomore Brandon Cathcart – Hit an NCAA regional mark at the Sea Ray Relays of 49-6 3/4 in the triple jump before the second day of the meet was cancelled due to weather conditions.
Senior Joe Gourley – Took fifth at the Drake Relays in the 800-meters in a time of 1:49.71 to assure himself a spot at the NCAA regional meet.
LAST YEAR AT THE JESSE OWENS CLASSIC
Friday, May 5, 2006 – The 21st running of the Jesse Owens Track Classic kicked off at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase highlighted the evening as 2004 U.S. Olympian Anthony Famiglietti defended his event title.
In the men’s end of the hammer, sophomore Lenny Jatsek narrowly missed a season-best throw with a heave of 187-10 3/4 to place eighth. Also in the field, Brandon Cathcart won the triple jump events. Cathcart reached 50-3 1/2 in his second attempt for the win.
On the track, Famiglietti timed 8:24.22 to win the men’s steeple invite. In the finale of the evening, former Buckeye and current member of Team Reebok Rob Myers raced to a win in the 3,000-meter run in 8:15.18.
Saturday May 6, 2006 – Ohio State finished the second and final day of competition at the 21st annual Jesse Owens Track Classic on Saturday. Honored on Saturday at the Jesse Owens Classic was the meet’s founder Ron Althoff at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes put on a show for the founder with many excellent performances.
In the relay events, the men’s 4×100-meter team finished second in their event and posted a season-best time and qualified for NCAA regionals. The team of Anthony Cole, Todd Dutch, Brandon Cathcart, and Matt Comer finished with a time of 40.50. The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Comer, Dutch, Gerald Griffin and Adam Wilhem also set a season-best mark with a time of 3:10.63.
On the track for the men, Cole took second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.51. Comer placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.22. Dutch finished third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.83, a season-best mark for him. Brian Olinger took sixth in a competitive mile field with an NCAA regional qualifying time of 4:03.58.
For the men in the field, Patrick Whalen finished third with a regional qualifying throw of 55-9 1/2 in the shot put. Marious Iacovou tied his best jump of the season and won the high jump with a height of 6-6 3/4. Patrick Woods took third in the high jump with a leap of 6-4 3/4, also tying his season-best jump. Bryan Chard won the pole vault, clearing 15-9.
WEATHER PLAYS BIG FACTOR IN OUTDOOR SCHEDULE
Ohio State has had the weather cancelled the second day of the Sea Ray Relays April 13-14 and all of the Indiana Invitational April 7.
The outdoor campaign kicked off March 23-24 in Tempe, Ariz., at the Arizona State Invitational. Part of the team remained in the west a week later (March 30) at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.
The third week offered the Indiana Relays April 7 in Bloomington, Ind., but it was cancelled because of weather conditions. The heart of the Buckeyes’ outdoor slate started April 13-14 at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn., but the meet’s second day was cancelled because of weather. The schedule continued to gain steam as the Buckeyes took third in the All-Ohio Championships in Cincinnati April 20-21.
For many seasons, Ohio State traveled to Philadelphia to compete in the historic Penn Relays during the final week of April. This season, however, the Buckeyes headed west to Des Moines, Iowa for the prestigious Drake Relays.
“Our outdoor schedule is competitive and it presents an opportunity for great performances against great fields,” Robert Gary said. “It will prepare us for having a balanced team heading into the Big Ten and NCAA championship meets.”
Just like the indoor schedule, the Buckeyes close out the regular season at home, playing host to the 2007 Jesse Owens Track Classic Saturday. Now in its 22nd running, “The Jesse” has welcomed top performers from all levels of track and field for the past two decades.
“I hope to establish the high school events of the Jesse Owens Classic into the most competitive high school meet in the state,” Gary said. “It is a great opportunity for Ohio high school athletes to preview the state meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
“Similarly, my vision for the college and post-collegiate events is become the most elite meet in the Midwest. I have every intention of building the meet up to what is was in the 1980s.”
Ohio State makes its second trip to State College, Pa., for the 2007 Big Ten Outdoor Championships May 11-13. The postseason continues two weeks later (May 25-26) at the 2007 Mideast Regional Championships in Columbia, Mo. Those who advance through regionals will compete at the NCAA outdoor championships June 6-9 in Sacramento, Calif.
COLE AND SEE GAIN BIDS TO NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Qualifiers for the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships were announced March 6. Ohio State’s Tony Cole, a junior sprinter, and Jeff See, a sophomore miler, each gained their first berth to the national meet.
Cole, the 200-meter Big Ten champion in 2007, earned his bid to nationals in the 60m dash with his top time of at the season of 6.66, set Feb. 25 in his runner-up performance at the conference meet. Cole’s time is the ninth-best in the country. At the national meet, Cole clipped a 6.78 to take 15th in the 60m national qualifying round, falling shy of the final.
See won the Big Ten mile Feb. 25 and turned in his best time of the season Feb. 3 at Akron, when he crossed the finish line in a time of 4:00.5. See’s mark ranked eighth in the nation heading into nationals. See missed the national final in the same event after posting a prelim time of 4:12.49.
JATSEKS: AN ALL-AMERICAN FAMILY
A year after her brother, Lenny Jatsek, captured All-America honors by finishing 13th in the weight throw at the 2006 NCAA indoor meet, Veronica Jatsek added another national award to the family. Veronica, competing in her first NCAA championships, placed seventh in the weight throw to earn her first All-America honor at a distance of 66-9 3/4.
OHIO STATE COLLECTS INDOOR POST SEASON AWARDS
The Big Ten announced its All-Big Ten teams, following the 2007 Men’s Big Ten Indoor Championships in Bloomington, Ind. The men’s team had several athletes named All-Big Ten.
Junior Anthony Cole was named first-team All-Big Ten with his win in the 200-meter dash in a season best time of 21.18 and second-team All-Big Ten with his second-place finish in the 60-meter dash. Cole was the only athlete at the championships to take home first-and-second place finishes, single-handedly earning the Buckeyes 18 team points. Cole’s time in the 60m of 6.66 bettered the Big Ten meet record of Demi Omole by .04 set in 2006. Omole set the new Big Ten standard winning the event in a time of 6.65 in the finals on Sunday. The time by Cole is the 15th best time in the country this season. In the 200m, Cole ran away with the title besting the field by almost half a second. Cole knocked off Michigan State’s Jeremy Orr, who has led the Big Ten all season in the 200m. His mark is the 18th best time in the country this season and also is an NCAA provisional mark. It was Cole’s second Big Ten title adding to his 60-meter crown he won in 2005. For his efforts at the Big Ten Championships, Cole also earned the Ohio State Athlete of the Week award for the second straight week.
Sophomore Jeff See was named first team All-Big Ten with his win the mile with a time of 4:04.16. See is currently one of the top-milers in the country with a time of 4:00.52 at the Akron Invitational on Feb. 3. It is the seventh-best time in the country and is the fifth-best run by an American this year on an oversized track. It is the second year in a row See has been named to the Big Ten’s first team. He was named first-team All-Big Ten in 2006 with his performance on the Big Ten Champion distance medley relay unit.
Lenny Jatsek won his second consecutive Big Ten Championship in the weight with a season best toss of 66 feet, 9 3/4 inches. It is seventh-best weight throw in Ohio State history and is also an NCAA provisional mark. His mark is also the 14th best toss in the country this season. This is the fifth year in a row that a Buckeye has won the weight throw. Jatsek will now try to defend his title of All-American at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships. Jatsek’s sister, Veronica, also took Big Ten honors in the weight throw, marking the first time that a brother-sister combination has taken Big Ten honors in the same year since Tonya and Tyrone Williams of Illinois were both on the All-Big Ten team in 1995.
Senior Scott Hudepohl had to be the surprise of the Big Ten championships, taking second in the heptathlon after coming into the conference meet ranked 14th in the league. Hudepohl had only done a full heptathlon once coming into Big Ten’s at the Akron Invitational, where he scored 4,321 points, 1,017 short of his performance at the championships (5,338). His total is an NCAA provisional mark and is the 18th best heptathlon score in the country this season.
THROW OUT THE RECORDS
The Buckeyes have dominated the wieght throw the last five seasons and continued this year.
Lenny Jatsek won the title this season in a season best mark of 66-9 1/2. Jatsek is the third different Buckeye to win the Big Ten title in the event since 2001 (2002 championships cancelled, Dan Taylor 2003-04, Bryan Duby 2005, Jatsek 2006-07).
The throwers have also rewritten the Ohio State record books during this run of Big Ten titles. The Top 8 spots in Ohio State history in the weight throw are all held by Jatsek, Talyor and Duby. With Taylor hold the school record (78-9-1/2) and the second (73-4) and fifth (67-6 1/4) spots in the record books. Duby holds the fourth spot with a throw of 68-5 1/2. Current Buckeye Jatsek holds the third (72-5 3/4) seventh (67-5 1/2) seventh (66-9 1/2) and eighth (65-8) spots in the record book the seventh and eighth which he set this season.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will head to the 2007 Big Ten Championships May 11-13 in State College, Pa.
