May 3, 2007
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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State women's track and field team, hosts its first meet of the season, the Jesse Owens Classic Saturday in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. 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.
FORMER HEAD COACH Russ Rogers HONORED
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 said. "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.
JATSEK DOMINATES HAMMER
Junior Veronica Jatsek continues to ride the wave of her great indoor season with more impressive performances during the outdoor season.
Jatsek was named an All-American with her seventh-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the weight throw. Jatsek is currently leading the Big Ten in the hammer throw by 6-8 3/4 and is the only female in the Big Ten with a toss of more than 200 feet. Her toss of 201-9 3/4 at the All-Ohio Championships is currently ranked 11th in the country.
LAST TIME OUT: DRAKE RELAYS
Friday - Ohio State opened competition at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sophomore Ayrizanna Favours ran in the 100-meter dash Friday, timing an 11.92 to place ninth in the prelims. Her time served as a season-best, but missed the finals by one slot. Later Friday, she and the rest of the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Ashley Jones, Chandra Krempel and Ashley Caldwell took 24th in a season best time of 3:46.87.
The distance medley relay unit of Jones, Caldwell, Krempel and Melanie Price paced a 16th-place time of 12:06.69.
Saturday - Ohio State competed in the final day of events at the 2007 Drake Relays.
Veronica Jatsek turned in Ohio State's top field performance, taking seventh in the hammer throw. She reached a distance of 192 feet, 5 inches. In jumps, Veronica Vance was eighth in the triple jump at better than 41 feet and 17th in the long jump at 18-7 1/4.Her mark in the triple (41-0 1/4) is a regional qualifier.
FEAR FAVOURS
Sophomore Aryrizanna Favours is one of the top sprinters in the Big Ten this season and is currently ranked seventh in the conference in the 100-meter (12.00) and 200-meter dashes (24.22) with both times coming at the All-Ohio Championships.
Favours is also ranked second in the conference in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.27. Favours marked that time at the Sea Ray Relays. This time is also a NCAA regional qualifying time.
Favours also recently scored 26 team points for the Buckeyes at All-Ohio Championships. She did it with wins in the 200m and 400m dashes, and a fourth-place finish in the 100m.
Favours is making a name for herself as one of the best 400-meter runners in Ohio State history. She currently holds two of the top five times in Ohio State history in the indoor 400m (3rd-53.47, T4th-54.14).
Favours has also been a member of the last three 4x400-meter relays teams to break the indoor school record (2006-3:39.95; 2007-Armory-3:39.77; 2007-Sykes-Sabock-3:38.63).
Favours time at Penn State provisional qualifies her for the NCAA championships and it was the eighth best time in the country.
V FOR VICTORY AND VERONICA
At the Auburn Springtime Invitational March 24 both Veronica Vance and Veronica Jatsek opened the season with wins and NCAA regional marks.
Vance won the triple jump with a mark of 41-1, which was a new track record. Vance's leap is the best in the Big Ten this season. That mark is also ranked 25th in the nation
Jatsek won the hammer throw with a toss of 187-5, besting the field by 8-3. Her toss is currently ranked fourth in the Big Ten. The mark by Jatsek is ranked 25th in the country.
HARRIS, JATSEK SCORE ALL-AMERICA HONORS AT INDOOR NATIONALS
Ohio State had two student-athletes earn All-American honors at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships March 10. Jenna Harris finished eighth in the 400m dash final in a time of 53.31.
In field events, junior Veronica Jatsek placed seventh in the weight throw to earn her first All-America honor at a distance of 66-9 3/4.
JATSEK JOINS BROTHER WITH ALL-AMERICAN STATUS IN WEIGHT THROW
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.
HARRIS SHATTERS OSU 400-METER MARK
Jenna Harris, running in just her third 400m event of the 2007 season, established a program record in advancing to the national final in the event at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships. Harris clocked a time of 52.74 to place fourth in the preliminary round. That mark snapped a 24-year old OSU standard set by 1988 U.S. Olympian Diane Dixon, who set the record at 53.17 Feb. 19, 1983. In the final, Harris took eighth (53.31).
NO HALTING HARRIS INDOORS, BUT SENIOR WILL REDSHIRT OUTDOORS
Jenna Harris made the most of her indoor senior season, rewriting the Ohio State record books, but she will sit out the 2007 outdoor season as a redshirt. Harris set the Buckeye 400m record at indoor nationals (52.74) and took aim at two additional school record so far this season. As a member of the 4x400-meter relay team, Harris helped set the OSU record at the New Balance Invite with a time of 3:39.77. She was part of the team that broke that record a week later in a time of 3:38.63 at Penn State.
Harris almost took down another school record in winning the Big Ten championships in the 60-meter dash. She set a personal best time of 7.35, just three-hundredths of a second off the school record.
A GLANCE AT THE OUTDOOR SCHEDULE
The outdoor season opened March 24 at the Auburn Spingtime Invitational. The Buckeyes headed back to the midwest April 6-7 for Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., but the meet was cancelled beause of weather conditions.
Ohio State utilized a selected squad to compete at the Sea Ray Relays April 13-14 in Knoxville, Tenn., but the second day was cancelled because of weather. Then the Buckeyes competed against Ohio's best at the 2007 All-Ohio Championships in Cincinnati taking third last week.
April 28 Ohio State headed to the Drake Realys for the final regular season road trip.
Ohio State's feature home event is the Jesse Owens Track Classic, held Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. "The Jesse" will celebrate its 22nd running in 2007.
The postseason gets underway May 11-13 as Penn State plays host to the 2007 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. For those who qualify, the Mideast Regional will be hosted by Missouri and run May 25-26, two weeks prior to the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships, which again will be held in Sacramento, Calif.
OSU TAKES BOTH BIG TEN ATHLETE OF THE WEEK AWARDS FEB. 20
Sophomore Ayrizanna Favours claimed her second career Big Ten track athlete of the week award and sophomore Veronica Jatsek claimed her first league field athlete of the week award Feb. 20.
Favours takes home her second career Big Ten honor exactly one year after claiming her first Feb. 21, 2006. Favours led the Buckeyes on the track Saturday at the Buckeye Invitational with an NCAA provisional mark of 7.43 to win the 60-meter dash. Her time is the fifth best mark in Ohio State history and is the third different NCAA provisional mark for Favours this season. Favours also has provisional marks in the 400-meter dash (53.47) and she is also a member of school record-holding 4x400-meter relay (3:38.62).
Jatsek took home her first weekly award by leading the Buckeyes in the field at the Buckeye Invitational. Jatsek won the shot put and weight throw with season best marks on both events. She claimed top honors the weight with an NCAA provisional mark of 68 feet, 1 ½ inches and won the shot put with a toss of 49-7 3/4. Jatsek's mark in the weight is the best in the Big Ten and ranks fifth in the country this season. It also is the fourth-best mark in Ohio State history. Her mark in the shot is fourth in the Big Ten this season. Jatsek shared the award with Peaches Roach of Iowa, who hit 6-0 in the high jump.
OSU PAIR GRABS POSTSEASON HONORS
The Big Ten announced its all-conference teams following the 2007 Women's Indoor Championships in Champagne, Ill. Ohio State had two of the team's top competitors honored.
Senior Jenna Harris was named first-team All-Big Ten with her win in the 60-meter dash in a time of 7.35. Harris edged Illinois' Yvonne Mensah by .01 seconds to claim her second 60m Big Ten title of her career, adding to her 2005 crown. Harris' time in the 60m is the second best in Ohio State history and .03 off the school record. Harris now holds five of the Top 6 times in the Buckeye record books and is still after Donica Merriman's school record of 7.32. The time by Harris is the 21st best in the country this season. Harris adds the 60m mark to her time of 53.27 in the 400-meter dash which ranks ninth in the country this season and second in Ohio State history.
Junior Veronica Jatsek was named second team All-Big Ten with her second-place finish in the weight throw. Jatsek's toss of 68-5 3/4 is the fourth-best in Ohio State history and a season-best. It is an NCAA provisional qualifying toss and sixth-best in the country this season. Jatsek had the best throw by a non-senior by 12-11 1/4. It is Jatsek's first Big Ten postseason award. Jatsek's brother, Lenny, also took Big Ten honors in the weight throw after winning the league title in the men's event. It is the first time that a brother-sister combination has taken All-Big Ten honors in the same year since Tonya and Tyrone Williams of Illinois were both on the All-Big Ten team in 1995.
BUCKEYES INK STANDOUT HIGH JUMPER
Karen Dennis, Ohio State women's track and field head coach, announced the signing of recruit Laura Allred, a high jumper from Cypress, Texas. A participant in the 2006 U.S. Junior Nationals meet, Allred owns a personal-best mark of 5 feet, 8 inches.
Allred holds the high jump record at Cy-Fair High School and helped the team to district championships in each of the last two seasons. A participant in the 2006 U.S. Junior Nationals meet, Allred claimed the 2005 and 6 district high jump titles. She also was named district jumper of the year the last two seasons.
"We are excited about Laura signing in the early signing period, Dennis, in her first season as Ohio State head coach, said. She is the fourth best high school high jumper returning for the 2007 year. She is smart, highly motivated and really studies her craft. We believe with hard work she will become one of the finest high jumpers in our conference, and nationally. It's also good to have made an impact on the great state of Texas."
Allred was a 2006 Jr. Olympic qualifier and National Youth Elite Athlete All-American. She was named to the 2006 All-Greater Houston Track and Field Team after taking third place at the Texas Relays. Overall, Allred has 18 event titles in her scholastic career.
A Special Olympics volunteer, Allred is a member of the Cy-Fair honor roll and serves as a mentor in her community.
WILLING HER WAY TO THE TOP
Sophomore Kim Willet tied the third best mark in school history in the pole vault last week with her winning jump at Akron of 11-11 3/4.
This gives Willet the second and third best marks in Ohio State history in the pole vault.
Willet is still after Becky Heintz school record of 12-5 1/2 set in 2004.
UP NEXT
Ohio State will head to the 2007 Big Ten Championships on May 11-13 at State College, Pa.
