U Weekly. Serving The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio

Indoor season starts strong

By Colin Day

While it might be early to speculate, great results from the first meets of the season have left many Buckeyes feeling very good about their chances as the track and field season begins indoors.

For the men's team, the Buckeyes began their season back in 2009 at Kent State for the Golden Flash Gala in mid-December. While many runners were resting up, some of the youngest teammates on the squad had a of couple standout performances. Freshman Korbin Smith finished ninth in the heptathlon in his first real experience with the events, and redshirt freshman Heath Nickles finished second in the event, behind volunteer assistant Patrick Woods, who recently graduated from Ohio State.

Freshman Daryl Murphy came close to the mile title with a second place finish, and redshirt freshman Will Knickel came in sixth. Marietta native Cody Westbrook took fourth in the long jump, competing in his first meet for Ohio State.

The upgraded French Field House on Woody Hayes Drive provided the backdrop for the 2010 season opener back on Jan. 9, giving both men and women Buckeyes the opportunity to stretch their legs against some regional competition. Big wins for the men's team included sophomore Thomas Murdaugh's 400m time of 48.25 seconds, redshirt junior Curtis Leuenberger's 200m time of 21.97 seconds and freshman Derek Blevin's long jump of 7.13m.

For the women, junior Letecia Wright had a great meet, winning the 60m hurdles in 8.39 seconds and coming in second in the 60m dash in 7.71 seconds. Sophomore Shaniqua McGinnis and senior Latoya Sanderson finished one-two in the 400m dash, and senior Ashley Caldwell won the 800m race with 2:18.44.

Two weekends ago, the men's team participated in their first dual of the year at the University of Michigan. Nicknamed "The Dual," the Buckeyes came out victorious with a 92-70 win. Smith came back from his previous meet to out-jump the field with 7.35m, Nickles finished first in pole vault with 4.90m and Leuenberger won in the 200m in 21.56 seconds. Murdaugh, the Big Ten runner of the week, continued to win in the 400m with a time of 47.18, which was also a NCAA provisional time. With his run, Murdaugh has a time that can propel him to nationals, should his numbers hold up.

The most impressive feat of the dual came in the field, however, when sophomore Max Mays had an NCAA provisional of 19.52m in the weight throw. His personal best, Mays beat the Michigan record holder Sean Pruitt, who was also champion of last year's indoor season.

On that same weekend, the women's team drove down to the Kentucky Invitational to participate in a high-class meet that would challenge many schools with the speed of the south. Great results came from senior Katie Williams, who was fourth in the mile run with a time of 4:53.60, good enough for sixth best in the Big Ten this year and the third best ever in a Buckeye uniform. Sophomore Maggie Mullin had a personal best toss of 17.94 in the weight throw for seventh overall, and the 4x400m relay team came in fourth, just edging out Tennessee.

Next up for the Buckeyes is the Penn State National Invitational, the first large meet for the combined squads this year. Both teams will not be back to compete in Columbus until Feb. 19, the weekend before the Big Ten Championship. This year's competition will be at the University of Minnesota for the men and Penn State for the women.

Originally Published: January 27, 2010

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