Buckeyes on the right track headed into Big Tens
By Zack Meisel
A two week break separates this past weekend’s Jesse Owens Classic and the Big Ten Championships. Ohio State’s men’s and women’s track teams need it, after all of their successful running and throwing during the intense invitational.
The two-day tournament, featuring seven Big Ten schools among the many participants, kicked off with four meet records on Friday night. Junior sprinter Jeff See capped the evening with a Jesse Owens Stadium record of 3:40.86 in the men’s 1500 meter race. The impressive time, the second fastest in Buckeye history, helped electrify the crowd and team for the remainder of the meet.
“I admire Jeff; he is just a machine,” senior thrower Lenny Jatsek said. “I don’t know how he does it; you think he’s just going to die at some point, and he just keeps going, it’s amazing. He’s kind of a quiet guy, but everyone looks up to him. When he ended the day on a fired-up note, we came out the next day ready to go.”
While See’s feat captivated the intrigued crowd, it even impressed his teammates and coach.
“He looked incredibly strong,” Head Coach Robert Gary said. “He was out there by himself for the last 600 meters or so, and if there wasn’t any wind, I have no doubt that he could’ve given our school record an extra scare. It made me feel really good about where his training is at.”
The four new records, including See’s mark, jump-started the entire Buckeye squad for Saturday’s events, women’s coach Karen Dennis added.
“It’s always exciting to see a meet start off with some strong performances,” she explained. “It sets the momentum for the next day. And when one individual has a good day, then it just motivates the rest of the group to do well. That’s what teams do; they feed off of each other. So when you have positive energy going, it just permeates throughout the rest of the group.”
The intense atmosphere continued on into Saturday, as several men’s competitors set personal bests. Senior sprinter Anthony Cole finished third in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.04 seconds, and the men’s 4x400 relay team achieved the top spot. Overall, Coach Gary was pleasantly satisfied with his team’s camaraderie and unity.
“I think it’s infectious,” he said. “If we start off the meets doing really well, then the guys that come in the next day really want to make sure that they get caught up in the spirit of everything.”
The key element for the men’s team consisted of overcoming better competition, Gary added.
“For the most part, I thought we beat a lot of the guys that were ranked ahead of us,” he explained. “I think beating people that have faster times is obviously a good springboard headed into the conference meet.”
The Big Ten Championships, May 16-18 in Champaign, Illinois, will be the measuring stick for the men’s successful season. This team has plans that no team in nearly a century has matched, Gary added.
“1923 was the last time OSU was Top 3 in the country in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track,” he explained. “This year, we were third in cross country and third in indoor, so we really set it as a goal to try to do something that an OSU team hasn’t done in about 85 years. We definitely want to try to be Top 3 at the conference meet.”
As for the Lady Buckeyes, a repeat of last year’s bottom-place finish at the Big Tens is not in the works for this season’s expectations, Head Coach Karen Dennis said.
“We will have no more of that,” she boldly pronounced. “We’re hoping that the seniors who have been carrying this program can lead the conference and the program to a better standing. There will be no more being a doormat of this conference.”
The Jesse Owens Classic served as preparation for a better finish, as the women’s 4x400 relay team took home first place. In addition, senior sprinter Jenna Griffin placed third in the 400 meter dash, and freshman sprinter Leticia Wright finished third in the 100-meter hurdles.
Each quality result satisfied Coach Dennis, who hopes that the team’s performance last weekend will act as a catalyst for the Big Ten tournament.
“I was really pleased with this weekend’s performances,” she said. “It’s an improvement over some of our other performances, so it’s an indication that we’re going in the right direction. Hopefully this past weekend will be a springboard toward the kind of performances that we need to have at the Big Ten Championships.”
Junior thrower Veronica Jatsek agrees that the Jesse Owens Classic will serve as a stepping stone for an improving women’s track program.
“We’re Ohio State, and we should always have a good track team,” she proclaimed. “Thinking about the tradition of Jesse Owens and all of the history behind it, it’s embarrassing to be last, and none of us want that. So it’s a matter of overcoming the downfalls we’ve had the last couple of years and trying to build this team back up.”
As a whole, both the men and women know that the Big Ten Championships will bring out everyone’s best, Jatsek added.
“I definitely think we’re on the right track,” she said. “We had some good performances this weekend, and I think that everyone is ready to get into the championship part of the season. We wait all year long for these meets, so everyone is really getting ready to break through.”
Originally Published: Issue 647 - May 7, 2008
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