Ohio State Track & Field

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

6/14/06

Trotwood's Robinson headed to OSU

By Dave Long
Staff Writer

Stephen Robinson, who helped Trotwood-Madison to the runner-up spot at the state Division I track meet, will run in college for Ohio State. He picked the Buckeyes over Kent State, South Carolina and Tennessee.

"They had the best scholarship offer and I really liked the people I'll be running with," he said. "I think we can make some noise next year in the Big 10 and in the NCAA." Robinson was fourth in the 100 meters, third in the 400 meters and ran on second-place 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams.

His best times for the season were 10.64 seconds in the 100, 21.53 in the 200 and 47.70 in the 400.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/23/06

U.S. TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Olinger can thank coach for attitude adjustment

Gary turned scrawny freshman into Olympic hopeful

Friday, June 23, 2006

Josh Moss
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Robert Gary, Ohio State’s track and field distance coach and a two-time Olympian, did not think Brian Olinger was physically ready to compete in college when they met more than five years ago.
"He had the leg strength of a thirdgrader," Gary said.
Olinger graduated from OSU this past spring, and Gary’s view has changed. Today, the two will compete at the U.S. track and field championships in Indianapolis. Olinger clocked the third-fastest entry time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 8 minutes, 19.56 seconds. Gary’s time of 8:24.16 put him fourth.
Olinger continues to train under Gary, but Gary is more than his coach. They train together and sometimes compete in the same race.
They both want to win, but Gary often serves as the "rabbit" and sets the pace.
"At the beginning, it was awkward for (Olinger) to beat me," Gary said. "(Now) he’s on his way up, and I’m at the tail end of my career. He should beat my butt."
This event is different because, win or lose, it will be Gary’s last as a competitor.
"We’ll see if experience really pays off," Gary said. "I have the most experience in the field, which is just another way of saying I’m the oldest."
Gary is happy with coaching. It is rewarding to watch an athlete such as Olinger evolve from a scrawny freshman into a three-time All-American, he said.
"It almost feels like (Olinger) is my son," Gary said. When Olinger met Gary, he had trouble comprehending Gary. He thought, "(Gary) needs to slow down when he talks because I can’t understand a word he’s saying."
But Gary did get through to his student. When Olinger showed up at OSU, he still carried the I-am-king mind-set he developed in high school as the state’s Division III champion in the 3,200 meters
"I’m the state champion; I’m one of the best guys in Ohio," Olinger said of his attitude at the time. "What else do I have to do?"
Upperclassmen and Gary helped Olinger understand that he would have to train harder if he wanted to succeed in college.
In 2004, Olinger set a personal record in the 3,000 steeplechase at 8:50. Gary said that Olinger would have a chance at a spot on the Olympic team if he could shave about 30 seconds off that time.
"He planted that seed in my head," Olinger said.
jmoss@dispatch.com

[BB73]

A women's track coach has been hired, per the Ozone.

The fact that she was the head track coach for the 2000 Olympics makes this an impressive hire for Gene Smith.

theozone.net/Track

Women's Track Former U. S. Olympic Head Coach to Take the Reins OSU Women's Track Team By John Porentas
Ohio State has a women's track coach for the first time since 1993.

Former OSU track coach Russ Rodgers coached both the men's and the women's track teams at OSU, but with Rodgers' retirement this spring, OSU administrators decided to hire separate coaches for the men's and women's teams. Karen Dennis has been hired to head the OSU women's track program and will be the first OSU women's track coach since Mamie Rallins last held the position in 1993.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=100 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>Karen Dennis at Jesse Owens Stadium
Photo by Jim Davidson
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Dennis is a Detroit native who attended Michigan State. She was a track athlete for the Spartans and was hired in there in 1981 as the women's track coach. She served in that capacity until 1991 and led the Spartans to a Big Ten team championship in 1982. Dennis moved on to UNLV in 1992 where she also led the Rebels to a conference championship.

In 2000 Dennis was named the head coach of the U.S. Olympic team that competed in Sydney Australia. In 1995 she served as an assistant coach of the World Championship squad that competed in Gotteberg, Sweden. and guided the U. S. Women's team at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba.

Dennis remained at UNLV until 2002 when she came to Ohio to take a position on Russ Rodgers' staff as a sprints and hurdles assistant where she coached both men and women. Dennis said her return to the Midwest, specifically to Ohio State, was a dream come true.

"When I was at Michigan State coaching, Mamie Rallins was coaching here, and I always looked at Ohio State from afar and thought 'Boy, that's a nice place to be.'

"I've always really respected and admired Ohio State. Being in the Big Ten is special, that it's the most special conference in the country anyway because of its rich athletic and academic tradition," Dennis said.

Dennis has set her sights on returning the Buckeye track program to the ranks of the elite.

"I think it can be," she said.

"I think its going to take a lot of work and some restructuring and re-energizing and refocusing of just the Ohio high school coaches in track and field, them looking at Ohio State as a product that they would want to send their students. Recruiting really is the key."

One of the tools at her disposal in recruiting future athletes is Jesse Owens Stadium, the state-of-the art track facility at Ohio State.

"It's unbelievable," said Dennis.

"This is one of the features that will attract young people to come to Ohio State. The Jesse Owens stadium is world renowned.

"Just having his name on the stadium invokes greatness in track tradition. What we would like to do is bring in the standard and quality of student-athlete that Jesse Owens could look down on and say 'Way to go. Way to go.'"

Dennis is on the USA Track and Field International Competition Committee and is a past president of the Athletic Congress Women's Track Coaches Association. Dennis has also served as a member of the NCAA Women's Track and Field Committee and NCAA Track Coaches Association.

[AirForceBuck]

Just chiming in, no real exerpt with me, but I was reading through the "transactions" detail in the USA Today a few days ago and saw Robert Gary was hired as our Mens Track & Field Coach.

[OH10]

Originally Posted by AirForceBuck

Just chiming in, no real exerpt with me, but I was reading through the "transactions" detail in the USA Today a few days ago and saw Robert Gary was hired as our Mens Track & Field Coach.

Excellent hire. A great Buckeye distance runner.

[AirForceBuck]

Originally Posted by StadiumDorm

Excellent hire. A great Buckeye distance runner.

Wow, just did a little research and you are correct, this was a great hire.

http://www.cstv.com/sports/c-track/s...072406aaa.html


Robert Gary Named Men's Track and Field Head Coach




July 24, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Robert Gary was named Ohio State's seventh men's track and field head coach Monday in an announcement made by Miechelle Willis, Ohio State's senior associate athletics director. Men's cross country head coach at Ohio State since his graduation from OSU in 1996, Gary succeeds Russ Rogers, who retired in June after 19 seasons with the Buckeyes.

"Being named the track and field head coach at my alma mater is almost beyond my dreams," Gary, who has been named Ohio Cross Country Coach of the Year five of the last six seasons, said. "Being a part of the outstanding track and field tradition at The Ohio State University is truly an honor.

"I will be committed to building a complete track and field team. We will create a culture for our student-athletes to achieve their academic and athletic goals. I envision a balanced team with all the event areas working toward a common goal of a Big Ten championship."

A two-time Olympian (1996 Atlanta Games and 2004 Athens Games) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Gary was named 2005 Great Lakes Region Cross Country Coach of the Year last season. He led the men's cross country squad to a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships, third place in the Great Lakes meet and a No. 11 standing at the 2005 NCAA Championships.
On the track last season, Gary mentored Brian Olinger to his second-consecutive All-American season, upping Gary's total to 11 All-America awards in men's distance at Ohio State. Olinger, a senior, also claimed the Big Ten 10,000-meter title, moving Gary's total to 16 conference distance champions.
The 2004 track and field season could possibly serve as Gary's best campaign as a pair of Buckeyes scored Top 4 finishes in their respective events at the NCAA championships. Rob Myers (2001-04) took fourth in the men's 1,500-meter run before placing third at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in a career-best time of 3:38.93. In addition, Aaron Fisher (2002-05) clocked a fourth-place time in the men's steeple at the NCAA championships, ahead of Olinger, who turned in a Top 20 performance. <!-- STORY AD BEGINS HERE -->

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In 2005, Fisher again claimed All-America honors in the steeple, while Olinger nabbed his first All-America award in the indoor 5,000m. Olinger also posted some of his top times in the steeple in 2005, highlighted by a fourth-place finish and career-best 8:28.44 at the USA Nationals and an 8:19.56 at an international meet in Belgium. The 8:19.56 mark ranks second all-time in the American collegiate ranks. Only Ohio State's Mark Croghan (1988-91), a two-time NCAA champion in the steeple, has a better mark as a collegiate student-athlete.


Gary also guided Ian Connor (1998-2001) to four Big Ten crowns and two All-America honors in the indoor 5,000 meters and steeplechase.
Connor, Fisher, Olinger and Myers all hail from Ohio. Gary intends to continue to recruit in-state prospects and extend his success in the distance area to all events.

"I am very excited to begin staffing, so we can begin recruiting as soon as possible," Gary, who retired from competitive running in 2006, said. "I am dedicated to building a similar `recruiting wall' around the state of Ohio that our cross country program has been able to do. Some of the greatest track and field recruits in the country are from Ohio and I look forward to this great challenge."

As a student-athlete at Ohio State, Gary was a four-time All-American and Big Ten champion. In 2004, he became the fifth former Buckeye to gain a bid to two separate U.S. Olympic teams by placing third in the men's steeplechase at the Olympic Trials with a career-best 8:19.46. His third-place finish gained an automatic bid on the U.S. team headed to the Athens Games.
Gary also earned accolades in cross country, winning the 2004 Track and Field News Cross Country Runner of the Year award. Gary qualified for the U.S. team for the second straight season in both the 4- and 12-kilometer events. He finished as the top American at the 2004 World Championships in the 4K. Gary's 2004 qualification to the world championships in two events marked the first time a U.S. runner made both teams in consecutive years.

[bkochmc]

Nice job getting to the articles before me guys.

My take: excellent hires on both sides. The first item on both of their lists should be to make Ohio State attactive to the best athletes in Ohio so they stay here... ususally the state's best athletes head elsewhere (Tennessee, Michigan, Penn St., ND, Auburn, etc...). The second item on Gary's list should be to have a great relationship with the football team so Tressel will allow his athlete to run/throw. I'm sure he would have no problem with it as the work would be excellent speed/strength conditioning but it seems lately that it is the athletes that don't want to run (usually so they can hone their football skills, which is fine). In a way, Gary has to recruit Ohio State athletes to run for Ohio State. If that happens I believe he can gain a bunch of points on the track.

[BB73]

lantern
New day dawns for OSU track and field



Anthony Puleio

Issue date: 8/8/06 Section: Sports

<TABLE align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width=10 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle> Media Credit: Courtesy of Glenn Collins
Senior Glenn Collins (left) and Robert Gary (right) at the 2005 Cross Country banquet.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Ohio State track and field program will enter a new era this season. When former coach Russ Rogers announced his retirement on June 5, the program essentially lost two coaches as Rogers commandeered both the men's and women's teams for 18 and 12 years, respectively.

Ohio State has now separated the programs, with Robert Gary taking over the men's team and Karen Dennis leading the women's team. Both coaches were hired from within OSU. Gary has been the men's cross country coach since 1996, which he will continue, and Dennis has been the men's and women's sprints and hurdles assistant coach since 2002. The two were brought into the program through Rogers and hope to duplicate his success.

Gary, a 1996 graduate of OSU, has competed on a national and international level as an athlete, gaining bids to two separate U.S. Olympic teams in the 3000-meter steeplechase. He's a five-time Ohio Cross Country Coach of the Year and the 2005 Great Lakes Region Cross Country Coach of the Year. He's coached 13 Big Ten distance champions and 12 All-Americans and over the past four years. A total of 26 student-athletes have gained Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honors under his guidance.

Dennis, the first women's coach since 1993, has been coaching for more than 25 years in the collegiate, national and international ranks and has produced numerous conference champions, All-Americans and Olympians. She coached the women's track and field team at Michigan State University, her alma mater, for 15 seasons with 11 of those spent as the head coach and earning District IV Coach of the Year in 1982.

In 1992, she took over at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas as the women's cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field coach, where she stayed for 11 seasons and produced 12 All-Americans. She was the women's sprints coach at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She is on the USA Track and Field International Competition Committee and is the past president of the Athletic Congress Women's Track Coaches Association. She's also served as a member of the NCAA Track and Field Committee and the NCAA Track Coaches Association.

For Gary, it is a dream job and one that he loves.

"The best thing about Ohio State to me has always been the people," he said. "We have such a huge team, but ultimately we're all working towards a goal. (Track and field) is pretty unique compared to other sports."

Despite her coaching positions at MSU and UNLV, Dennis said this is her best opportunity as a coach.

"When I was at Michigan State, we did not have a full compliment of scholarships to work with and that makes a big difference when you're being competitive with other schools in the Big Ten and throughout the country," she said. "And when I was at UNLV, it just did not have the academic reputation and recruiting through the desert is very different than recruiting to The Ohio State University."

She also said she loves the reciprocal relationship she gets from coaching her young athletes.

"I just enjoy their youth, their enthusiasm and their intelligence," she said. "It's always a pleasure to be energized by these young people, particularly here in the Big Ten conference."

Rogers left the program with some key athletes in place, but both coaches know they will have to continue to attract top caliber athletes from within Ohio, forming a "recruiting wall" around the state.

"Certainly the talent is here, what we have to do now is get them here," Dennis said. "We've got a world-renowned academic reputation at Ohio State, we've got athletic tradition and we have the recruiting capability. What we have to do now is get a staff on board to go out and attract the talent within the state to stay in the state."

The high profile of some of OSU's other varsity sports is an added advantage.

"Track is pretty specific, but you can get a lot of kids that just want to be a part of something," Gary said. "It's just (about) creating that special culture, or making people aware of it, something that I think is pretty well in place already."

Gary said he hopes to create more awareness of the program by potentially structuring meets in a more streamlined manner enabling them to be completed in a couple of hours, perhaps holding as few as 10 events. This would give them a more international feel and possibly help foster more public interest.

The next step for both coaches is to select a staff that will help each team reach their goals. They both have candidates in mind but there has been an overwhelming amount of interest, so it may take some time.

"We're going to do a national search and get the best people in here," Dennis said.

[osugrad21]

Link

On Campus: Whalen?s toss among nation?s best

By Barry Bottino

Pat Whalen is convinced he?ll never be healthy.

During the past two seasons at Ohio State, the Jacobs graduate has endured a gruesome leg injury and recurring hand problems.

?I?ll never feel 100 percent,? said Whalen, a thrower for the Buckeyes? track and field team.

But last weekend, Whalen enjoyed the healthiest performance of his college career.

During OSU?s season-opening indoor meet, the Kentucky Invitational, Whalen threw a career-best 59 feet, 5 3/4 inches in the shot put to become a provisional qualifier for the NCAA indoor nationals in March in Fayetteville, Ark. The NCAA fills the field at nationals with provisional qualifiers when there are not enough athletes who reach the automatic standard.

[bkochmc]

Official Site

Ohio State Men's Track and Field Posts Top Marks at Akron Invitational

See wins mile in personal-best time, Cathcart takes triple jump title


Feb. 3, 2007

Columbus, Ohio - The Ohio State men's track and field team finished the final day of competition Saturday at the Akron Invitational. The Buckeyes were led sophomore Jeff See and his winning time in the mile run. Fellow sophomore Brandon Cathcart won the triple jump, while junior Patrick Whalen added a first-place finish in the shot put.

See won the mile (gold division) in a personal-best time of 4:00.52, the second-best in Ohio State history. His mile mark is an NCAA provisional qualifier and is ranked the third best in the country this season. See's time also is the best time in the country this year for an underclassman.


Continued...

[bkochmc]

Official Site

Ohio State Women's Track and Field Finishes Action at Armory Invitational and Akron Invitational

Harris and Jatsek perform well at Armory, Willet ties own pole vault record at Akron

Feb. 3, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State women's track and field team finished the final day of the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York, N.Y., inside the Armory Fieldhouse. Ohio State was led in the Armory by sophomore Veronica Jatsek, who won the weight throw, while senior Kim Willet cleared the top mark in the Akron Invitational pole vault in Akron, Ohio.


Jatsek won the Armory weight with an NCAA provisional and season best mark of 65 feet, 4 inches. Her mark is the seventh best throw in the country this season. On the Armory track, senior Jenna Harris finished the event with a pair of top 10 finishes, taking sixth in the 60-meter dash in 7.45 and adding an eighth-place time in the 200-meter dash in 23.97.Also in the field, Veronica Vance came in fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 39-4 1/2.


Continued...

[bkochmc]

Official Site

Ohio State Surges to Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup Title

Buckeyes knock off No. 20 Pittsburgh and No. 24 Penn State en route team title


Feb. 11, 2007

Results

Columbus, Ohio - The Ohio State men's track and field team finished action Saturday at the Sykes-Sabock challeng in State College, Pa. The Buckeyes claimed the team title with a total of 107 points, ahead of host Penn State and Pittsburgh. The Buckeyes took the team lead in the event with a win by Elon Simms in the in the 600-meter run and never looked back.

Simms won the 600m in a meet record time of 1:18.01. Simms' time also is the best in the Big Ten season. Also in the 600m, freshman Brandon Woodard came in fifth with a time of 1:20. 57. Junior Anthony Cole took second in the 200-meter dash with a 21.54, a best this season and the second-best time in the Big Ten. In the 800-meter run, sophomore Jeff See took fifth with a time of 1:50.83. The Buckeyes sealed the victory with a top time in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:14.97.



Continued...

[bkochmc]

Official Site

Ohio State Finishes Action at Sykes-Sabock Challenge

Relay team sets school record for second straight week, Harris and Favours hit provisional marks in 400 meters

Feb. 11, 2007

Results

Columbus, Ohio - The Ohio State women's track and field team completed action at the Skykes-Sabock Challenge Saturday with a fifth-place team finish. The Buckeyes were lead by the 4x400-meter relay team of Chandra Krempel, Jenna Harris, Ashley Caldwell and Ayrizanna Favours that placed second in a school-record time.

The relay team set the school record for second-consecutive week with a time of 3:38.68, setting a NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Individually on the track, the Buckeyes were lead by Harris, who took second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.27. She was followed closely by Favours, who took third in a time of 53.47. Harris' time is the second-best in Ohio State history in the 400m and Favours' time is the third-best all-time. Both times are NCAA provisional qualifying marks and are two of the Top 8 times in the country this season.


Continued...

[bkochmc]

Official Site

Ohio State Gets Ready for Big Ten's In French Field House

Buckeyes return to Columbus to host only home meet of the season

Feb. 15, 2007


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State women's track and field team hosts the Buckeye Invitational on Saturday. The meet will be the final event before the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Indiana.

BUCKEYE INVITATIONAL
Days: Saturday - 10 am. - 4:25 pm.
Venue: French Field House
Meet Information: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com

Continued...

Live results of this meet will be posted on Delta Timing's website (this site also gives a quick history behind the French Fieldhouse):
Buckeye Invitational Live Results

[bkochmc]

Official Site

Ohio State Turns In Strong Effort at Buckeye Invitational

Cole breaks French Field House 60m dash record, Whalen hits career-best in shot put



Junior Tony Cole set a new French Field House record in the 60-meter dash, 6.69.



Feb. 18, 2007

Results

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State men's track and field team played host to the Buckeye Invitational Saturday in French Field House. The Buckeyes tuned up for the Big Ten championships next week in Bloomington, Ind., with several solid performances in both the running and field events.


Junior Tony Cole raced to a facility record time in winning the 60-meter dash. His mark of 6.69 topped the former French Field House standard of 6.74, held by three-time Buckeye All-American Joel Brown, who ran at Ohio State from 2001-04. Cole's 60m time is ranked No. 10 in the country this season and stands second all-time at Ohio State, behind John Burrell's 6.65 set in 1995.


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