Olympic Recap: Rowing, Track And Field Win Big Ten Championships, Softball Earns No. 2 Seed In NCAA Tournament
The No. 9-seeded Ohio State rowing team won the Big Ten Championship on Sunday, placing first in four races and second in three others. It’s the 10th conference title in program history, including eight of the last 11 years (not included 2020, which was canceled).
Ohio State and Michigan battled throughout the afternoon, and the Buckeyes were able to claim the Big Ten title in a photo finish – winning by just 0.6 seconds – to edge the Wolverines in the first varsity eight race.
In addition to winning the first varsity eight, the Buckeyes placed first in the the first novice eight, second varsity four and first varsity four, and second in the second novice eight, second varsity eight and third varsity four.
The Buckeyes will find out their fate during the NCAA Rowing Selection Show on Tuesday at 5 p.m., with the NCAA championships set for May 27-29 in Sarasota, Fla.
Track And Field
Also on Sunday, the Ohio State track and field team won the men’s and women’s 2022 Big Ten Outdoor Championships held in Minneapolis, Minn., the first time since 1997 that a school has swept the men’s and women’s titles.
The women dominated the event, finishing with a team score of 185.5, well ahead of second-place Wisconsin with 98. The men, with a team score of 124, edged out Iowa’s finish of 103 to take first.
This was the third-straight and fifth overall title for the women and sixth overall title for the men. The women’s team score of 185.5 points set a team record, breaking the previous record of 179 set in 1994.
Ohio State won in the 4x100m relay, with Yanique Dayle, Anavia Battle, Nya Bussey and Leah Betrand finishing with a time of 43.20 seconds, beating the field by more than a second. In the women’s 4×400, Ohio State won with a time of 3:31.94 from Chanler Robinson, Alyssa Marsh, Jayden Wood and Bryannia Murphy. On the men’s side, Eric Harrison, Praise Olatoke, Kainnan Ramsey and Tyler Johnson finished with a season-best 39.12 to win the 4x100m.
In the individual races, Murphy won the women’s 400m with a time of 51.72, edging out second place by just 0.03 seconds. Johnson won the men’s 400m in 46.18 while the women swept the podium in the 100m with Bussey (11.18), Battle (11.19) and Dayle (11.25) taking first through third, respectively. Additionally, Battle (22.28) and Dayle (22.80) place first and second in the 200m. Harrison also won in both the men’s 100m (10.02) and 200m (20.12).
Other individuals winners included Jaimie Robinson in the women’s triple jump (13.54m), Adelaide Aquilla in the shot put (best throw of 18.46m).
The NCAA Regionals will be May 26-28, hosted by Indiana.
Softball
Ohio State athletics got even more good news on Sunday, as the softball team learned it would be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes – who are playing in the Knoxville Regional – will face Oregon State in the first game of the double-elimination regional on Friday, with the winner set to face either Tennessee or Campbell.
It’s the fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament for the softball team since 2016, and the fifth for head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly. This current stretch of five berths in seven seasons is the best in program history.
Ohio State enters the tournament with a 35-15 record, and defeated Purdue and Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament before falling to Nebraska in the semifinals.