The Ohio State men's track and field team competed in front of a home crowd Friday and Saturday for the second time this season. Despite cold wind and rain, there was an impressive turnout at the Jesse Owens Classic and the stands were full of cheering fans.
"There were a lot more people here than last year," junior Matt Comer said. "I think that it helps a lot with team performance."
Comer ran the men's 400-meter dash and finished seventh with a time of 47.71 seconds, followed closely by sophomore teammate Stephen Robinson, who finished eighth with a time of 47.79. Comer and Robinson were both members of the winning 1,600-meter relay team. The 1,600 relay was the last event of the meet.
"We want to give them a run for their money," Comer said, prior to the race. "We are going for the win."
The team, also consisting of sophomore Brandon Woodard and junior Elon Simms, had a time of 3:11.52. They edged out Eastern Michigan (3:12.68) and Indiana (3:12.76).
"There's extra motivation because of the home crowd," Simms said.
Simms also competed in the 400-meter hurdles and took sixth with a time of 52.61. He has already qualified for the NCAA regional meet, which has had a positive impact on his times and helps him to focus more on going fast, he said.
"Now that I've qualified in my individual event, I am focused on running good legs in the relay," Simms said. "We are very close to the regional qualifying time."
Also on the track, Anthony Cole had stand-out performances in the 100 and 200. He finished third, running a 10.51 in the 100 and a 21.04 in the 200, which was a season best time for him. Cole finished behind rival Adam Harris of Michigan in both events. The Wolverine took second in the 100 (10.43) and won the 200 (20.91).
The Buckeyes also performed well in the field events. Senior David Ebersole threw 197 feet, 1 inch in the hammer throw and finished 12th. Freshman Ryan Blake took an impressive fifth in the high jump with a jump of 6-9. Another freshman, Rob Wade, finished 20th in the long jump with his jump of 19-2 1/2 in the last competition of his freshman season.
"This was a very exciting meet. I just wish the weather was better," Wade said. "This is my last time competing. I really want to improve my speed and maybe get on some relays with the rest of my team."
The team's season culminates with the Big Ten Championships May 16 to 18. The 1,600 relay team, which was the Big Ten champion in the indoor season, has high hopes about its chances this season.
"We want to defend our title," Simms said. "This season hasn't really gone as well for us as we wanted. The goal now is to get everyone back and focused. We hope to come out on top."
Megan Savage can be reached at savage.119@osu.edu.
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