Ohio State completes East regionals with eight Buckeyes qualifying for nationals

Both relays and three individual athletes qualify on final day in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The No. 22 Ohio State women’s track and field team saw much success on the final day of the 2012 NCAA East Regional prelims in Jacksonville. Both relays advanced to the NCAA championship meet along with Christina Manning, Alexis Thomas and Maggie Mullen to bring Ohio State’s total to eight qualified Buckeyes.
 
All-American Manning (12.78) bested the competition in the 100m hurdles to claim first overall in preparation for the national championships. Alexandria Johnson (13.61) and Christienne Linton (13.77) both ran hard but missed qualifying for the next round.
 
The 4x100m relay team used a time of 43.98 to win their heat and place second overall. Linton, Manning, Aisha Cavin and Chesna Sykes will be competing for the national title in the relay. In the east, LSU finished with a top time of 43.26. Ohio State’s 4x400m relay team of Nyjah Cousar, Jackie Dim, Cavin and Shaniqua McGinnis also won their heat. Their time of 3:33.41 ranked third overall with LSU again taking the top spot n 3:30.05.
 
The Scarlet and Gray performed well in the hammer with two Buckeyes making it to nationals. Big Ten champion Thomas (60.43m/198-3) and senior Mullen (57.91m/190 ft.) placed sixth and 12th, respectively, to qualify. Georgia thrower Nikola Lomnicka (64.28m/210-10) won the east prelims.
Cavin was one spot away from qualifying in the 200m dash where she ran a PR of 23.46 for 13th. LSU’s Kimberlyn Duncan (22.22) and Semoy Hackett (22.55) went 1-2 in the quarterfinals. In the triple jump, Kelcey McKinney used a mark of 12.28m (40-3.5) to finish 32nd. The senior did not make the cut in the prelims. Southern Mississippi’s Ganna Demydova (13.99m/45-10.75) finished first.
 
Up Next
Ohio State will send eight to the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa June 6-9 on the Drake Campus.