Aniya Mosley racing in the 1000 meter at the Rod McCravy Memorial on Jan. 9. Photo courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
With the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships a month away, Ohio State has more athletes in qualifying contention than it has sent to the national meet in each of the past two seasons.
Heading into their competitions this week at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston and the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C., the Buckeyes currently are in contention to qualify for 5 events.
To qualify, athletes must rank in the top 16 nationally in individual events, while relays must rank in the top 12.
Senior distance runner Aniya Mosley, who broke her own indoor program record in the 800 meters at the Meyo Invitational with a time of 2 minutes, 2.2 seconds, ranks No. 9 nationally. The mark would qualify her for first-team All-America consideration in Arkansas.
Mosley, who did not compete during last year’s indoor season, also holds the program record in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:42.87.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team is also in qualifying position. Its time of 3:04.21 is tied for No. 7 nationally and stands as a program record.
The relay consists of senior Noah Carmichael, juniors Mason Louis and Damon Frabotta, and sophomore Edidiong Udo. It would mark Udo’s second appearance at the indoor championships after earning second-team All-America honors in the 400 meters last season.
“This season, my primary focus is on execution and earning a podium finish,” said Udo. “Last year, as a freshman, I gained valuable experience, and I’ve taken those lessons to strengthen my performance and mindset.”
Udo believes the 4×400 relay team is prepared to deliver a stellar performance on the national stage,
“We’ve worked hard for this moment, and I’m confident we’ll deliver an outstanding performance at the nationals,” said Udo.
Ohio State also has athletes in three events, either tied for or one spot outside the qualifying cutoff.
Freshman sprinter Kyler Brown and junior hurdler Braxton Brann are tied for the final qualifying positions in the 60 meters and 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Ties are broken first by comparing times to the thousandth of a second, then by athletes’ next-best performances during the indoor season.
Brown broke the program record in his first collegiate meet, running 6.60 seconds at the Rod McCravy Memorial on Jan. 9.
Brann, a preseason Big Ten Athlete to Watch, posted his time of 7.66 seconds at the Stan Scott Invitational two weeks later on Jan. 23.
The women’s distance medley relay team of Mosley, graduate senior Katie Castelli, senior Noa Smith and freshman Sydney Stevenson sits one spot outside the qualifying field with a time of 11:18.95. The Buckeyes would need to improve by 0.78 seconds to move into qualifying position.
Although the rankings determine who qualifies for the national field, head cross country and distance coach Sara Mason Vergote does not want her athletes focused on them.
“We don’t actually talk about national rankings during indoor and find it counterproductive,” Mason Vergote said. “Distance athletes race three full seasons, so pressing to get an indoor mark can cause more harm than good.”
Nevertheless, she expressed confidence in her distance runners as they approached the indoor postseason.
“I feel really good about both our men’s and women’s squads,” Mason Vergote said.
The meets this weekend will mark the final competitions, and final chance to move into qualifying positions before the Big Ten Indoor Championships, scheduled for Feb. 26-28 in Indianapolis.
