Olympic Sports Recap: Rizk, Olatoye Win National Titles For Women’s T&F; Wrestling Takes 2nd At B1G

While the Ohio State football team kicked off spring practice and the men’s basketball team concluded its regular season, many Olympic-sport student-athletes battled for conference and national titles. Some donning the scarlet and gray came up short, but many triumphed at their respective sports’ highest stages.

Seniors Julia Rizk and Sade Olatoye claimed individual national titles, and along with sophomore Anavia Battle, helped the Ohio State women’s team place third a the NCAA Championships with just three competitors. The Ohio State wrestling team earned silver at the Big Ten Championships, ousting every team besides Penn State.

What follows are recaps of the events that occurred in the past week for Ohio State Olympic-sport student-athletes, including links to the press releases.

Wrestling

The Ohio State wrestling team came away from a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships with two champions, three runner-ups and nine tickets punched for the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Myles Martin and Joey McKenna took home Big Ten titles, while Micah Jordan, Luke Pletcher and Kollin Moore were finalists.

Te’Shan Campbell (sixth), Ethan Smith (sixth), Ke-Shawn Hayes (seventh) and Malik Heinselman (ninth) all clinched their spots at the NCAA Championships.

Freshman heavyweight Chase Singletary faced a tough draw with back-to-back top-10 opponents. His NCAA Championships fate will be decided on March 12 when the NCAA committee announces the at-large bids — four heavyweight tickets are available.

The Big Ten Championships will be reviewed in more depth in the upcoming issue of Buckeye Sports Bulletin, in addition to a preview of the NCAA Championships.

Men’s and Women’s Track & Field

The Ohio State track and field team concluded an excellent indoor season with two national champions, a fourth-place finish and a fifth-place finish. The women’s team took third overall in the NCAA Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex on March 9.

Rizk took home the first women’s mile title in Ohio State history, running a 4:37.63 with a remarkable final kick to take first. Olatoye bested her school record in the weight throw, taking the national title with a 24.46-meter toss, the sixth-longest throw in NCAA history. Battle finished fifth overall in the 200m with a 23.07, helping the women’s team to a fourth-place finish with just three competitors.

Senior Nick Gray also concluded an excellent indoor season, taking fourth in the nation in the 200m, finishing in 20.76 seconds and scoring five points for the men’s squad.

Women’s Ice Hockey

The No. 9 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team fell, 3-2, to No. 2 Wisconsin on March 9. Tatum Skaggs scored a goal, assisted by Jincy Dunne and Lauren Boyle. Charly Dahlquist scored the Buckeyes’ second goal, assisted by Lauren Boyle and Emma Maltais.

The Buckeyes’ season comes up short, falling to 20-13-2 on the year, while the Badgers improve to 31-4-2. Despite many big wins against elite competition, Ohio State was unable to draw an at-large tournament bid after an up-and-down season in the vaunted WCHA.

Baseball

The Ohio State baseball team fell, 7-1, against Michigan State at the 2019 FIrst Pitch Invite at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C, March 8.Michigan State right-handed pitcher Mike Mokma tossed a complete-game with 11 strikeouts and no walks to earn the win against the Buckeyes. Ohio State scored its only run on a double-play groundout by Brady Cherry that scored Matt Carpenter.

The Ohio State baseball team lost, 8-5, against Western Carolina at Fluor Field on March 9. The Catamounts (8-5) rallied with five runs in the seventh to topple the Buckeyes (7-7). Western Carolina reliever Jacob Corn received the win and improved to 2-0, while Ohio State freshman reliever Mitch Milheim took the loss, falling to 0-1. Noah West extended his hit streak to six games, while Dominic Canzone extended his to three.

Softball

The Ohio State softball team split its opening day at the Husky Classic, defeating Seattle, 6-4, in eight innings before falling to No. 6 Washington, 3-0. Claire Nicholson led the way against Seattle on March 7, hitting 4 for 4 with two runs scored and one run batted in.

The Scarlet and Gray went 1-1 on the following day as well. The Buckeyes fell to Seattle, 3-0, to split the series. Then, Ohio State rebounded with a 9-3 victory against Idaho State. The Buckeyes connected on 11 hits against Idaho State, matching their season high.

Ohio State (11-6) wrapped up its trip at the Husky Classic with a narrow 3-2 victory against Northern Illinois on March 9. Right-handed pitcher Morgan Ray (5-3) went five innings, allowing just two runs and four hits, while striking out five batters in the victory.

Men’s Gymnastics

The No. 7 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team won two event titles, but fell short of team win. The Buckeyes finished with a score of 405.550, losing to No. 5 Minnesota (406.300). No. 8 Nebraska took third with 402.300 points.

Women’s Gymnastics

The No. 22 Ohio State women’s gymnastics team sent seniors Amanda Huang, Janelle McClelland and Jamie Stone out with a win against Bowling Green on Senior Night, 195.875-194.875.

“The seniors have been great,” Ohio State head coach Meredith Paulicivic said. “They have been really helpful to me with turning the culture of this program around. They’ve been great leaders in and out of the gym. I couldn’t have done it without last year’s seniors and this year’s seniors believing in my vision for the program, having my back, sticking to the plan. I’m super appreciative of the support that I’ve gotten from this class. They will be missed. They’re all great kids.”

Women’s Golf

The Ohio State women’s golf team finished No. 9 at the Lady Gator Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla, on March 10.

Freshman Aneka Seumanutafa finished No. 8 for the tournament at 1-over par. Seumanutafa posted a career-best 64 in the second round, and shot a 2-over 72 to clinch eighth. Fellow freshman Lauren Peter scored a 5-over 75 in the final round to tie for 41st, while junior Adeena Shears notched a 4-over 74 to tie for 50th.

Men’s Lacrosse

The No. 9 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team went on a 10-0 run to take a 14-8 victory against Hofstra at James M. Shuart Stadium on March 9.

Tre Leclaire led the way with four goals, while freshman Jack Myers scored three goals and dished three assists. Seven different Buckeyes scored, and the 10-goal rally to take a 14-4 lead was too much for the Pride to overcome.

Women’s Lacrosse

The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team (6-1) earned its third straight victory with a 13-7 win against Binghamton in Ohio Stadium on March 9. Junior goalie Jill Rizzo posted 15 saves and the Buckeye defense forced five turnovers.

Men’s Volleyball

The Ohio State men’s volleyball team (6-14) fell to No. 11 Southern California (11-7) despite a brilliant performance at the service line. The Buckeyes connected on 14 aces to stretch the match to five sets. The Trojans posted a .462 hitting percentage, and Ohio State could not keep up, dropping the contest, 25-18, 23-25, 19-25, 25-15, 15-10.

Fencing

The Ohio State fencing team competed against six other schools at the NCAA Midwest Regional for the final opportunity to earn a championship. Eight Buckeye fencers placed in the top three in their respective weapon categories.

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