Michigan State University
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Buchholtz, MacLeod and Rohl Capture Additional Big Ten Crowns
5/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 15, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Michigan State track & field team concluded action at the 2011 Big Ten Championships on Sunday, May 15 in Iowa City with three additional conference crowns. As a team, the women placed fifth overall with a score of 74.5 points. For the men, they placed 10th with 34.5 points. Winning individual conference championships were senior Emily MacLeod, junior Becca Buchholtz and sophomore Beth Rohl.
This marked the first time since 2004, and only the sixth instance in program history (1982, 1984, 1992, 2002 and 2004), the women tallied 70 or more points at the Big Ten Championships. This is the fourth-most points the women have ever tallied (96 points - 1982, 88 - 1992, 75 - 2004).
"We challenged the guys yesterday to just compete," said director of track & field and cross country Walt Drenth. "We didn't have enough guys in the finals to have an impact on the meet. We just wanted to see them fight for every opportunity that they had competitively. Zack was very good in the shot put, but that is to be expected of him. I thought the 5,000m guys did a nice job, too. We had been short handed in the relays all year, and with a meet of this caliber, you can't be in that situation and have it go well.
"For the women, they scored in every event that we contested in, except the relay. I thought it was huge step for our program this weekend on the women's side. Finishing fifth is something but we are aspiring to be higher than that. This is the most points that we have scored in a long time and it was a step in the right direction. Most importantly, over the last three or four years, we have gotten a number of people into the finals, but we have not been able to finish the job. I thought we really finished the job and competed well in every event that we contested. I am really proud of both groups here this weekend."
Winning the women's team title was Ohio State with a score of 135. Iowa captured the men's crown on its home track with a score of 125.5 points.
Rohl was the first to capture a Big Ten Championship in the final day of competition when won the women's discus throw. Rohl captured her second crown of the weekend when she posted a toss of 55.94m. Rohl's mark was her second school- and facility-record of the weekend.
Buchholtz joined Rohl with her win in the women's high jump. Buchholtz posted a school record height of 1.82m to win her second-straight high jump crown. Buchholtz opened the competing on a quick pace as she cleared 1.67m, 1.70m, 1.73m, 1.76m and 1.79m all on her first attempt. After missing her first tries at 1.82m, Buchholtz finally cleared the height on her third attempt.
MacLeod was the third be victorious today as she won the 5,000m run for her fourth individual crown during the 2010-11 school year. MacLeod posted a time of 16:09.10 to win the race by 2.91 seconds.
Rohl, Buchholtz and MacLeod all added 10 points each to the team total with their wins today.
Junior Carlie Green joined MacLeod in the 5,000m as she finished in fourth overall with a time of 16:25.74. Green contributed five points to the MSU total.
In the women's triple jump, freshman Ashley Stacey turned in her second point-scoring performance of the weekend. Stacey placed fourth overall with a leap of 12.30m. After entering the finals in third, Stacey was unable to posted a longer leap as she recorded her top leap during her third attempt. Kelcey McKinney of Ohio State placed first with a 12.80m leap.
Freshman Zack Hill placed fourth overall in the men's shot put as he recorded a throw of 17.58m in the event. Hill's mark added five points to the men's total. Hill entered the finals fourth overall, remaining there after his final three tosses as he recorded his top throw during his third toss overall.
MacLeod added three additional points to MSU's total in the 1,500m run. MacLeod clocked in a time of 4:28.41, good enough for sixth overall in the event. Rebecca Addison of Michigan won the event with a 4:26.59 finish.
Senior Erica Mann finished eighth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.95. Mann added a point to MSU's total score. Christine Manning of Ohio State clocked in a winning time of 11.29 to win the event.
MSU will travel to the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in Bloomington, Ind., Thursday, May 26 through Saturday, May 28. The competition will be hosted on the campus of Indiana University.
Players Mentioned
