Rutgers Track and Rowing: The B1G was bigger than imagined

Men's Track

It was pretty much a repeat of the Big Ten Indoor Championships, except this time there was hardware to take home for Rutgers....and a few more points scored.

Junior Emeka Eze won the long jump title at the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday.  Eze reached the winning distance of 7.55m (24' 9 ¼") on his second jump and remained atop the standings through finals.

Four Scarlet Knights finished in the top six of the javelin, led by Josh Suttmeier's second place performance.  Suttmeier reached 70.70m (231' 11 ¾") on his sixth and final throw of the afternoon, setting a new personal best by.02m in his runner-up finish. Matthew Krezmer took fourth at 66.04m (216' 8 ¼"), followed by Christopher Mirabelli in fifth, and Thomas Carr.

In the 400m, both Jermaine Griffith and D'Andre Jordan finished in the top eight and collected new personal bests to advance to Sunday's final.  Rutgers also saw scoring from its 4x100m relay team. The quartet of Rajee Dunbar, Stuart Tweedie, Eze and Griffith placed ninth compiling a time of 41.73.

Rutgers' men finished in 11^th place of 13 teams.  Indoors, the men finished 12th of 12, scoring just two points.

Place	Team	Points
10	Michigan	42
11	Rutgers	36
12	Indiana	28
13	Maryland	6

Big Ten Men's Championships

Illinois claimed the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday at Ralph Young Track & Field in East Lansing. The Illini posted three individual crowns and two relay titles en route to their 29^th title, and first since 1994.

Illinois totaled 145 points to claim the championship, while Nebraska (108 points) and Iowa (81 points) came in second and third, respectively. Ohio State finished in fourth place with 78 points, while Penn State rounded out the top five with 66 points.

BTN will air tape-delay coverage of the championships on Sunday, May 24 at 11 a.m. ET.

First Team All-Big Ten Men's Track & Field

Emeka Eze, Rutgers

Second Team All-Big Ten

Josh Suttmeier, Rutgers

Track Athlete of the Year
DJ Zahn, Illinois

Field Athlete of the Year
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, Purdue

Freshman of the Year
Joe Hardy, Wisconsin

Track Athlete of the Championships
DJ Zahn, Illinois

Field Athlete of the Championships
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, Purdue

Coach of the Year
Mike Turk, Illinois

Sportsmanship Honoree for Rutgers

Emeke Eze

Women's Track & Field

Rutgers' 4x100m relay team of Tacquaya Tobias, Bria Saunders, Kaprice James and Imani Beauliere ran to a sixth place time of 46.35.  Rutgers finished 13^th of 13 teams with three points. In the winter, the women finished 12th of 13 squads.

The Michigan State women's track and field team won the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday at Ralph Young Track & Field in East Lansing. The Spartans posted five individual event titles to claim the championship. Michigan State secured its second Big Ten title and first since 1982.

Michigan State totaled 128 points, while second-place Nebraska recorded 97 points, and Minnesota tallied 93 points to finish in third-place. Ohio State finished fourth with 87 team points, and Michigan rounded out the top-five with 80 points.

Track Athlete of the Year
Leah O'Connor, Michigan State

Field Athlete of the Year
Thea LaFond, Maryland

Freshman of the Year
Katelyn Daniels, Michigan State

Track Athlete of the Championships
Leah O'Connor, Michigan State

Field Athlete of the Championships
Thea LaFond, Maryland

Coach of the Year
Walt Drenth, Michigan State

Sportsmanship Honoree for Rutgers

Oksana Sokolova

Additionally, Freshman Oksana Sokolova tied her personal best and registered her best height of the outdoor season in the high jump. She cleared the bar at 1.68m (5' 6").

Rowing

Rutgers women's rowing completed the 2015 season at its first Big Ten Rowing Championships Sunday at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis. The Scarlet Knights compiled 24 team points for an eighth-place finish.

No. 1 Ohio State tallied a championship record 186 team points to win its third consecutive and sixth overall Big Ten crown. The Buckeyes took the top spot in six events, including the First Varsity 8, First Varsity 4, Second Varsity 4, First Novice 8, Third Varsity 4 and Second Novice 8 races. Michigan followed in second-place with 162 points, while Wisconsin finished third with 140 points.

Two Scarlet Knights earned placement on All-Big Ten Teams. Sophomore Langley Oudemans was recognized as an All-Big Ten First Team honoree, while senior Kathleen Dennis secured a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team.

The squad's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient was senior Lauryn Miners.

"I am quite proud of Langley and Katie for being named First Team and Second Team Big Ten, respectively," said head coach Max Borghard. "They both work hard in practice and are solid performers on race day. They are great representatives for Rutgers women's rowing."

Team Results

1. Ohio State (186

2. Michigan (162)

3. Wisconsin (140)

4. Indiana (121)

5. Minnesota (88)

6. Iowa (79)

7. Michigan State (58)

8. Rutgers (24)

All-Big Ten Teams

First Team

Langley Oudemans, Rutgers

Second Team

Kathleen Dennis, Rutgers

Sportsmanship Honoree for Rutgers

Lauryn Miners, Rutgers

Up Next....

On Thursday, On the Banks wraps up Rutgers Baseball and follows Big Ten Lacrosse as it heads to the NCAA Finals.