The OHSAA Track & Field State Championships are back in Columbus for another run at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Ohio's fastest athletes will all be competing for state titles both individually and as teams.
There will also be a handful of Division I football prospects competing, as well, and many of them are receiving interest from Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a history of players who starred at Ohio Stadium while also having standout track and field careers while in high school.
Ted Ginn Jr., Brandon Saine and Devin Smith are just three of those names who claimed state titles on the track while in high school. And, more recently, 2014 signee Parris Campbell won a pair of state titles as a junior.
The state meet kicks off 9:30 a.m. Friday and runs throughout the day before finals begin Saturday morning. The full schedule can be seen here.
Below is a list of Ohio State signees, commits and targets who will be in competition this weekend at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Ohio State Commits/Signees
Denzel Ward
Events: 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 4x200-meter relay
Breakdown: Ward will be the most active this weekend amongst players already committed or signed to Ohio State. The four-star cornerback signee in the class of 2015 from Nordonia High School will participate in three different events.
Competing in Division I, Ward is seeded third in both the 100-meter dash (10.68 at regional finals) and 200-meter dash (21.39) and Nordonia's 4x200-meter relay team, which Ward anchors, is seeded ninth.
Robert Landers
Events: Shot put, discus
Breakdown: The three-star defensive tackle signee in the 2015 class out of Wayne High School in Huber Heights qualified for state in both of his events. He's seeded 11th in the shot put (56 feet, 2.5 inches at regional finals) and 13th in the discus (153 feet, 6 inches). Landers is the defending state champion in the shot.
George Hill
Event: 100-meter dash
Breakdown: One of the speedsters in the 2016 class, Hill is an Ohio State commit who is rated by 247Sports as a four-star athlete. The senior-to-be at Hubbard High School is seeded fourth in the Division II 100-meter dash (10.75 at regional finals).
Additional Prospects
Ethan Tucky
Event: 200-meter dash
Breakdown: It's not every day you see a 6-foot-2, 225-pound outside linebacker as a state qualifier in sprints, but that's just the type of athlete Tucky is. He ran a 22.21 in the 200-meter dash at regional finals — a time which has him seeded 15th at state — and just missed qualifying for state in the 100, as well.
Dakari Carter
Events: 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 4x200-meter realy, 4x100-meter relay
Breakdown: One of the fastest players in the state, Carter is a state qualifier in four events this year as a sophomore (class of 2017) after winning a state title in the 100-meter dash as a freshman.
Carter, who plays wide receiver and defensive back at Streetsboro High School, is listed at just 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds right now. But he currently has five scholarship offers (four MAC schools and Cincinnati). He's the top seed in the Division II 100-meter dash (10.61 seconds at regional finals) and 200-meter dash (21.36 seconds) and his two relay teams are also potential state champions.
Ruben Flowers III
Event: High jump
Breakdown: A 2016 wide receiver target, Flowers is a unique athlete. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound three-star prospect from Lima Senior High School currently has 10 scholarship offers including a pair from the Big Ten (Iowa and Indiana).
An Ohio State offer may not come, but right now, it's still a possibility. Flowers is tied for the sixth seed in the Division I high jump, clearing 6-foot-5 inches at regionals.
