By FRANCIS X. BOVA III (MorningJournal.com) –
Leslie chasing new feats at Ohio State
With Ohio State’s latest men’s track and field recruiting class and its surplus of returning athletes, second-year head coach Robert Gary believes the Buckeyes could become one of the top teams in the country.

One reason for the optimism is how Gary, a former U.S. Olympian in the steeplechase, is striving to keep Ohio’s top athletes in state. Like football coach Jim Tressel and basketball coach Thad Matta, Gary’s roster is predominately filled with Ohioans.
During the 2007-08 season, Gary had 83 percent Ohioans. While Tressel’s roster was 67 percent in-state talent and Motta’s 62 percent.

For track and field, one of Gary’s top incoming athletes from Ohio is former Perkins distance runner and soon-to-be Buckeye freshman track athlete Cory Leslie.

No pressure for Leslie, The Morning Journal Male Athlete of the Year for the 2007-08 school year, though. He’ll have time to adjust to the new level of competition. The freshman will be redshirted for the fall in cross country, get adjusted to college life and be ready for the track and field season come early 2009.

After a spectacular school year at Perkins, Leslie could coast strictly on his high school accomplishments in Columbus.

He was the Division II state champion in cross country’s 5K and state champion in track’s 800- and 1,600-meter runs. For his career, he notched five state titles in the two sports.

But, at Ohio State, where Leslie will make his mark is not official.

“Cory is strong in the 800, fantastic in the mile and expressed interest in the steeplechase, too,” Gary said.

The seven-lap steeplechase could be an interesting fit for Leslie. The event lasts 3,000 meters, consists of 28 hurdle jumps and seven water jumps. Under NCAA rules, the water jump is the fourth jump in each lap.

“It is a good fit in theory, and we’re looking forward to it,” Gary said of Leslie’s possible participation in the event.

After Leslie’s performance in the finals of the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 22 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, perhaps the 1,500 run will be his forte. In a field with some of the best collegian freshman and high school seniors in the country, Leslie finished third with a time of 3:49.51.

The difference between him and second-place finisher Nectaly Barbosa of Arizona State was .07 seconds.

Had Leslie finished second, he would be preparing for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 8-13.

Leslie still made an impression by jumping out early, then holding the lead for a majority of the race.

“To me that is one of the best races I’ve seen by a high schooler,” Gary said. “He is one of the fastest in the country.”

Leslie, however, remains modest. He’s as modest as he was when Perkins won its first state title since 1984, or when he was named Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year for boys track and field, or when he won the mile at the nationally-renowned 114th annual Penn Relays Carnival in late April. All of those feats came this year. The state title, Gatorade award and Junior Outdoor performance came this month, making Leslie’s June not only busy but acclaimed.

“It was great,” Leslie said of the Junior Outdoor Championships last weekend. “I surpassed all my expectations and came away with a PR (personal record) … It was real competitive for 1,500 meters. It came down to who wanted it the most.”

Not that Leslie didn’t want to win it.

“When you run your best,” Leslie said, “especially when you know that they have one year of college experience, you can’t be disappointed.”

With Leslie’s attitude, Ohio State is seemingly getting a true team-first athlete when he reports in August.

“What I like about Cory is he is a great team guy,” Gary said.

Another way to look at it is Leslie’s eagerness to learn from the returning Ohio State athletes.

Middletown High School graduate and junior Jeff See and Leslie may symbolize the present and future of the Buckeyes men’s track team in the 1,500-meter run and beyond.

The storyline could read the legend of See, and the legend of just wait until you see Leslie run.

Both are Ohioans staying in their home state. Both could help the Buckeyes win the Big Ten. Both the Ohio and Big Ten title components fit with Gary’s coaching philosophy.

“That is one of things that drew me to the program,” Leslie said. “They are doing great things with strictly Ohio guys. Talking to the other guys, they want to win the Big Ten title. It is a common goal.”

The comparisons to See, however, are inevitable. During See’s 2006 freshman campaign on the outdoor track team, he ran the Buckeyes’ best time in 1,500 run at 3:46.83. Leslie’s best is about three seconds back, but he won’t be competing in the event for another six-plus months.

In 2007, See was redshirted for outdoor track, yet he still managed to become the first Buckeye to break the infamous four-minute mile marker with a time of 3:58.70 at the Nashville Music City Classic. In the indoor season in the mile, he claimed the Big Ten title and qualified for the NCAA Championships.

During cross country last year, he was selected to the All-Big Ten first team.

You can also toss in See’s two 2008 All-American honors and his attempt to compete for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field team in the 1,500 at the trials being held from today to July 6 in Eugene, Ore.

Needless to say, Leslie has his work cut out for him.

“There will be a nice overlap between those two,” Gary said of potentially two years with them together.

Not too shabby, but Leslie’s expectations are set reasonably low for the time being.

“I talked to (See) a couple times, and you definitely get a lot closer to the guys when you start school,” Leslie said. “I am not sure if we’re going to be training buddies. But he is really good, and I am not quite at his level. You can’t get much better than not just him, but all the guys down there. You can’t beat it.”

Either way, Leslie has made it to the next level by just being on a Division I NCAA team.

Add that his next goal is not out of the ordinary for one of Ohio’s own.

“You win a Big Ten title,” Leslie said, “you’re doing pretty well.”

online prescription drugs without a prescription

No related posts.