Bearcat Indoor Track Heads to Ohio State Invite

Bearcat Indoor Track Heads to Ohio State InviteBearcat Indoor Track Heads to Ohio State Invite

Jan. 24, 2006

FOR STARTERS:

After a second-place finish at the Bowling Green Quintangular last weekend, the of indoor track & field team will head to for the Ohio State Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 28 in OSU's French Fieldhouse.

BEARCAT BITES:

• UC enters its first season of competition in the BIG EAST Conference in 2006. The conference features 16 women's indoor track & field teams, constituting the largest league in the nation. The 2006 BIG EAST Championships will be held on March 10-11 at the 's Athletics Fieldhouse.

• In the first meet of the season, the Bearcats qualified eight athletes (in 13 events) for the 2006 BIG EAST Championships.

• Senior Shintara Carpenter (triple jump), junior Renee Hein (high jump), junior Tara Meier (pole vault), sophomore Brittany Klima (pole vault), and senior Ashley Wilhelm (pentathlon) are current indoor school record-holders.

• Head coach Jim Schnur is in his 22nd year at and his sixth as head women's coach.

LAST TIME OUT:

Using a steady blend of top-five finishes and a dominating performance in the pole vault, UC earned a runner-up finish in its season-opening event, the BGSU Quintangular on Jan. 20 at Perry Fieldhouse in . The pole vault was the top event of the day for the Bearcats as UC took three of the top five positions. Sophomore Brittany Klima was the star as her leap of 11' 11-3/4" not only took first place, but also tied teammate Tara Meier's school record. Meier finished just behind Klima, clearing 11' 5-3/4". Ashley Wilhelm took third place at 10' 11-3/4", with newcomer Brittney Robinson tying for fourth at 10'. Junior Renee Hein scored 's other win on the day, taking the high jump title with a leap of 5' 7". In the team standings, was the winner with a score of 226 points. UC was second at 144.5, just ahead of the host Falcons at 126.5. In addition to placing in the pole vault, Wilhelm scored in three other events for the Bearcats. The senior was third in the long jump (19' 2-1/2"), fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.01) and fifth in the high jump (5' 3"). Classmate Erin Leeper scored three times, with an individual best of third in the 400 meters (59.14). She also leapt 18' 1/2" to claim fifth in the long jump, while anchoring the 4x400 meter relay team that took second place with a time of 3:59.47. Dominique Davis, Danielle Erwin and Jammie Jackson joined Leeper on the runner-up team. Senior Jocelyn Gibson also earned a top finish for the Bearcats, stopping the clock in 2:18.77 to place second in the 800 meters. In all, earned 26 top-fives during the event.

POLE VAULT DOMINATION:

The Bearcats opened the 2006 with a dominating performance in the pole vault at the Bowling Green Quintangular on Jan. 20. Sophomore Brittany Klima won the event, tying teammate Tara Meier's school record (11' 11-3/4"). Meier finished second (11' 5-3/4"), Ashley Wilhelm was third (10' 11-3/4") and freshman Brittney Robinson finished fourth (10').

KLIMA PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF:

Brittany Klima set a school record in the pole vault during the 2005 outdoor season. In her first meet of the 2006 indoor season, the sophomore picked right back up where she left off, matching teammate Tara Meier's school mark in the indoor vault with a clearance of 11' 11-3/4", winning the Bowling Green Quint. title.

ALL-AROUND ASHLEY:

Senior Ashley Wilhelm started her 2006 season strong at the Bowling Green Quintangular, meeting BIG EAST Championship qualifying standards in four events. Wilhelm finished second in the long jump with a 19' 2-1/2" long jump while placing third in the pole vault with a 10' 11-3/4" clearance. She also ran a 9.01 in the 60-meter hurdles, placing fourth, and cleared 5' 3" in finishing fifth in the high jump.

KLOTZ OF DISTANCE:

Freshman Lisa Klotz finished third in the shot put at the Bowling Green Quintangular, qualifying for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, with a 44' 10-3/4" toss. After losing school record-holder Jo Young to graduation after 2005, the Bearcats are turning to the Colerain graduate Klotz to boost the shot put event.

UP NEXT:

UC will take part in the Hoosier Relays on Feb. 3-4 at 's Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse in .