TicketsJune 6, 2006
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FOR STARTERS:
and junior Renee Hein will represent the of at the 2006 NCAA Track and Field Championships, June 7-10 at the A.G. Spanos Sports Complex in , who finished fifth in the long jump at the Mid-East Regional competition, will open qualifying competition on Wednesday, as will Hein, the BIG EAST runner-up in the high jump.
BEARCAT BITES:
This marks the sixth straight year that at least one Bearcat has competed at the NCAA Championships and the second straight NCAA meet for Hein.
UC's men and women finished 5th and 13th, respectively, in the first season of competition in the BIG EAST Conference this year. The conference features 16 men's and women's track & field teams, constituting the largest league in the nation.
John Bowie won UC's first BIG EAST individual track championship, capturing the 100 meter title in 10.52.
Seniors Kenny Wade (200 meters), Ashley Wilhelm (long jump, heptathlon), and Shintara Carpenter (triple jump), juniors Renee Hein (javelin) and Tara Meier (pole vault) and sophomore Brittany Klima (pole vault) are current school record holders.
Head men's coach Bill Schnier is in his 26th season at in such a capacity. Head women's coach Jim Schnur is in his 22nd year at and his sixth as head coach.
LAST TIME OUT:
Senior Chandler Groves qualified for the NCAA Championships at the Mid-East Regional Championships on May 26-27at the Tom Black Track in Knoxville, Tenn. Groves finished fifth in the long jump to move on to national competition. , who finished third in the long jump at the BIG EAST Championships on May 5-7, leapt a season-best 25' 0", just 2-3/4" shy of his personal best. The BIG EAST Champion 4x100 team of Justin Conway, Cedric Powell, Bob Kandell, and John Bowie finished fourth in 40.16, but ran a blazing 40.08 in the preliminaries to break the school record (40.35), set in 2000. The squad finished one spot out of an automatic qualifying position for the NCAA Championships. also competed in the 100 meters, finishing 20th in prelims in a season-best 10.45. Kandell placed 18th in the long jump, leaping 23' 11-1/2". Powell was 32nd in the 400 meter prelims, running a 48.52. Kevin Schwarz finished 15th in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, running a 9:09.81. Renee Hein, a 2005 NCAA qualifier, finished ninth in the high jump, clearing 5' 9-1/4", while record-holding pole vaulter Tara Meier (12' 0") finished 18th. Teammate and co-record-holder Brittany Klima failed to clear the initial height in the vault.
HEIN OF THE TIMES:
Junior Renee Hein placed second in the high jump at the BIG EAST Championships on May 5-7. The school record-holder in the indoor high jump, Hein is second in UC history in the outdoor jump. She has met regional qualifiers in each of her first three seasons and will compete at the NCAA Championships for the second straight season.
TAKING OFF:
Senior Chandler Groves, a three-time regional qualifier in the long jump, finally got through to the next level. He finished fifth at the Mid-East Regional Championships, leaping a season-best 25' 0" and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. He won the event in the season-opening Early Bird Relays with a leap of 24' 1" and topped that with a 24' 6-1/4" jump in finishing second at the Raleigh Relays. bested that mark by leaping 24' 7" to win the All-Ohio Championship on April 8. finished third in the long jump at the 2006 BIG EAST Championships.
BLAZIN' :
Sprinter John Bowie, who doubles as a defensive back on UC's football team, sped to UC's only individual title at the BIG EAST Championships on May 5-7. won the 100 meters in 10.52. He had already qualified for regionals with a 10.48 at the Sea Ray Relays. He bettered that mark with a personal-best 10.45 at the Mid-East Regional. was part of the other UC BIG EAST event champ, running the anchor leg of the victorious 4x100 relay team.
LIGHT MY KANDELL:
Junior Bob Kandell had a fantastic meet at the All-Ohio Championships on April 7-8. He qualified for the NCAA Mid-East Regional Championships with a 24' 1-1/2" long jump, finishing second behind teammate Chandler Groves. He won the 400 meters, eclipsing teammate Antione Drakeford at the finish line, and finished fourth in the 200 meters. Kandell also ran a leg in the champion 4x100 relay squad and accounted for 26.5 of UC's 169 team points.
MEIER, KLIMA TOPS IN POLE VAULT:
Junior Tara Meier and sophomore Brittany Klima are battling one another for the UC pole vault record. Klima broke Meier's indoor record this season and Meier returned the favor, topping Klima's outdoor record by 1/4" at the Early Bird Relays. She has since improved the mark, clearing 12' 5-1/2" to qualify for regional competition. Klima matched the mark at the Sea Ray Relays. Together, they hold nine of the top 10 marks in school history in the indoor vault and each of the top 10 marks outdoors. Klima finished third and Meier placed eighth at the 2006 BIG EAST Championships.
FOUR BY DOMINATION:
UC's men's 4x100 relay team has been victorious in all but one meet in which it competed this season. The Bearcats won the 4x100 at the BIG EAST Championships in a season-best 40.57, bettering its regional qualifying time set at the Sea Ray Relays.
CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER:
Cedric Powell earned All-BIG EAST honors in two events at the BIG EAST Championships. He sped to a second-place finish in the 200 meters and finished third in the 400 meters, qualifying for the regional meet.
NINE BEARCATS QUALIFY FOR REGIONALS:
Nine Bearcats have met qualifying marks for the NCAA Mid-East Regional Championships. Chandler Groves and Bob Kandell each qualified in the long jump, posting leaps of 24' 7" and 24' 1-1/2", respectively. John Bowie sped to a 10.48 in the 100 meters at the Sea Ray Relays to qualify. On the women's side, Renee Hein has cleared 5' 10-3/4" in the high jump, while Tara Meier and Brittany Klima have each qualified with a school-record 12' 5-1/2" in the pole vault. Kevin Schwarz met the regional mark in the 3,000 steeplechase, finishing in 9:02.71 at the Ohio River Challenge. The men's 4x100 relay squad (Justin Conway, Powell, Kandell, and Bowie) also has posted a regional qualifying mark, running a 40.57 at the BIG EAST Championships.