TicketsApril 13, 2007
Meet Notes
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IN THE STARTING BLOCKS:
The of track and field teams head to , for the Miami Invitational on April 14. After capturing the Oliver Nikoloff team titles last weekend and the Southern Ohio Cup championship the week before, the Bearcats will look to continue their string of wins against a challenging field that includes 18 teams.
BEARCAT BITES:
UC is in its second season of competition in the BIG EAST Conference in 2007. The Bearcat men finished fifth at the 2006 BIG EAST Championships, while the women placed 13th. The conference features 16 men's and women's track & field teams, constituting the largest league in the nation. The 2007 BIG EAST Championships will be held on May 4-6 at the 's George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.
The UC indoor track and field team finished 10th at the 2007 BIG EAST Indoor Championships, with Renee Hein (high jump) and Tara Meier (pole vault) grabbing individual titles.
The Bearcats appear three times in the national rankings. Ashley Wilhelm is currently eighth in the nation in the heptathlon (5515), while ranking 16th in the country in the long jump (20' 2"). Renee Hein is the 12th-ranked high jumper in the nation with a 5' 10-3/4" clearance.
Seniors Ashley Wilhelm (long jump, heptathlon, javelin) and Shintara Carpenter (triple jump) and juniors Brittany Klima (pole vault) and Monica Hundley (100 hurdles) are current school record holders.
Head men's coach Bill Schnier is in his 27th season at in such a capacity. Head women's coach Jim Schnur is in his 23rd year at and his seventh as head coach.
LAST TIME OUT:
On a freezing, blustery April afternoon at Gettler Stadium, the University of Cincinnati men's and women's track and field teams heated up the track, winning 21 individual titles and cruising to team titles at the third annual Oliver Nikoloff Invitational. The men's squad posted 314.5 points, outdistancing second-place by 226.5. The women scored 272, topping IPFW by 181 points. Courtney Wicks led the women's team, winning the 200 (26.29) and 400 meters (59.48), and anchoring the championship 4x400 relay. The men's team dominated the 110 hurdles, taking the first six spots. Scott Maze finished first in 14.96, with Isaac Hendricks (14.99), Brandon Wright (15.18), Dominick Davolio (15.24), Kasey Waaland (15.29) and Caleb Arthur (15.34) following closely behind. In the men's 5000 meters, 's Ron Duncan led by several seconds the entire race, but UC freshman Solomon Kessio made a gallant push down the home stretch, finishing two tenths behind in 15:06.49. The men and women swept the relays with ease. The men won the 4x100 (42.10) by seven tenths of a second and pulled away in the 4x400 (3:24.62) to win by more than four seconds. The women held off in the 4x100 (48.94) and won the 4x400 (4:05.30) by over six seconds.
WILHELM QUALIFIES FOR NCAA:
Senior Ashley Wilhelm met the NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the heptathlon, scoring 5515 points at the Alabama Relays and shattering her own school record by nearly 300 points. Within the heptathlon, she broke another pair of school records, topping her own mark in the long jump with a 20' 2" leap and bettering Renee Hein's javelin record with a 133' 11-3/4" heave. She qualified for NCAA Mid-East Regional competition in the long jump and has qualified for the BIG EAST Championships in five events.
HUNDLEY HOLDS A PAIR:
Junior Monica Hundley has made a habit of putting her name in the UC record books. During the 2007 indoor season, she set the school mark in the 60 meter hurdles (8.72). Last week at the Southern Ohio Cup, she added the 100 meter hurdles to her list, speeding to a 14.09 finish and a second school record.
DEPTH LEADS MEN'S SQUAD:
As has been the case for much of the Bill Schnier tenure at UC, the men's team relies on a deep pool of talent in each event to secure team victories. With just one NCAA regional qualifier and no current school record holders (save parts of last year's 4x100 relay team), the Bearcats use a bevy of finishers to outscore opponents. The results are hard to argue: two wins in two scored meets this season.
BEARCATS TO HOST THREE MEETS IN 2007:
UC will play host to three track meets at Gettler Stadium during the 2007 season. On March 17, 's men and women both captured Early Bird Relays titles. UC also captured team titles at the third annual Oliver Nikoloff Invitational on April 7. The All-Ohio Championships, which attracts the finest competition in the state, will take place at Gettler Stadium on April 20-21, the first time UC has hosted the meet.
UP NEXT:
The Bearcats return to Gettler Stadium to host the All-Ohio Championships on April 20-21.