Bearcats Finish Fourth, Tenth at BIG EAST Championships

May 4, 2008

Complete Results

VILLANOVA, PA - Antione Drakeford (Columbus, OH/Africentric) was named the BIG EAST Most Outstanding Track Performer in leading the University of Cincinnati men's team to a fourth-place finish at the 2008 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships on Sunday at Jumbo Elliot Track at Villanova Stadium. The Bearcat men totalled 80 points, finishing behind champion Notre Dame, UConn and Louisville. The women posted 43 points to finish 10th.

Drakeford won the 400 meter dash in a school-record time of 46.29, breaking Jeff Walker's 1979 record of 46.42. He ran a leg for the champion 4x100 relay team (41.48) and the fifth-place 4x400 relay team (3:14.54) and finished seventh in the 200 meter dash (21.61) to become the first UC male to earn the most outstanding performer award since the Bearcat joined the BIG EAST in 2006.

Ian Jarman (Felicity, OH/Felicity Franklin) placed second in the hammer throw with a 188' 10" heave, while Shane Shockey (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) was second in the pole vault witha 16' 2-3/4" clearance.

Dayo Igeleke (Las Vegas, NV/Liberty) was a third-place finisher in the 100 meters with a regional qualifying time of 10.51. He also placed fifth in the 200 (21.43) and anchored the champion 4x100 team.

The women were led by BIG EAST indoor champion Monica Hundley (Fairfield, OH/Fairfield), who finished second in the 100 meter hurdles in 13.57. Hundley also ran a leg for the third-place 4x100 relay team, which posted a 46.38.

Natasha Burse (Garland, TX/Richardson) was seventh in the 100 meter dash (11.91) and Ashley Arnold (Huber Heights, OH/Wayne) finished eighth in the 400 meters (56.25). The two combined with Courtney Wicks (Cuyahoga Falls, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary's) and Quinesha Dinkins (Lima, OH/Elida) to break the school record in the 4x400 meter relay, finishing fifth. The 3:43.66 broke the school mark of 3:44.53 set by Monique Brent, Adrienne Shipman, Erin Leeper and Jammie Jackson in 2004.

The Bearcats will send qualifiers to the Mideast Regional Championships on May 30-31 in Fayetteville, Ark.