TicketsOct. 24, 2008
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati's women's track and field program brought in a fantastic freshmen class that look to help the 2009 Bearcats squad improve upon their 10th-place showing at last year's BIG EAST Championships.
With a talented group of underclassmen returning, the 2008-09 freshmen class looks to provide depth and compete for points in the upcoming campaign.
The freshman class consists of Michelle Eby, Mackenzie Fields, Kathy Klump, Brianna Patton, Hauna Dawkins, Aricka Rhodes, Jenny Harsh, Jenna Heaton, and Camai Brandenberg.
Eby and Fields will compete in the pole vault this season after having successful senior seasons in different divisions at the high school level. Eby, who spent her high school years at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, finished third in the Division I state meet last year after registering a personal-best height of 12'0". Fields finished third in the Division III state meet after clearing a personal-best height of 11'6". Fields is a native of Cincinnati and went to Mariemont High School.
Klump comes to Clifton after competing at South Dearborn High School in Aurora, Ind. Klump was the 2008 Indiana State Champion in the 800 meters after finishing with a personal-best time of 2:10.20 at the state meet. Klump also crossed the line in seventh-place in the same event at Junior Nationals.
Patton was the Colorado State champion in the 100-meter hurdles (14.08) last season and she comes to UC ranked as the sixth-best indoor 60-meter hurdler coming out of high school. Patton's top time last season in the indoor 60-merer hurdles was 8.63. Dawkins was the 2007 state champion in the 300-meter hurdles and posted a time of 42.44. She ran the fastest time in the state of Ohio in the past five years and was ranked 10th in the nation coming out of Franklin Heights High School, in Columbus, Ohio. Dawkins also ran a personal-best time of 14.23 in the 100-meter hurdles. Rhodes finished sixth in 2008 at the Division I Ohio state meet in the 400-meters, registering a personal-best time of 55.42.
Harsh and Heaton both primarily ran the 800 in high school. Harsh, who went to Wadsworth High School, owns a personal-best time of 2:14.61. Heaton's personal-best time was 2:18.95 as she anchored the state champion 4x800 meter relay team for St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati.
Rounding out the group is Brandenberg, who competed in the jumps at Gahanna-Lincoln High School. She finished in third place at the Ohio Division I state meet in the long jump (18' 3.5"), while also finishing in seventh place in the high jump (5' 8").