TicketsMarch 21, 2009
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati men's and women's outdoor track and field teams opened its 2009 season with wins Saturday afternoon at the Early Bird Relays held at Gettler Stadium. The men's team scored 170 points to defeat six other teams, while the women's team scored 165, beating out eight other squads.
The scoring in the Early Bird Relays differs from other events. In order to earn first-place points, a team has to have the best combined time or mark from two of its own athletes. The next team with the best combined time or mark earns second-place points and it continues throughout.
For the women, the sophomore duo of Natasha Burse and Mandi Boykin finished 1-2 in the 100 meters with times of 12.15 and 12.33. The Bearcats went on to sweep the 200 meters, 400 meters, and 800 meters as well to take a commanding lead.
In the 200, Burse and Boykin teamed up again with times of 24.44 and 24.74, respectively, to win the event, before freshman Aricka Rhodes and senior Courtney Wicks took first and second place in the 400 with times of 56.15 and 56.28, respectively. The 800 meter race was arguably the best of the day as freshman Kathy Klump took first place over fellow teammate, junior Ashley Arnold, by six-hundredths of a second.
Sophomore Lilian Jelimo took top honors in the 1,500 meters, crossing the line in a time of 4:42.64, before the tandem of sophomore Kaylon Eppinger and freshman Huana Dawkins collected a 1-2 finish in the 100 hurdles.
Dawkins followed her second-place showing in the 100 hurdles with a first-place finish in the 400 hurdles.
UC's 'A' team took home first prize in the 4x100 relay (46.54), while UC's 'B' team won the 4x400 relay (3:53.46).
In the field, freshman Michelle Eby won the pole vault with a clearance of 12' 03-3/4", Boykin took first in the triple jump (38' 01-3/4"), and senior Lisa Klotz won the shot put with a heave of 44' 01".
Finally, Brittany Robinson rounded out the string of first-place showings with a toss of 124' 11-1/4" in the javelin.
The men's team performed strong throughout the meet just as the women. Junior Ekundayo Igeleke topped all performers with a blistering time of 10.76 in the 100 meters, in addition to senior Chase Van Cura's first-place time of 48.94 in the 400 meters.
Just as in the women's race, the men's 800 meter race was filled with great performances. In his first outdoor meet, freshman Michael Rutherford ran a time of 1:50.49 to defeat fellow teammates, junior Antione Drakeford (1:52.04) and Alex Ramsey (1:52.27).
In the 3,000 steeplechase, fellow Bearcat Bill Keckeis, who ran unattached, snatched first-place with a wire-to-wire winning time of 9:08.16, but was closely shadowed by former teammates Rick King and Randy King, who clocked times of 9:20.49 and 9:21.00, respectively.
Freshman Eric Finan turned in arguably the finest run of the meet with a Gettler Stadium record time of 14:29.66 in the 5,000 meters. Finan's time is the fourth fastest time in that event in school history.
Freshman Terrence Sommerville also performed well in his first outdoor meet with first-place showings in the 110 hurdles (14.48) and in the 400 hurdles (54.44).
UC swept both the 4x100 relay and the 4x400 relay, while junior Brandon Fitch picked up right where he left off a season ago taking home first-place honors in the high jump with a clearance of 6' 10-3/4", falling just short of his outdoor PR of 6'11".
Sophomore Shane Shockey cleared 16' in the pole vault, leading a 1-2-3-4 UC finish in that event, while freshman Troy Cooper also led a 1-2-3-4 UC finish in the shot put with a toss of 53' 10-3/4", which ranks fifth on UC's outdoor list.
Seniors Chad Hanson and Ian Jarman rounded out the field events with wins in the discus and the hammer throw, respectively. Hanson threw 156' 06-3/4" in the discus, while Jarman tossed 190' 11-1/4".
Both teams are back in action next weekend when UC hosts the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational at Gettler Stadium on Saturday, March 28.
Men's Scores
Cincinnati 170
Indy 86
Morehead 82
Xavier 78
MSJ 65
Dayton 20
NKU 17
Women's Scores
Cincinnati 165
Dayton 132
IPFW 64
Xavier 61
Indi 46
Robert Morris 43
MSJ 29
Miami 28
Morehead 9