TicketsApril 16, 2009
IN THE STARTING BLOCKS:
The University of Cincinnati heads to the All-Ohio Championships April 17-18 at the George L. Rider Track on the campus of Miami University. Teams competing at the All-Ohio Championships consist of Akron, Ashland, Bowling Green, Central State, Cincinnati, Dayton, Findlay, Kent State, Lake Erie, Miami, Ohio, Tiffin, Wright State, and Xavier.
BEARCAT BITES:
· The Bearcats continued their early success capturing the Southern Ohio Cup on Saturday, April 4.
· Junior Antione Drakeford broke his own school record and the Gettler Stadium record at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational, while notching a regional-qualifying mark in the 400 with a time of 45.83. Drakeford followed his 400 time with a 45.1 split in the 4x400.
· Drakeford's time of 45.83 in the 400 is the 12th fastest time in the NCAA this season.
· In addition to Drakeford, junior Jasmine Cotten set a NCAA Provisional mark in the heptathlon with a score of 5,321 at the Alabama Relays.
· At the Southern Ohio Cup, Cotten improved her regional qualifying high jump mark to 6', which also was a meet record. Her clearance is tied for the seventh-best leap in the nation this season.
· Running the 3,000 steeplechase for the first time this season at the Southern Ohio Cup, sophomore Lilian Jelimo ran a NCAA regional-qualifying time of 10:38.86, surpassing the standard by more than 12 seconds. Jelimo's time also set a UC record and a Southern Ohio Cup record in the event, bettering P.J. Ball's 2001 time by more than seven seconds.
· For the third week in a row, sophomore Natasha Burse swept the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x100 relay at the Southern Ohio Cup with times of 11.75, 24.25, and 46.23. Burse's 100 time reached a NCAA regional qualifying mark and also was a meet record.
· Freshman Mackenzie Fields matched the NCAA provisional standard in the pole vault with a 12' 7-1/2" clearance.
· Also at the Alabama Relays, sophomore Kaylon Eppinger reached a NCAA provisional mark within the heptathlon with a time of 13.90 in the 100 hurdles, and bettered her time with a 13.88 showing at the Southern Ohio Cup.
· In the field events at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational, junior Shane Shockey reached a NCAA regional-qualifying mark in the pole vault, clearing 16' 6-3/4". Troy Cooper and Ian Jarman also collected NCAA regional-qualifying marks in the shot put and hammer throw, respectively, with throws of 59' 9" and 195' 5".
· Finally, freshman Terrence Sommerville collected a regional mark in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.14 seconds.
· Freshman Michael Rutherford surpassed his own freshman record set at the Early Bird Relays with a time of 1:50.44 in the 800 meters at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational.
· Freshman Eric Finan shattered the 1,500 meter freshman record with a time of 14:29.66, which also was a Gettler Stadium record, at the Early Bird Relays.
· One meet into the season, junior Brandon Fitch recorded a regional-qualifying mark in the high jump with a clearance of 6' 10-3/4".
· The Bearcat men finished fourth at the 2008 BIG EAST Championships, the highest finish in the three-year affiliation with the 16-team league. The women placed 10th.
LAST TIME OUT:
The 2009 Sea Ray Relays saw Antione Drakeford, Jasmine Cotten, Lilian Jelimo, and Troy Cooper register wins in the 400 meters, high jump, 5,000 meters, and shot put, respectively, while several other Bearcats finished in the Top 10 in their respective events.
In the 3,000-meters, junior Tamara Masters finished in eighth place, collecting a time of 10:17.81. In addition to Masters, sophomore Kaylon Eppinger clocked in at a personal-best time of 13.73 to finish fifth in the 100 hurdles. Cotten was not too far behind, finishing in seventh-place with a time of 13.99, before adding a first-place showing in the high jump with an impressive leap of 5' 10-1/2".
Freshman Aricka Rhodes led UC in the 400 meters with a time of 56.57, which was good enough for ninth place. Fellow freshman Kathy Klump registered a Top 10 showing in the 800 meters with a time of 2:10.40.
Adding to her 11th place finish in the 100 meters, sophomore Natasha Burse ran well in the 200 meters, crossing the line in a time of 24.42.
Jelimo continued her strong outdoor campaign with a win in the 5,000-meter invitational race. Jelimo bested the field by three-plus seconds with her time of 17:06.99. Finally on the women's side, sophomore Jill Glassmeyer led the Bearcats in the 10,000 meters with a third-place time of 36:36.24.
On the men's side, Drakeford continued his dominance in the 400 meters, finishing first with a time of 46.70. Drakeford's time was tops among 43 runners and he was the only 400 runner to break 47.0 seconds.
Freshman Terrence Somerville bested his top time in the 110 hurdles with a second-place time of 14.13, bettering his top time by one-tenth of a second. In the 400 hurdles, junior Jared Martin finished in eighth with a time of 54.27.
Arguably the best event of the day for the Bearcats was the men's 5,000 meter invitational, where freshman Eric Finan and senior Kyle Dragan led a 1-4 finish for the Bearcats. Finan's time was 14:23.38, while Dragan followed with 14:42.25.
In the finals of the men's open discus, Chris Littleton threw a sixth-place heave of 161' 05", while Bryan Hardesty finished ninth was a toss of 158' 09". Troy Cooper stole the show in the open shot put, throwing a first-place mark of 55' 5-3/4", which also is a NCAA regional qualifying mark.
On Day 2, the group of Paris Campbell, Jasmine Cotten, Huana Dawkins, and Kaylon Eppinger clocked in with a time of 57.36 in the 4x100 shuttle hurdle to finish in third place. The men's 4x100 shuttle relay squad of Dom Davilio, Mario Cannon, Jared Martin, and Terrence Somerville also finished in third place with a time of 1:00.19.
In the men's 3,000 steeplechase, brothers Randy and Rick King finished seventh and eighth, respectively, while senior Ian Jarman set a NCAA regional qualifying mark of 184' 6 in the hammer throw to finish sixth.
Mike Foley led the Bearcats in the open high jump with a clearance of 6' 6-3/4". In the men's invitational high jump, Brandon Fitch leapt 6' 10-3/4" to finish third.
Finally, in the men's invitational pole vault, Shane Shockey cleared 16' 0-3/4" to finish fourth.
UP NEXT:
UC travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays April 23-25.