TicketsApril 18, 2009
OXFORD, Ohio - The University of Cincinnati outdoor track and field team completed the final day of the All-Ohio Championships and both UC's men's and women's teams finished in second place with 170.50 points and 148, respectively. The University of Akron won both the men's and the women's meet, finishing six points above the Bearcats on the men's side and 33 points better than UC on the women's side.
The highlight of the day came in the men's shot put where freshman Troy Cooper continued his excellent season with a NCAA regional heave of 57' 9". Not only did Cooper's throw set a NCAA regional mark, but it broke Greg Weber's 1983 UC record of 57' 5".
On the women's side, sophomore Kaylon Eppinger scored 4,983 points to defeat Miami's Nicki Mitchell by 31 points in the heptathlon to finish first, while fellow sophomore Chelsea Gerken scored 4,426 points to finish fourth.
On the track, Eppinger took first-place honors with a time of 13.79 in the 100 hurdles, before freshman Hauna Dawkins crossed the line in third place with a PR of 14.20. Dawkins recorded her second third-place finish of the day with a time of 1:03.12 in the 400 hurdles.
The Bearcat trio of junior Ashley Arnold, freshman Aricka Rhodes, and senior Courtney Wicks finished 1-2-3 in the 400 meters to score 24 points for Cincinnati. Arnold finished first with a time of 55.80, while Rhodes and Wicks recorded times of 56.39 and 56.62, respectively.
In the sprints, sophomore Natasha Burse swept the 100 meters and 200 meters with times of 11.73 and 24.14. Burse's 100-meter time was a NCAA regional qualifying mark and was two-tenths of a second faster than her previous season best of 11.75.
Freshman Kathy Klump ran her best 800 time of the season running two laps around the track in a time of 2:09.94. Klump is closing in on the NCAA regionally qualifying mark in the event, which is 2:09.80.
In the 3,000 steeplechase, sophomore Lilian Jelimo ran past the field winning the event in 10:37.87, more than seven seconds faster than any other runner in the event.
In the field, freshman Mackenzie Fields cleared 12' 7-1/2", matching a NCAA regional qualifying standard, and freshman Michelle Eby finished in sixth with a clearance of 11' 7-3/4". Finally in the high jump, freshman Camai Brandenberg had a seventh-place leap of 5' 3".
On the men's side, junior Dayo Igeleke ran his top time of the year in the 100 with a time of 10.55 to finish third. To round out the sprints, junior Antione Drakeford ran to a second-place time of 21.17 in the 200 meters and a first-place time of 46.39 in the 400 meters. Drakeford's 200 time was a NCAA regional qualifying time, while his 400 time was tops by over one and a half seconds.
For the third time this year, freshman Michael Rutherford bested his own UC freshman record in the 800 meters. Rutherford finished in first with a time of 1:50.34, which also was a NCAA regional qualifying mark.
Freshman Terrence Somerville ran past the field in the 110 hurdles with a 14.06 time, his best of the year, while also finishing fourth in the long jump with a leap of 22' 7-3/4".
Chris Littleton had a great day in the discus with a throw of 165' 2", which landed him in second place. Littleton's toss also ranks in the Top 20 throws in Bearcat history.
Finally, junior Brandon Fitch finished second in the high jump with a clearance of 6' 10-3/4".
The outdoor track and field team next competes at the Drake Relays April 23-25.