TicketsMay 2, 2009
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The University of Cincinnati outdoor track and field team finished Day 2 of the BIG EAST Championships and the women's team sits in third and the men's team is in seventh place with one day to go at Jumbo Elliot Track on the Villanova University campus.
The preliminaries for almost all of the track events were completed on Day 2, while several field event finals concluded.
On the women's side, freshman Mackenzie Fields finished second in the pole vault with a clearance of 12' 11-1/2", which ties for the second best mark in UC history. In addition to Fields, fellow freshman Michelle Eby finished in fifth with a mark of 12' 7-1/2".
In the long jump, junior Jasmine Cotten recorded an eighth-place mark of 18' 6-1/2", while also finishing third in the heptathlon with a score of 4,859. Sophomores Kaylon Eppinger and Chelsea Gerken added points in the heptathlon with a fourth- and a sixth-place finish, respectively.
Senior Lisa Klotz was the top Bearcats finisher in the shot put with a heave of 46' 3-1/4", which was the eighth-best toss of the day.
In the track events, sophomore Natasha Burse qualified for the finals in the 100 meters with a time of 11.90, but missed out on the finals of the 200 meters by seven-tenths of a second.
Senior Courtney Wicks barely missed out on making the finals in the 400 meters, finishing two-tenths of a second out of eighth place. In addition to her fourth-place finish in the heptathlon, Eppinger qualified for the finals in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.04.
Sophomore Jill Glassmeyer did score a point for UC in the 10,000 meters with a time of 36:35.65, while sophomore Lilian Jelimo crossed the line in fourth place in an UC record time and a NCAA regional time of 10:31.3 in the 3,000 steeplechase.
On the men's side, sophomore Mike Foley and junior Brandon Fitch both cleared 6' 9-1/2" in the high jump to finish fifth and sixth, respectively, while Troy Cooper finished second in the shot put with a toss of 57' 7-1/2", which is 1-1/2" shy of his UC record throw set earlier this season.
Junior Dayo Igeleke qualified for the finals in the 100 meters with a time of 10.73 and fellow sprinter, junior Antione Drakeford, qualified for the finals in both the 200 meters and 400 meters with times of 21.09 and 47.31, respectively. Drakeford's 200 meter time is the sixth-best time in UC history. Along with Drakeford, Chase VanCura advanced to the finals of the 400 meters with a time of 48.17.
In his first BIG EAST Championships, freshman Terrence Somerville moved on to the finals of the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.15.
In the 3,000 steeplechase, senior Randy King clocked in a NCAA regional time of 9:05.50, which was good enough for seventh overall.
Action at the 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships concludes Sunday at 11 a.m. Fans can follow all the action of the 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships live online at www.bigeast.org.
Men's Team Standings (through eight events)
1) Louisville 104
2) Connecticut 37
2) Notre Dame 37
4) Rutgers 35
5) Syracuse 29
6) USF 21
7) Cincinnati 17
8) Georgetown 15
9) Pittsburgh 7
10) Villanova 5
11) DePaul 2
11) Providence 2
13) Marquette 1
Women's Team Standings (through eight events)
1) Louisville 79
2) Notre Dame 54
3) Cincinnati 34
4) USF 23
5) Syracuse 21
6) Connecticut 15
7) Providence 13
7) West Virginia 13
7) Pittsburgh 13
10) Villanova 12
11) Rutgers 11
12) Georgetown 9
13) Marquette 8
14) DePaul 7