TicketsJan. 23, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - On the final day of the 2010 Gladstein Invitational, the University of Cincinnati men's and women's indoor track and field teams notched nine Top-3 finishes, including wins by junior Natasha Burse in the women's 60 meters and sophomore Terrence Somerville in the 60 men's 60 hurdles.
On Day 1 of the meet, Burse was the top qualifier in the preliminaries of the 60 meters with a time of 7.69. Burse backed up her top seed with a first-place showing in the finals, clocking in at 7.70. Following the 60 meters, Burse collected a second-place finish in the 200 invitational with a time of 24.89, finishing only behind Yoniece Martin.
Similar to Burse, Somerville was the top seed entering the men's 60 hurdles final and he did not disappoint. Somerville's time of 7.99 was the only mark to eclipse 8.00 in the finals as he earned the triumph by 0.23 seconds.
In his top event, sophomore Troy Cooper's throw of 54' 11-1/4" placed him second place behind only Cory Martin. Cooper's throw is his personal best in the event and the second-best toss in program history.
The sophomore duo of Jenna Heaton and Aricka Rhodes ran well in the 600 meters and placed second and third, respectively. Western Michigan's Victoria Chatman won the race in a time of 1:33.98, but close behind were Heaton and Rhodes, who clocked in at 1:34.44 and 1:34.65, respectively.
In other events, freshman Shanay Portis finished third in the 200 meters (25.83), Maurice Norman placed third in the men's 600 meters (1:21.49), and Paris Campbell, who entered the finals of the women's 60 hurdles as the fifth seed, crossed the line in fourth with a time of 8.87.
The Bearcats' relay squads on the women's side finished third in the 4x800 relay (9:17.82) and seventh in the 4x400 (3:59.48), while the men's team finished second in the 4x800 (7:53.91) and fifth in the 4x400 (3:20.40).
UC is back in action Jan. 29-30, in Lexington, Ky., for the Rod McCravy Invitational on the University of Kentucky campus.