TicketsMarch 20, 2010
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati men's and women's track and field teams kicked off their outdoor seasons on Saturday by hosting the Early Bird Relays at Gettler Stadium. The men's team won the meet with 102 points, while the women's team finished in second with 106 points.
The University of Dayton women's team won the meet with 112.5 points.
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.
The highlight of the day came from Brian Zimmerman, who broke his own school record in the javelin. Zimmerman won the event individually with a toss of 225' 11-3/4", shattering his previous record of 204'.
On the men's side, UC took first place honors in nine events, including a sweep of the hurdles events. The duo of Mario Cannon and Brandon Smith clocked the top combined time in the 110 hurdles, before Allen Moore and Chase Petzinger took home first-place honors in the 400 hurdles. Moore's time of 54.91 was good enough to win the event individually, while Petzinger's mark of 55.34 placed him third.
In the 100 meters, Dayo Igeleke and Anthony Chandler clocked times of 10.93 and 11.02, respectively, to win the event for the Bearcats.
Michael Rutherford and Jason Berling added another victory for the men's team with a first and third place showing, respectively, in the 800 meters. Rutherford crossed the line in a first-place time of 1:52.04 and Berling was close behind with a time of 1:55.21.
Eric Finan stayed in the middle of the pack early in the 5,000 meters before overtaking the lead with two laps remaining to pick up the victory in the event. Finan timed in at 14:30.42.
In the field events, Brandon Fitch and Ryan Beltz each jumped 6' 8" to win the men's high jump, while Elliot Vocke cleared 15' 5" to win the pole vault.
Jake Haseman threw well in the discus to finish fifth individually at 140" 9" and teamed up with Chris Littleton to give UC a third-place showing in the event. Littleton also competed in the shot put and notched a toss of 52' 1-1/2" to place third.
On the women's side, Natasha Burse and Aricka Rhodes collaborated to help the Bearcats take top honors in the 100 meters and 200 meters. Burse won both events with marks of 12.01 and 24.27, while Rhodes crossed the line in third in both events with times of 12.23 and 24.58, respectively.
Jenna Heaton continued her strong running from the final meet of the indoor season to the first meet of the outdoor campaign with a triumph in the 800 meters. Heaton won the event in a time of 2:12.34, which is the eighth-fastest time in school history and a personal-best outdoors, and she teamed up with Jenny Harsh (fifth, 2:18.48) to claim the 10 points for UC.
Due to the fact that she was the only UC runner in the event, the Bearcats did not score any points in the 400 meters, but Kathy Klump won the one-lap event individually with a time of 56.74.
Brianna Patton and Hauna Dawkins placed second and third, respectively, to win the 100 hurdles, while the duo of Lilian Jelimo and Cortney Staruch teamed up to win the 1,500 meters.
In the field, Kayla Dunn cleared 12' 3-1/2" to win the pole vault and Anastasia Tarpeh recorded a leap of 37' 7-3/4" to place second individually in the triple jump.
Catherine Early and Deanna Rippy posted throws of 144' 3/4" and 142' 2-1/4", respectively, to place UC third in the women's hammer throw, and the duo of Bridget McNeill and Lisa Klotz finished in fifth and eighth place to also finish third in the discus.
Both the men's and women's teams concluded the track events with triumphs in the 4x400 meters.
The men's and women's teams will be back in action next weekend at three different meets. Athletes will be split up between the Alabama Relays in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C., and the Weems Baskin Relays in Columbia, S.C.