TicketsMarch 27, 2010
The University of Cincinnati men's and women's track and field teams had a busy weekend competing at three different events across the country. The Bearcats were spread out at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C, the Weems Baskin Relays in Columbia, S.C., and the Alabama Relays in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
RALEIGH RELAYS
On Friday night at the Raleigh Relays, the Bearcats posted several outstanding marks, including a new school record. Sophomore Eric Finan broke his own school record in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:12.24, which was seven seconds faster than his previous school-record mark.
In a different heat of the 5,000 meters, freshman Oliver Book won his heat with a personal-best time and BIG EAST qualifying mark of 15:02.90, while Tamara Masters ran the ninth-fastest 5,000 meter time in school history in the women's 5,000 meters, clocking in at 17:08.37.
The other two runners to compete on the opening night of the Raleigh Relays were Jocelyn McCauley and Ricky Lupp, who competed in the women's and men's 10,000 meters, respectively. McCauley clocked the fourth fastest time in school history in the 10,000 meters with an eighth-place time of 36:28.78, while Lupp also placed eighth and moved up to No. 3 in the UC record books with a time of 30:35.20.
The second day of the Raleigh Relays was not as eventful as the opening day, but UC still posted solid marks. On the women's side, freshman Cortney Staruch competed in the 3,000 steeplechase for the first time in her career and posted a time of 11:29.38, while sophomores Jenna Heaton and Kathy Klump ran well in the 800 meters.
Heaton continued her steady progression with a PR time of 2:11.58 to finish sixth, while Klump was right on her heels with a seasonal-best time of 2:11.58, placing her seventh.
Senior Lilian Jelimo rounded out the women's performances with a BIG EAST qualifying mark of 10:50.71 in the 3,000 steeplechase, which placed fifth.
On the men's side, sophomore Michael Rutherford ran well and placed second in the 800 meters with a seasonal-best mark of 1:51.24.
WEEMS BASKIN RELAYS
UC's sprinters, jumpers, and throwers made their way down to Columbia, S.C., for the Weems Baskin Relays and the Bearcats posted several PR's and Top 5 finishes.
On the track, sophomore Aricka Rhodes clocked the fifth fastest time in school history and a PR with a time of 54.98, which also was the fastest time among all competitors.
Fellow sophomore Brianna Patton placed in the top three among all competitors in the 100 hurdles, crossing the line in a time of 14.60.
On the men's side, UC posted a pair of top 6 finishes in the 400 hurdles courtesy of senior Chase Petzinger and freshman Ethan Freet. Petzinger timed out at 56.16 to finish fourth, and Freet was not too far behind at 56.44 to finish sixth.
In the field events, Brian Zimmerman followed up his school record-setting performance from a week ago with a toss of 205' 4" to win the javelin for the second week in a row.
The Bearcats had a trio of second place finishes in the field events. Tommy Marks had a personal-best clearance of 16' 1" to finish second in the pole vault, while sophomore Michelle Eby also finished second in the women's pole vault with a PR mark of 12' 9-1/2".
In the men's high jump, UC had three Top 5 finishers, including a second-place finisher in Brandon Fitch. Fitch claimed top honors of the trio with a leap of 6' 10-1/2", while Ryan Beltz and Mike Foley placed third and fifth, respectively.
Bridget McNeill collected two PR's on the day in the hammer throw and the discus with throws of 145' 11-1/2" and 136' 11-3/4", respectively, while Chris Littleton registered a PR in the men's shot put with a throw of 53' 11-1/4". In addition to Littleton, Troy Cooper placed just in front of Littleton with a throw of 55' 6" in the shot put.
Alabama Relays
Freshman Brandon Smith was the lone Bearcat athlete to compete at the Alabama Relays doing so in the decathlon. Smith, who was competing in his first decathlon, put together an impressive 10-event score of 6,021 to finish in eighth place.
Smith's top individual events in the two-day decathlon came in the 1,500 meters, the 100 meters, and the 110 hurdles. Smith posted the third-best time in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:45.13, adding 648 points to his score.
While his third place showing in the 1,500 meters was his best finish in an event, Smith's highest scoring events were in the 100 meters and the 110 hurdles. Smith clocked in at 11.67 in the 100 meters and 16.24 in the 110 hurdles to score 717 points and 706 points, respectively.
Both the men's and women's teams are back in action on Saturday, April 3, when UC hosts the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational at Gettler Stadium.