TicketsMarch 30, 2010
Each week of competition, University of Cincinnati head women's track and field coach Susan Seaton and head men's track and field coach Bill Schnier take a look back at the performances from the previous week. Coach Seaton comments about the women's team, while coach Schnier talks about the men's squad in their weekly Beartracks. This past week, both teams were spread across the country at the Raleigh Relays, Alabama Relays, and Weems Baskin Relays. Here are Seaton's and Schnier's reactions to the Spring Break Meets.
Lady Beartracks
Raleigh Relays & Weems Baskin Relays
The second weekend of the outdoor season saw us travel in two squads - one going to the Raleigh Relays in pursuit of fast distance races and the other going to the Weems Baskin Relays hosted by the University of South Carolina in hopes of warm weather conditions and good competition. Raleigh Relays turned out to be the right call for our distance squad as they turned in three personal bests and five BIG EAST qualifying marks and it was our first time in school history competing at the University of South Carolina.
To sum up the weekend, we crowned two event winners, placed seven times in the Top 5 and recorded 16 BIG EAST marks by 14 athletes. The most outstanding mark of the weekend was achieved by Michelle Eby in the pole vault with a new outdoor best, which also ranks her third on our all-time list with the fourth-highest clearance ever by a Bearcat. Michelle has consistently worked hard and currently ranks third in the BIG EAST standings and 11th in the East, which bodes well for her quest to compete in the NCAA championships in June. The event winners of the weekend came from Aricka Rhodes in the 400m dash and Tamara Masters in her section of the 5K. Aricka has made steady progress and with a gutsy race at Columbia, S.C., moved herself into 16th place in the East standings. She also has the second fastest outdoor time in the BIG EAST and her mark of 54.98 also is the fifth-best mark all-time by a Lady Bearcat. Tamara is another example of hard work and steady improvement, running a personal best to win her section of the 5K at the Raleigh Relays and moving her into third place on our all-time list.
Our dynamic 800m duo of Jenna Heaton and Kathy Klump was back in action at Raleigh with fast times that give them the second and third fastest outdoor times in the BIG EAST so far this season. Jenna's time also moves her into third place on our all-time list and is the fourth-fastest ever run by a Lady Bearcat. It is nice to see fellow 800m star Kathy Klump make a return to fast running after an illness plagued indoor campaign, turning in her third-fastest 800m time ever. Senior BYU transfer Jocelyn McCauley took advantage of the favorable conditions at Raleigh and turned in a fast early mark in the 10K, running the 25 lap event in 36:28.78 which moves her into fourth all-time for UC runners and ranks sixth in the BIG EAST.
Two freshmen made a splash this weekend moving themselves into the UC record books and BIG EAST contention. Shanay Portis, who is new to the triple jump, recorded an eighth-place finish at the Weems Baskin Relays, moving into fourth on our all-time list and into ninth position on the BIG EAST list. Continuing her steady improvement, she is becoming a major contender in the horizontal jumps. Fellow freshman Bridget McNeill has made a speedy return from Mono and is showing steady improvements in her events; the discus and hammer. Bridget competed well down south and recorded a Top 5 finish in the discus with a mark that moves her into fifth place all-time and gives her a 10th-place ranking in the BIG EAST. She also recorded an almost 10-foot PR in the hammer, making the UC all-time list at No. 10.
Sophomore Brianna Patton ran her fastest college race to date with a 14.60 clocking in the 100m hurdles, which moves her into the UC record books at No. 10 all-time and currently ranks her eighth in the BIG EAST. Lilian Jelimo returned to action in her main event, the steeple chase, and opened the season with a solid time that ranks her 14th in East and seventh in the BIG EAST. Natasha Burse had another quality weekend in the 100m and 200m dashes, battling strong headwinds for most of the day. The 4x 100 relay of Dawkins, Burse, Portis, and Rhodes got the stick around the track and recorded a Top-10 all-time mark.
Our second home meet, the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational, will see the Lady Bearcats back in action on their home turf. With favorable weather conditions predicted and good competition coming into town, we should be able to use the meet as a stepping stone in our quest for better marks and rankings. With the BIG EAST Championships hosted at the same site in less than five weeks we need everybody to step it up and bring their "A" game this weekend.
Go Lady Bearcats!
MEN'S Beartracks
Raleigh Relays & Weems Baskin Relays
Nothing was normal on the final weekend of Spring Break, but then again everything was normal. We are a team which does not typically separate its squad, yet we did the unthinkable by doing just that for the benefit of separate event groups. The middle-distance and distance runners headed to North Carolina for the Raleigh Relays while the rest of the team went to South Carolina for the Weems Baskin Relays. The normal aspect was that both groups fared well and met their needs in meets 150 miles apart. At Columbia, S.C., we placed in the Top 8 on 15 separate occasions with two winners and a runner-up. At Raleigh, N.C., we had a second, fifth and two eighths, but most notably we set a UC record. Other than two long trips which were fatiguing in themselves, especially the Columbia trip home which began at 10:20 PM, we returned to Cincinnati happy and with a real sense of progress.
The school record was recorded by another spectacular 5K effort by Eric Finan, who lopped seven more seconds off last year's mark. Eric battled the wind, cold temperatures, and ample competition to run a blazing 14:12.24, with mile splits of 4:30, 4:36, and 4:42. As wonderful as Eric's race was, the real energy on Friday night at NC State came from Ricky Lapp's BIG EAST qualifying 10,000m, a steady affair punctuated by a jubilant fist pump, celebrating this sophomore's 30:35.20, now third on the all-time UC list behind Chris Reis and John Dixon. Eric was fifth, Ricky was eighth, but Michael Rutherford was second in the 800m with a fine 1:51.24. He was boxed in early and never really got in position to win, yet his enormous effort was typical although he hurt his foot in the process, taking him out of the 4 x 800 relay run only 50 minutes later. Our other placer at Raleigh was David Barry in the 3,000m steeplechase. His 9:27.55 was a 17-second personal record, putting him position to make the BIG EAST as well as the UC All-Time list. Oliver Book set the stage for his teammates with a rousing 15:02.90 in the 5K.
The majority went to the University of South Carolina where they encountered the Gamecocks and many other local teams. Once again, Brian Zimmerman led the way with a javelin victory, this time only 205' 4", a mark which would have set a school record had he not lofted it 226' last week. The other victory was a first-place tie in the high jump. Brandon Fitch leapt 6' 10-3/4" with good attempts at 7'. He brought his teammates along for the ride as all did very well. Ryan Beltz was fourth at 6' 8-3/4" and Mike Foley was fifth at 6' 6-3/4". This trio has been consistent at a high level with the potential for even more. One of the best days came from Chris Littleton in the form of two fifth-place showings in the discus and shot put. The former is Chris's favorite and best event and his 154' 10" was close to his college best. More exciting was his shot put of 53' 11-1/4", which was indeed a college best. We now have a genuine 1-2 punch in the shot with Chris teaming with school record holder Troy Cooper, who was one place better on Saturday. Troy's 55' 6-1/4" demonstrated both consistency and excellence. Big breakthroughs generate the most excitement and that came from Tommy Marks in the pole vault. Tommy was unable to practice the vault for three months as he co-opped in Savannah, yet on Saturday he looked as if he had been vaulting twice a day. His 16' 3/4" vault was second in the meet and now tied for 11th on the all-time UC list.
We had plenty of fire power in the running events led by a 4-5 finish in the 400m hurdles. Another winter co-op, Chase Petzinger, ran a nice 56.16 followed closely by Ethan Freet's 56.44. Stand-out high hurdler, Terrence Somervile, was not at his best as his 15.00 attests. Still, it was good for fifth place in a fine field. It was great to have Maurice Norman running in uniform after a long respite due to muscle problems. Maurice made the most of his opportunity in the 400m by placing fifth in 49.20, slow for Maurice yet fast for an undertrained injured man. With proper work that time will come down rapidly. The final individual man who placed at USC was Dayo Igeleke. His 10.80 in the 100m was good for fifth, far from his best yet showing progress from this mono-plagued senior. Both relays were fifth at Weems Baskin but ran faster last week. Obviously we have work to do.
Twenty-eight of the 43 marks recorded on Saturday were better this week than last. The biggest improvements came in the throws, pole vault and distance races. The progress was steady, the best and most-lasting kind. We are still showing weakness in the sprints, hurdles, horizontal jumps, and relays, but our goals continue to be high. Good early-season marks coupled with logical progress have put us in position. Now we must keep it up and get credit for what we have worked for. Congratulations to UC swimmer, Josh Schneider, an NCAA champion in the 50 Freestyle whose victory produced cheers amongst the UC team down in Raleigh.