TicketsApril 19, 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 competed at the All-Ohio Championships in Athens, Ohio. Here are Seaton's and Schnier's reactions to the All-Ohio Championships.
ALL-OHIO CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN'S Beartracks
We were not the favorites at this year's All-Ohio Outdoor Championships, but we did have the most spirit. Not since our 100-point victory over second-place Miami (OH) in 2004 had we won this meet. With the hits we have taken lately, a duplication of that meet six years ago seemed impossible. Furthermore, we were missing Terrence Somerville, Dayo Igeleke and Maurice Norman, major Bearcat sprinters and hurdlers. On paper we were expected to lose to Akron by 26 points and Kent State by 23 points, but statistics are impersonal and never take into consideration human desire. At the end of two days at OU we emerged the team winner in a field of 13 and are now undefeated against all comers this spring, 42 in all. What a great way to move toward the BIG EAST!
Typical of Bearcat track and field teams, we scored in 17 of 21 events, missing out in the 100m, 200m, 10,000m and hammer throw. But the stars were shining as we won five events: the javelin, 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m. Most importantly, we scored on 27 separate occasions. The weekend full of wind made it almost impossible to achieve great marks, yet our 20 seasonal-bests attest to the spirit we are so proud of. Although this current 2010 is not as good as our last All-Ohio championship team, the 2004 group, we still had eight events at OU which were superior to that team. All-in-all it was quite an effort by the Bearcats and extremely satisfying.
Some events and some people really stood out. On Friday night it was surely the 5,000m which took center stage. There were no surprises when Eric Finan won easily, but who expected Oliver Book to capture third and Ricky Lupp to grab fifth? On paper we were slated for 10 points but scored 20 instead. Some of the runners Oliver and Ricky beat had always been better in the past, but not in the wind and rain on Friday night. Late in the meet with the Bearcats holding a slight 113-106 lead over Kent State, we erupted with a 1-4-5 finish in the 800m, sending us to a 17-point lead, which we never relinquished. Michael Rutherford came from behind with a fast and long kick to win, but the real joy came when Jason Berling and Jon McClelland crossed the line close behind. I planned to hold Jason out of this meet due to his discouragement, but he talked me into letting him run. The five points he scored were the difference in the meet as he proved to be a fine runner and an even better coach. Probably the best all-around marks occurred in the discus as our trio all set huge personal records in their 3-6-7 finish. Troy Cooper (170' 1"), Chris Littleton (166' 9") and Jake Haseman (165' 10") now have marks which would have finished 5-6-7 in last year's BIG EAST. They now rank 3-6-7 on our all-time UC list. Troy and Chris were just as good in the shot put as they threw 57' 2" and 56' 8", distances which would have placed them 5th and 6th in the 2009 BIG EAST. Brian Zimmerman was just off his best in the javelin, but it was still plenty good for an All-Ohio victory. Antione Drakeford is back! His 46.96 victory in the 400m together with a 46.1 relay leg said it all.
Surprises are always the most fun and we had plenty of those in Athens. Did anyone expect Zach Schmidt to place third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump? How about Mario Cannon with his fourth-place finish in his specialty, the 110m hurdles, and a near-placing in the 100m (10.86)? Ben Hall had never placed in a large meet, and was certainly not expected to place in the All-Ohio, yet he did what was possible and ended up eighth. It was great to see Rick King run the 3,000m steeplechase without worrying about banging the barrier. It was just as much fun to see him come from way behind to capture fifth-place over a 2009 Regional qualifier. Without Dayo in the 4x100 relay, we looked to be an also-ran, but Anthony Chandler stepped in beautifully and enabled us to get fifth. We were not the same team in the 4x400 relay without Maurice Norman, but the four who ran made up for those who did not. Their 3:14.66 got third place, a tribute to our depth. The 400m hurdle field was a good one so Ethan Freet's third place was quite an achievement. Tommy Marks almost set a PR in the pole vault. His 15' 9" jump got third place and six points for the Bearcats. Although Brandon Smith did not set a decathlon PR, he had several very good events giving lots of hope for the future. A real joy was to see Caleb Gaus competing in a meet and completing the decathlon. Ryan Beltz did not score in the 110m hurdles, but his 15.49 was very good and a big personal record.
The BIG EAST at UC is coming up in two weeks. Preparation has been going well but the real work will come from our athletes. Having finished fourth the past two years, we hope to improve and get into the top echelons of the BIG EAST, but that will not be easy. Neither was winning the All-Ohio easy so we might just be that team that advances on effort and spirit.
Lady Beartracks
The UC Lady Bearcats entered the championship part of the outdoor season with the All-Ohio Championships hosted this year by Ohio University. We had aspirations of proving once again that we are one of the top teams in Ohio, but the big question was whether we would be able to keep pace and finish high as a team considering many of our stars are red shirting and others are struggling with injury. Our limited squad stepped up and rallied on the second day of competition to move up and earn a third- place finish out of 16 teams.
The Bearcats got a big boost on Saturday by triple- event winner Natasha Burse. The first victory came in the 4x100 relay. With our typical third leg, Shanay Portis, out with an injury, a victory in the 4x1 00 did not seem likely. Hauna Dawkins had us right in the mix after the first leg , but it was Natasha who blew the race wide open. Natasha blitzed away from the field on the second leg. We then got some big help from sophomore hurdler, Brianna Patton, who executed the exchanges like a seasoned veteran to easily hold the lead handing off to our anchor runner, Aricka Rhodes, who coasted to victory. Natasha later proved that she is indeed the class of the sprint field running away with a big victory in the 100 m dash with a nice seasonal -best time of 11.86 seconds. The 200 was much the same with victory assured at every point during the race. Great work Natasha!
Another track victory for the lady Bearcats came in the 4x400 relay. The team of Kathy Klump, Ashley Arnold, Jenna Heaton, and Aricka Rhodes blew the rest of Ohio away with a five- second victory over the second- place tea m. The race was never close and the time of 3:46.84 seconds was a seasonal best and now ranks in the top ten on the UC all-time list. All four ladies from the relay scored individual points as well. Kathy Klump and Jenna Heaton provided an exciting 3-5 punc h in the 800m with both less than one second behind the first place finisher. Ashley Arnold, back from injury, picked up an eighth- place finish in her first 400 of the year and Aricka Rhodes battled for first, but was just edged out to place second in the event, leaving us one place finish shy of a complete sprint sweep.
Also on the track scoring points were our longest runners in the 5K. Tamara Masters, back from injury battled to a fifth- place finish with Jocelyn McCauley backing her up in eighth . Finishing out the point scoring on the track were our ladies running over obstacles. Brianna Patton and Hauna Dawkins provided a 5 - 6 finish in the 100m hurdles with Hauna coming across the line fifth in the fast heat, only to be kicked down a spot as Brianna ran away from the field in the second heat bettering Hauna's time. In the 3,000 m steeplechase , Lilian Jelimo raced well and got the entire crowd cheering. After 2,900 meters o f running it was a frantic back- and - forth sprint to the finish against a Miami (OH) runner in an attempt to nab second place in the race. Lilian was just barely outdone by less than a tenth of a second giving her the third- place finish.
In the field, Michele Eby provided the most excitement with a victory in the pole vault. Michele popped over 12' 7.5" on her first attempt to put her in control of the event. Kent State and Akron opponents both cleared the height as well, but it took them an extra attempt. When all three went out at the next height , it was Michele Eby who was crowned the All-Ohio Champion. Teammate Stefanie Ponte picked up a point with her 11' 7.75" clearance and an eighth- place finish once again making the pole vault our highest scoring event of the meet. Heptathlete Boudine Bouma battled out seven events during the women's multi - event competition and a strong finish in the 800m moved her up into fifth place at the end of D ay 2. Triple - jumper Anastasia Tarpeh put up another solid mark in her premier event good for a sixth- place finish in the competition.
The throws at the All-Ohio are always stacked and clearly the strongest events of the meet, but freshman Jessica Cobb broke into the points picking up an eighth- place finish in the javelin. Lisa Klotz competed well and led UC in the shot and hammer with her hammer mark of 152' 6" being a nice seasonal best for her. Freshman Bridget McNeil led the way in the discus with yet another 40 - meter plus toss on the season.
With two weeks remaining before the BIG EAST Championships the battle for the team finish must start right now. We need to use these two weeks to put any issues we have behind us, heal up our injuries, and hone our skills. This will be a test of the character of this tea m. We must go on an adrenaline infused rampage to defend our home turf and show what it means to compete like a Bearcat. Our backs are against the wall. It's time to fight our way out!
Go Bearcats!