TicketsApril 23, 2010
CINCINNATI- The University of Cincinnati men's and women's outdoor track & field teams travel to Oxford, Ohio, to compete in the RedHawk Invitational, beginning Saturday, April 24, at 11 a.m. with the women's hammer throw. The meet is the final tune-up for the Bearcats in preparation for the 2010 BIG EAST Championships, which will be held at Gettler Stadium, April 30-May 2.
This past weekend UC competed in the All-Ohio Championships at Ohio University. The men's team won, edging Kent State by four points, 154-150, while the women's team finished in third-place, behind Kent State and Akron.
The men's and women's teams claimed 10 combined victories in the two-day event, highlighted by double-event winner, sophomore Eric Finan, and triple-event winner, junior Natasha Burse.
Finan won the 5,000m run with a time of 14:36.90, nearly 11 seconds better than the runner-up. In the same event, the Bearcats placed two more Top-5 finishers with freshman Oliver Brook placing third and junior Ricky Lupp finishing fifth, with times of 14:53.90 and 14:49.90, respectively.
In the 1,500m, Finan claimed first-place honors with a time of 3:58.67, which was five-tenths of a second better than Kent State's Destin Heasley.
Natasha Burse won twice and was a part of the winning 4x100 relay team. The Garland, Texas, native duplicated the success she enjoyed a season ago at the All-Ohio Championships by sweeping both the 100m and 200m sprints. She won the 100m dash with a time of 11.86, and followed that up with a victory in the 200m dash, sprinting past the competition in 24.34. The victories give her six wins on the season between the two events, with three wins apiece coming in both the 100m and 200m.
Continuing his dominance in the javelin was sophomore Brian Zimmerman, who bested the competition by 10 feet with his throw of 218' 01''.
Senior Antione Drakeford, still recovering from a stress fracture that he suffered in his foot over the winter, was victorious in the 400m with a season-best time of 46.94, continuing the progression back to his all-American status a season ago.
The 800m run saw three Bearcats notch Top-5 finishes, including a victory by sophomore Michael Rutherford, with a time of 1:52.39, his second win on the season. Junior Jason Berling and senior Jon McClelland finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 1:55.51 and 1:55.71.
Michelle Eby won the pole vault, with a vault of 12' 07-1/2''. The sophomore from Dayton, Ohio notched her first victory of the season and matched the second-highest vault of her young career. Earlier this season at the Weems-Baskin Relays, Eby recorded a personal record vault of 12' 09-1/2''.
The quartet of sophomores Kathy Klump, Jenna Heaton, Aricka Rhodes, and senior Ashley Arnold won the 4x400 relay, with a time of 3:46.84, beating their previous season-best mark by four seconds.
The RedHawk Invitational serves as the final outdoor event before the 2010 BIG EAST Championships at Gettler Stadium. It will mark the second time since joining the BIG EAST during the 2005-06 season that a conference championship event has been held on the UC campus.
Admission to the BIG EAST Championship is free on Friday, April 30 for all spectators. On Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2, admission each day will be $4 for adults, $2 for children (18 and under), and seniors. Students that currently attend one of the 16 BIG EAST Conference institutions will be admitted free with a valid Student ID.