TicketsMay 14, 2010
CINCINNATI- Nearly two weeks removed from the BIG EAST Championships, the University of Cincinnati men's and women's outdoor track & field teams return to competition on Friday, May 14, when the teams split up to compete at the Georgia Tech Invitational and the Cardinal Twilight. Selected sprinters and hurdlers will compete at the Georgia Tech Invitational, while distance runners, throwers, and jumpers will compete at the Cardinal Twilight.
The Georgia Tech Invitational will be run on the George C. Griffin Track on the campus of Georgia Tech University, while the Cardinal Twilight will be contested on the University of Louisville campus at the Cardinal Track Stadium.
All of Cincinnati's athletes will put forth their final attempt of the season to reach the necessary qualifying times to ensure a spot at the NCAA Regionals. Heading into the weekend, senior Antione Drakeford (400m) and sophomore Brian Zimmerman (javelin) currently own Top 20 marks in the region in their respective events, cementing their spot at next week's Regional.
In order to qualify for the Regional, athletes must have a Top 48 mark in the region.
UC has been off since hosting the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships (April 30-May 2), where the men placed sixth and the women tied for 12th. Stellar individual accomplishments highlighted the three-day event, capped off by three school records being shattered.
Sophomore Eric Finan, making his second BIG EAST Championship appearance, dazzled the home crowd in the 5,000m by finishing in second-place, two seconds behind Louisville's Matt Hughes, in a school-record time of 14:01.16.
Zimmerman, competing in the javelin, was masterful in his victory, breaking his own school record throw of 226' by nearly two feet with a first-place throw of 227' 10''. Zimmerman became UC's first individual champion at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships since Antione Drakeford won the 400m in 2008 and his toss of 227' 10" moved him from 19th up to 16th nationally.
A day later, Drakeford gave UC its second conference champion when he captured his second career BIG EAST title in the 400m besting the field with a time of 46.31 at a rain-soaked Gettler Stadium.
In the preliminaries of the women's 800m, the third and final school record fell at the BIG EAST Championships, courtesy of sophomore Kathy Klump. The sophomore broke her own school record with a time of 2:09.32, besting her previous mark of 2:09.94, a time she set a season ago at the All-Ohio Championships. Klump went on to finish fifth.
After the weekend of events, athletes who meet the qualifying marks for the NCAA Regionals will resume competition Friday May 28, in Greenville, S.C.