Track & Field Completes Final Tune-Up Prior to NCAA Regional

Track & Field Completes Final Tune-Up Prior to NCAA RegionalTrack & Field Completes Final Tune-Up Prior to NCAA Regional

May 16, 2010

Complete Results

In the final tune-up prior to the NCAA East Regional in Greenville, N.C., the University of Cincinnati men's and women's track & field teams had several standout performances, including a new school record and a host of personal-bests, while being split between the Cardinal Twilight in Louisville and the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta.

The trio of Brandon Fitch, Mike Foley, and Ryan Beltz have been consistent all year long and at the Cardinal Twilight in Louisville, Fitch placed first with a leap of 7' 1", moving him into sole possession of second place on UC's all-time list, while Foley tied a PR and Beltz equaled a seasonal-best with marks of 6' 9-1/2". Fitch, who had cleared 7' 1/2" during the indoor season, bested that mark and now owns a Top 30-mark nationally in the high jump.

The steady progression of the men's 4x400 quartet also continued this weekend at the Georgia Tech Invitational. Ethan Freet, Maurice Norman, Chase VanCura, and Antione Drakeford shaved more time off their school-record mark running the four-lap event in a blistering 3:08.68. It is the third time this season this foursome has broken the school-record in this event.

In individual action, Drakeford cut more time off his 400m time with a seasonal-best mark of 46.19, placing him fifth in the field, which included two professionals that placed ahead of him.

Eric Finan, who broke his own school record in the 5,000m at the BIG EAST Championships and finished second behind BIG EAST Track Athlete of the Meet Matt Hughes of Louisville, met Hughes again at the Cardinal Twilight, this time in the 1,500. Hughes bested Finan by one second, but Finan's time of 3:48.55 marked a new personal best in the event, while moving him into fifth on Cincinnati's all-time list.

Chris Littleton continued his steady progression throughout the season and moved up to third on the Bearcat's all-time Top 5 in the shot put with a fourth-place toss of 57' 2-3/4". Littleton has set a PR in the shot put three times this season.

Finally on the men's side, Brian Zimmerman continued his dominance in the javelin placing first with a throw of 215' 3".

On the women's side, both Kayla Dunn and Michelle Eby set PR's with clearances of 12' 10", resulting in Eby placing second and Dunn finishing fourth. The mark set by the duo tied them for third on UC's all-time list.

In other action, freshman Shanay Portis put together one of her finest meets of the season with PR's in the 100m (12.14) and 200m (25.13), while tying her best long jump mark of the season with a leap of 18' 6-1/2"

UC athletes that have marks ranking in the Top 48 in the East Regional after all of this weekend's competition is complete will head to Greensboro, N.C., for the NCAA East Regional May 27-29, at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T.