TicketsMay 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, athletes split up between the Georgia Tech Invitational and the Cardinal Twilight. Here are Seaton's and Schnier's reactions to the meets.
MEN'S Beartracks
Cardinal Twilight & Georgia Tech Invitational
This was a week where our interests were best served by sending the sprinters and hurdlers to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech Invitational and everyone else to Louisville for the Cardinal Twilight. Prior to the meets, this looked like a good idea as both were individual meets where our athletes were attempting to qualify for the first round of the NCAA to further solidify their position in that meet or to set a personal record or even a school record. The emotion was very ordinary, but for those who achieved their goals, the focus was high. Our combined results ranged from the waste of time to the spectacular, but such is the nature of meets like these. All in all we got a lot done.
The highlights came from both locations. The 4 x 400 relay formed the centerpiece of our plans as well as our accomplishments. They were the last to compete at either site yet they brought the greatest joy. With a seed time of 3:09.60, the quartet made the fast section in Atlanta but got off to a slow start following Ethan Freet's 49.5 lead-off leg. But personal record follow-up legs from Maurice Norman (46.8) and Chase VanCura (46.8) and a seasonal-best by Antione Drakeford got us fifth place and a school record for the third time this year. It was a strange relay which had a 49+ leg, none in the 48s and 47s, two in the 46s and one at 45.4. That is why we went to Georgia Tech so we returned happy. The previous day at Louisville, spectacular work was done in the high jump and shot put. Brandon Fitch rocketed from sixth to second on the all-time UC list with a clean 7' 1" jump, winning the meet and leaping up to an 11th-place ranking in the Eastern Regional. He was so far over 7' 1" that the next height of 7' 2-1/4" seemed very attainable, but his hamstring cramped and that was that. Teammates Mike Foley and Ryan Beltz were equally focused and jumped personal-record outdoor bests of 6' 9-1/2". Mike in particular was close to insuring a spot in the Regional with a near miss at 6' 11-1/2", but just ticked it off. Both are in 56th place with 48 advancing. Now we must hope that a few are unable to declare but that is not likely. The do-or-die mentality of the high jumpers really served them well. Their 1-2-4 finish made them our best event at either location this weekend. Just as impressive was Chris Littleton's 57' 2-3/4" shot put, fourth at the Cardinal Classic and third on the UC list behind Troy Cooper and Greg Weber. Chris has really found a home in both the discus and shot put, becoming equally good in both as his 165' 10" discus demonstrated on Friday. Backing up Chris in the discus was Jake Haseman, 155' 4", and Troy Cooper, 153' 9". Brian Zimmerman threw the javelin 215' 3", winning that event by 50'. Normally that would be grounds for an entire paragraph in the Beartracks but Brian's work this season has been so exceptional that 215' seemed a bit ordinary. That's really a very good sign. He holds our top rank of fourth going into the NCAA first round. Working on his speed in an off event, the 1500 M., Eric Finan still ran 3:48.55, third at Louisville and fifth on our all-time list.
Others fared quite well but were not standouts. Among the best was Elliot Vocke, pole vaulting for the final time as a Bearcat. He cleared 15' 7-1/4," a lifetime best, and barely nudged off the bar at 16' 0". It would have been great to end up as a 16' vaulter yet he still did well in this meet and overall in his career. Antione Drakeford set a seasonal 400 M. best of 46.19, beating former USA touring runner, Reggie Witherspoon in the process. Oliver Book was going after a BIG EAST qualifier of 14:47 in the 5K even though that meet had already been held two weeks previously. Paced by Eric Finan, Oliver came up just short with a 14:53.20, good for second. Close behind in third was Ricky Lupp, 15:04.92. Darius Howard in the 200 M., 22.58, Matt Collmar in the 5,000 M., 15:54.75, and Tony Williamson in the 800 M., 1:58.44, also ran personal records, each ending his season on a high note.
So now we draw our attention to the NCAA first round, formerly called the NCAA Regional. It is a two-section first round so we are in the Eastern section with the top 48 declared entries in each event competing in that meet, May 27-29, in Greensboro, N.C. With only the Big Ten Championships unreported and with nobody yet declared, our team has the following athletes being seriously considered for 48 spots: 400 M. (Drakeford, 14), 800 M. (Rutherford, 56), 5,000 M. (Finan, 25), 110 Hurdles (Somerville, 30), 3000 M. steeplechase (King, 52), high jump (Fitch, 11)(Foley, 56)(Beltz, 56), pole vault (Marks, 60), shot put (Littleton, 35)(Cooper, 36), discus (Littleton, 38)(Cooper, 40)(Haseman, 61), javelin (Zimmerman, 4), 4 x 400 relay (23). Now we wait for the final listings as well as the declarations and scratches. We will know by Thursday.
Lady Beartracks
Cardinal Twilight & Georgia Tech Invitational
After hosting the 2010 Big East Outdoor Championships, it was a rather nice change of pace to travel to two meets this past weekend. With two weeks rest from competition and good training under our belts, we were looking for one more chance to improve our marks and possibly slip into the top 48 spots on a descending order list in the East Division, which qualifies an athlete for the NCAA Preliminary Round of the National Championships taking place on May 26-28 in Greensboro, NC.
This time we decided to send our sprinters and hurdlers to the very "fast" Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., and the jumpers, throwers, and distance runners to the Cardinal Twilight meet in nearby Louisville, Ky. The first event contested was the women's pole vault where Kayla Dunn and Michelle Eby put on a "swing clinic". Both athletes were able to score at the Big East meet but they both felt like they had so much more potential. That potential showed clearly on Friday, when both cleared a height of 12'10 which places them tied for the 29th spot on the East descending order list and assured them a ticket to the meet. Kayla has been looking for a good meet all season and her new PR should be motivation to reach even higher in Greensboro. For Michelle, her 12'10 jump is a PR by half an inch and with big jumps in practice and warm ups, she is poised to make another big improvement at the meet in North Carolina at the end of the month.
We had a few other athletes that were looking for an improved mark this weekend but fell just short. "Last chance" meets are mentally tough to deal with and getting close to ones PR is an accomplishment in itself. On the track, Jenna Heaton was looking for a fast 800m race to break the 2:10 barrier but after leading the race for most of the way and not receiving much help from her running mates, she fell a little short. Nevertheless this sophomore had a great season and will be back with a vengeance next year. In the 400m, Ashley Arnold turned in another solid performance just short of her season best ran at the BIG EAST meet a few weeks ago. It is always hard to top the BIG EAST excitement and after battling a few injuries all season, Ashley will benefit from some rest and rehab to prepare her for her summer conditioning and a great senior campaign next year. Senior Lilian Jelimo tried her luck in the 3000m steeplechase one more time and ran her second fastest time of the year. Lilian will return to lead our cross country team this fall. In other track action, seniors Boudine Bouma and Megan McAuley ran their last meet as Bearcats and both decided to challenge each other to a 400m hurdle duel. Since neither of them is a specialist, but both have a solid running and hurdle background, it seemed fair to move to a more "neutral" event. Megan ended up leading the battle up to the ninth hurdle where she got a little bit tripped up and ended up touching the 10th hurdle with her hands, which disqualified her from the race. Boudine capitalized on that development and therefore won the 400m hurdle senior challenge. For the field event group, freshman thrower Bridget McNeill turned in a nice series in her specialty, the discus throw, and she topped the 140' for the second time this season. She also had a solid day in the hammer throw and is putting herself in great position for a strong sophomore year.
Meanwhile in Atlanta, Shanay Portis had a great finish to her first season as a Bearcat with seasonal bests in the 100m dash, 200m dash, and long jump. This versatile freshman has really shown a lot of potential and has been a great addition to our team. With good summer training and a strong fall, Shanay should return as a contender at the conference level and a major point contributor for the team. Junior Natasha Burse was looking for one more chance to break into the top 48 rankings in the East in her main events, the 100 and 200m dash. Facing headwinds in both she fell just short of her goals and will have to wait for next year to make the cut. Long sprint specialist Aricka Rhodes ran a solid 400m race and looks to be very stable at running in the mid-50 second range. Likewise fighting with some lingering injuries, Aricka will benefit from rest and a strong body of work over the summer and fall will get her closer to breaking down the 54-second barrier. Sophomore hurdler Brianna Patton showed that her improved running at the BIG EAST is here to stay and turned in another sub 14.5s time.
With our pole vaulters Kayla and Michelle continuing on to post-season competition, the rest of the Lady Bearcats will wrap up their season and start preparing for 2011. The summer is a great opportunity to heal old "battle scars", mentally recuperate, and to start setting goals for the future. In another month, summer conditioning will start up and that is where we will set the tone for things to come. Good luck to all and especially to Kayla and Michelle!
Go Bearcats! Head Coach Susan Seaton