TicketsJune 9, 2010
CINCINNATI - Following a day of travel out to Eugene, Ore., for the 2010 NCAA Track & Field Championships, University of Cincinnati sophomore thrower Brian Zimmerman (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) is set to practice on Wednesday, June 9, before competing in the javelin on Thursday, June 10, at approximately 8:15 p.m. EDT at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.
For the 10th consecutive year, Cincinnati track & field will have an athlete competing at the NCAA Championships, but this marks the first time in program history that an athlete will compete in the javelin at the NCAAs.
Zimmerman enters the meet as the No. 13 seed in the event with a seeding mark of 227' 10, a mark that he reached at the BIG EAST Conference Outdoor Championships en route to claiming the individual title. In order to earn all-America status, Zimmerman needs to place in the Top 8 or finish as one of the Top 8 Americans.
Despite being ranked 13th, Zimmerman knows he needs to focus on his performance and not what others are doing.
"The only thing I can do is worry about me and what I do, so I'm just going to go out and give it my best and see where that ends up," said Zimmerman.
There are 24 athletes competing in the javelin and there will be two flights of throwers. The Top 9 marks will advance to the finals and a three-attempt final will ensue to determine a winner.
Cincinnati will strive for an all-American in consecutive seasons for just the third time in school history when Zimmerman competes in Eugene. The three previous occasions came in 1972-73 when Al Lanier was tabbed an all-American in both the long jump and triple jump, before earning all-America honors in the triple jump the following year in conjunction with Jim Stanley capturing all-America status in the 10,000 meters.
The last time the Bearcats had an all-American in back-to-back seasons was when 2008 Olympic silver medalist David Payne earned the honor in 2003 in the 110 hurdles, before he and current assistant coach Chris Wineberg were named All-Americans in the 110 hurdles and decathlon, respectively, in 2004. Zimmerman looks to follow senior Antione Drakeford, who ran his way to all-America status in the 400m last season.