TicketsJan. 24, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
VOL. 31
NO. 9
January 24, 2011
Our fifth place team finish at the All-Ohio Indoor Championships at Kent State University was disappointing, not because our effort was lacking but mostly because of three reasons: (1) we were grossly outscholarshiped, (2) we were missing several big scorers and (3) this was our first indoor meet of 2011 whereas all other teams were on their second or third indoor meet. Realistically I was extremely happy with the effort of the UC Bearcats because we only have three meets this winter and did not want to squander our first one. We fully expect to get our MIAs back soon and our second meet next week at the University of Kentucky will be vastly different from this one. Although this was our lowest All-Ohio finish since 1996, we will do our best to turn things around by the time we host the same meet outdoors on April 15-16. Help is on the way.
Lest anyone feel sorry for us there was plenty of good news from out stars, Eric Finan and Terrence Somerville. Eric pulled away from Tisia Kiplangat of Kent State and Kenya toward the end of the 5,000 M. run, then poured it on to win by 17 seconds. Not only was that a new UC record, eclipsing Chris Reis's 2003 mark, but it also moved him into second place on the current NCAA list. Even better was Terrence Somerville's 60 M. hurdle race. His 8.03 preliminary was good but only the second-best time to Akron's Tyshaun Peoples. The finals were another story. Terrence broke out to a great start then ran a near-flawless race, finishing a huge 0.3 seconds ahead of second place. His mark of 7.68 was a Fieldhouse record, nearly a UC record and gave him the top time in the NCAA at this time. David Payne's UC record of 7.62 is now in sight and a real possibility. Congratulations to these standout performances by Eric and Terrence, both juniors.
Although those were our only two winners, we had plenty of other exciting performances, none more than Josh Dangel's third place in the pole vault. He's a new breed of Bearcat. This LaSalle High School grad and Eastern Michigan transfer set a big PR by clearing 16' 5-1/4" and nearly got 16' 9". Not only is that seventh on the all-time UC list in his first competition but it also puts him hot on the trail of Chris Smith's school indoor record of 17' 9" and his high school coach, Mike Albrinck's mark of 17' 4-3/4". He got great support from our team and deserved all of it. The distance medley relay also got third place with a very nice 10:10.51. All four legs were good ones. Oliver Book (3:08.6), Chase VanCura (48.8), Kyle Neyer (1:57.9) and Eric Finan (4:15.1) were far from their best racing shape yet still made it look easy. Oliver came back in the 3,000 M. on Saturday with his best-ever indoor race. He showed excellent pacing and plenty of confidence by leading the middle half of the race before slowing ever so slightly. His 8:28.09 now ranks him eighth on our all-time list, moving down Scott Jones, Rick King and Eric Heins.
Like Oliver and Eric, Maurice Norman had a significant double. He was not in the fast section of the 400 M. yet ran a strong 48.44 to place fifth overall, moving him up to seventh on our all-time list. Maurice was not quite right yet ran the 200 M. anyway and placed sixth at 22.03. His final race of the day was in the 4 x 400 relay as he anchored our fourth-place team in a spectacular 47.3. What a day for this sophomore. We had two other placers: Troy Cooper in the shot put (7th, 54' 5-1/4") and Mike Foley in the high jump (6th, 6' 6-3/4"). The competition was stiff in both events but both Troy and Mike were up to the task. Dillon Risser backed up Josh in the pole vault with a very encouraging 14' 7-1/2", good for eighth in his first collegiate competition. We had two rookies in the heptathlon, Kyle Kubera (4216) and Nick Furney (3803). As is true with all combined event efforts there were plenty of ups and downs, but both did well in the pole vault and 1000 M., the final two events.
Others did not place but did plenty well. Chris Littleton was best in that category with a very good toss of 53' 10-1/4" good for ninth in the shot put. He will place in that event outdoors and be a candidate to win the discus. Andrew Henderson began his college career with a high jump of 6' 2-1/4". Although he did not place, in large part due to running in lane three and four much of the way, Evan Baum showed real promise in the mile run as did Jeffrey Griffiths who had a terrific kick in the same event. Steven Mitchell and Mario Cannon narrowly missed making the hurdle finals but should do so in all the remaining indoor races. Our 800 M. trio of Kyle Neyer, Tony Williamson and Kyle Esber ran hard and well, but were not good enough to place this time. Eric Hauser and Chase Beckmann did the same in the 3,000 M. At last we have opened our season. It will take the rest of the year to get to where we want to go and we will have peaks and valleys along the way, but we will surely make it. If you have any sense, please don't give up on the Bearcats.
LADY BEARTRACKS
All-Ohio Championship
WE ARE THE ALL-OHIO CHAMPIONS!!! Congratulations to the team and coaches on an outstanding effort. With a combined score of 119 points, we finished 40.8 points ahead of second place Akron (78.2) and 47.8 points ahead of third place Kent State (71.2). Leading the way were our six individual event titles, a relay title in the 4x4 and a school record in the DMR. This victory was truly comprised of a full team effort with Bearcats scoring in 11 out of 17 events and 15 individual athletes contributing to the score. It was a joy to watch the team compete with such tenacity and confidence. Every athlete was fully engaged, competing as hard as possible and supporting their team mates along the way.
Stand-out sprinter Natasha Burse was yet again our highest point scorer with 20 points which she garnered through victories in the 60m and 200m. Her come from behind victory in the 60m dash proved that Natasha has become more race savvy. She is currently ranked 2nd in the Big East and looks great entering into the championship part of our season. Following close behind in the scoring with 14 points each were juniors Kathy Klump and Aricka Rhodes. Both athletes had a busy schedule, winning their open specialty events in the 800m and 400m respectively and running great legs on the DMR and 4x4. Aricka is currently ranked first in the Big East in the open 400m and still has a more races ahead of her to drop her time.
Our strongest and possibly most exciding event was the pole vault with all three UC competitors scoring a combined 19 points. Junior Mackenzie Fields had a great meet, reeling in the victory by making the winning height on her first attempt. Mackenzie also had good looks at the school record breaking NCAA auto qualifying mark. Equally impressive were her pole vault team mates Michelle Eby and Sarah Rasnick. Michelle tied her personal best to finish in third and freshman Sarah tied her PR to finish in 5th place.
The only freshman to win an event at this year's All-Ohio Championship both on the men's and women's side was Swedish import Frida Akerstrom. In a strong field of accomplished throwers Frida kept her cool and shocked the competition on her first throw which held up for the win through six rounds of competition. With fellow shot putter Jessica Cobb finding her footing with a new spin technique PR and senior Catherine Earl getting in PR range we should hold a strong 1-2-3 punch for our upcoming meets in this event.
The break-out race of the meet came by former UC soccer player Vanessa Hardin. Vanessa has made a great transition from the soccer field to the track and ran a stellar time in the open 400m as well as a much needed fast leg on the 4x4. She now sits in 4th on our all-time list and currently holds that same ranking in the Big East. Freshman sprinter Morgan Gordon has found her pre-winter break form and turned in a strong come-from-behind 200m performance to finish in third place with more potential for faster times on the horizon. Senior distance runner Michele McKenney added 7.5 valuable points to the scoring and helped the DMR to a new school record. Michele ran a fine 5k race and set a new PR to finish in 4th place. She also ran a gutsy 1600m anchor leg on the DMR to combine with Jenna Heaton, Aricka Rhodes and Kathy Klump for a school record setting performance. Juniors Paris Campbell and Alison Zukowski both used PR setting performances to score valuable points, placing 4th in their respective events, the 60m hurdles and the 5k.
With four weeks remaining before the Big East Championships and big meets like the McCravy Track and Field Meet at Kentucky and the Pole Vault Summit in Reno as well as the prestigious New Balance Invitational in NYC coming up in the next two weeks, we need to build on our achievements and use our momentum to improve our marks. We need to take care of business on and off the track, get more athletes close to achieving their full potential and focus in on being at our best. GO BERACATS! GO ALL-OHIO CHAMPIONS!!!