TicketsFeb. 16, 2011
By Dave Malaska
GoBEARCATS.com
If the Bearcats live up to their potential, this weekend's 2011 BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships could be big.
The Bearcats, with top-five marks in 10 different events, have a chance to make a splash at Akron's Stile Athletics Fieldhouse.
"It's a tough conference and every single event is going to be contested, but we've got a couple of kids that are in a position to maybe bring home a title," said UC head coach Susan Seaton. "We're very excited. All we need to do in perform." The quartet of Natasha Burse, Aricka Rhodes, Kathy Klump and Mackenzie Fields are leading the way as the Bearcats look to improve on last season's ninth-place finish.
Burse, with her 7.48 performance in the 60 meters dash at the Eastern Illinois Early Bird Invitational on Dec. 10, is currently ranked second in the conference. She trails the leader, UConn's Trisha-Anne Hawthorne, by only two-tenths of a second. Burse also owns the BIG EAST's fifth-best time in the 200 meters, with only .34 separating the top five spots.
Klump is also ranked in two events. She trails only the conference leader by six hundredths of a second - virtually a tie - in the 500 meters, and is sixth in the 800 meters. Meanwhile, Rhodes, who finished in seventh place at last year's 400 meter dash finals, has the conference's second-best time heading into this weekend's championships, and Fields is second in the pole vault.
In the pole vault, the title chase will probably be a two-woman race. Fields' mark of 13'9.75" trails the BIG EAST top height, USF vaulter Denise vonEynatten by 2.25", with no one else even close.
UC's 4x400 relay team of Alyssa Edley, Morgan Gordon, Jenna Heaton and Jessica Ajunwa, and the Bearcat 4x400 medley team (Klump, Rhodes, Heaton and Michele McKenney) both are ranked third as well, while the 4x800 relay team enters the championships with the conference's fourth-best time.
Other Bearcats with a good chance of scoring and helping Cincinnati improve upon last season's team total include freshman Frida Akerstrom, who is in fifth place in the shot put, hurdler Paris Campbell (ninth place, 60 meters), Vanessa Hardin (10th place, 400 meters), and Heaton, who has the league's 11th best time in the 800 meters. She's also 14th in 800 meters, in which she took fifth place at last season's championships. Hauna Dawkins also has a shot, ranked 13th in the 60 meter hurdles.
According to Seaton, the Bearcats are healthy and primed for the weekend. "We very much think we can improve from last year. Everyone's healthy, and they're really looking forward to competing," she said. "It'll come down to how well we compete. Saturday's the big day. The more kids that make the finals, the better we'll be in the team scores."
Last year, UC scored only 35 points. Villanova captured the women's title with 115 points, followed by Louisville (107), Connecticut (84), West Virginia (76.5), Georgetown (67), Notre Dame (58.5), Syracuse (56) and Seton Hall (48).
The 2011 Championships open Saturday with pentathlon events and prelims starting at 11 a.m. Finals for the 5,000 meter run and medley relay will be at 4:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. Sunday's remaining finals begin at 11 a.m.