Bearcats Finish School-Best 6th At BIG EAST Championships

Bearcats Finish School-Best 6th At BIG EAST ChampionshipsBearcats Finish School-Best 6th At BIG EAST Championships

Feb. 21, 2011

AKRON, Ohio - Kathy Klump won the finals of the 500-meter dash and the University of Cincinnati women's indoor track team secured a program-best sixth-place showing at the BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championships Sunday at Stile Athletics Field House.

The Bearcats scored a total of 58 points, which tied them with University of South Florida for sixth place. University of Louisville was the champion in the women's division with 110 points.

"We are very excited about our sixth-place finish today," UC head coach Susan Seaton said. "The Bearcats fought hard for every point and are proud about moving up in the conference standings."

Klump (Aurora, Ind./South Dearborn) finished the 500 in 1:12.96, scoring 10 points for Cincinnati.

Senior Natasha Burse (Garland, Texas/Richardson) set school records in the 60-meter dash (7.40 seconds) and the 200-meter dash (24.02 seconds), finishing third in each event and scoring 12 points total.

One day after winning the preliminary round of the 400-meter dash, junior Aricka Rhodes (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) placed sixth in the finals with a time of 55.59 seconds, garnering three points for Cincinnati.

Jenna Heaton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Ursula) finished seventh in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:54.88 and scored two points. In the 60-meter hurdles, junior Huana Dawkins (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) also placed seventh and produced two UC points.

The Bearcats had three pole vaulters score points, led by Mackenzie Fields' (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mariemont) second-place finish (eight points) with a height of 13-07.25 feet. She was followed by freshman Sarah Rasnick (Uniontown, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) and junior Michelle Eby (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne), who scored six and four points, respectively.

In the shot put event, freshman Frida Akerstrom (Nynashamn, Sweden/Nynashamn Gymnasium) scored four points for UC after she recorded a distance of 14.73 meters, good for fifth best. Sophomore Jessica Cobb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) scored two points with a throw measuring 14.72 meters.