TicketsApril 24, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The University of Cincinnati track and field team set multiple school records and won five championships Friday and Saturday at the Polytan Invitational at Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex.
Two of the Bearcats' record-breaking performances earned first-place finishes. Mackenzie Fields tied a school record in the pole vault after clearing a height of 4.16 meters. Junior distance runner Eric Finan broke his own school record in the 5K, finishing with a time of 13.49.80, one of two individual championships for the UC men's team on the weekend.
The Cincinnati women's 4x400 relay team featuring Shanay Portis, Ashley Arnold, Kathy Klump and Aricka Rhodes broke a school record when it recorded a time of 3:41.53, giving the Bearcats a second-place finish.
Klump broke her own record in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:08.65, good for third place.
In addition to Fields' win in the pole vault, the Bearcats won two other event championships in the women's division. Their 4x100 team of Morgan Gordon, Natasha Burse, Portis and Rhodes placed first with a time of 45.79.
Burse earned a first-place finish in the 200-meter dash when she recorded a time of 23.89. She also placed second in the 100-meter dash, finishing in 11.95 seconds.
Additionally, UC assistant coach Mary Wineberg earned a victory in the 400-meter dash as an unattached athlete when she finished in 52.25 seconds.
Junior Terrence Somerville gave UC another first-place finish in the men's division when he ran the 110-meter hurdles in 13.92 seconds.
Cincinnati earned three other second-place finishes over the weekend, two of which were in the throwing competitions. In the women's discuss, Jessica Molyet made a throw of 153 feet, 4-inches. In the men's shot put, Troy Cooper recorded a distance of 52 feet, 10.25 inches. Josh Dangel placed second in the men's pole vault after clearing a height of 16 feet, 8.75 inches.
Besides Klump's record-breaker in the 800-meter race, the Bearcats recorded six additional third-place finishes.
Paris Campbell and Sharika Thompson placed third in the women's 100 and 400-meter hurdles, with times of 14.10 and 1:02.26, respectively.
Jake Haseman's discuss throw of 161 feet, 9 inches placed him third, as did Dailyn Moore's 110-meter hurdle time of 14.61 seconds.
Both UC men's relay teams came in third place. The 4x400 team featuring Alex Howell, Chase Van Cura, Darnell Gilbert and Mauric Norman recorded a time of 3:16.22. The 4x100 squad of Somerville, Van Cura, Darius Howard and Norman finished in 41.70 seconds.
Cincinnati will compete at dual meets next weekend: the Drake Relays Thursday through Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa and the Red Hawk Invitational on Saturday in Oxford, Ohio.