TicketsMay 10, 2011
By Tiffany George
GoBEARCATS
The BIG EAST Championships last weekend proved to be an exciting meet for both the men's and women's track and field teams, as both teams came out of the weekend with at least one conference champion.
For the men, Terrence Somerville and Eric Finan continued their extremely successful seasons with wins in the 110 meter hurdles and 5,000 meters, respectively.
"Not only did Terrence win the 110 hurdles, but he also broke the BIG EAST record," men's coach Bill Schnier said. "And even beyond that, he was named the BIG EAST Track Athlete of the Year."
Sommerville is ranked seventh in the NCAA right now, and 13th in the world in the 110 meter hurdles. Although he broke both the BIG EAST and track records last weekend, he is still 0.02 seconds shy of the school record, set by Olympic silver medalist David Payne during his days at UC. Schnier expects big things from Sommerville and Finan going forward.
"We have one more small meet in Louisville, then it's nationals," Schnier said. "I think Terrence and Eric have a really good chance of advancing past the first round."
Schnier also noted that two pole vaulters, Josh Dangel and Tommy Marks, are also currently qualified for the regional meet, but will need to improve their marks in order to advance past their current rankings.
Even though the team finished in sixth place, the same place they finished last year, Coach Schnier was pleased with the attitude of his athletes.
"The unity and team spirit all three days gave us an emotional edge, paving the way to a weekend of fun," Schnier said.
The women's side of the team also placed sixth at the BIG EAST Championship meet and produced a BIG EAST champion 4x400 meter relay team.
"They were the BIG EAST champs in school record setting time," women's head coach Susan Seaton said. "It was an extremely exciting end to the meet."
The top single scorer for the women's team was Natasha Burse, according to Seaton. Burse was a member of the second place 4x100 meter relay and also posted individual top-three finishes in the 100 meters and 200 meters, finishing second in the 100 and third in the 200.
"We have one more meet before nationals," Seaton said. "So we don't know how many athletes have for sure qualified for the meet, but if we went by their rankings at this exact minute, we would have a school record 13 athletes qualified for the NCAA Championship."
Aricka Rhodes finished second in the 400 meters and also anchored the 4x400 meter and 4x100 meter relays, and was a big asset to the team according to Seaton.
"Frida Akerstrom also stood out for me," Seaton said. "She finished fifth in the hammer throw and sixth in the shot put, which are really good marks for a freshman."
With the national championship meet coming up, the Bearcats track and field teams are looking to continue their success and hopefully pick up some national recognition along the way. The biggest success of all, however, according to both Schnier and Seaton, is seeing their teams fight together during the season to get where they are now.
"We had great team spirit and it's been a real fun season so far," Seaton said.