May 15, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Cincinnati men's and women's track and field teams concluded regular-season competition at the Cardinal Twilight late Friday evening at Cardinal Park Track and Soccer Stadium.
The UC women's team was led by two first-place performances in the 4x100-meter relay and pole vault competitions.
Freshman Morgan Gordon (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional), senior Natasha Burse (Garland, Texas/Richardson), sophomore Shanay Portis (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) and junior Aricka Rhodes (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) recorded a mark of 45.17 seconds to finish first in the 4x100 relay race.
Junior Michelle Eby (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne) won the pole vault competition after clearing a height of 3.96 meters (12 feet, 11.75 inches).
In the 200-meter dash, Burse recorded a time of 23.84 seconds, which was good for No. 2 finish and placed her first among collegiate participants.
Freshman Katie Honigford (Van Wert, Ohio/Eastern Kentucky) recorded a third-place finish in the 800-meter run with a mark of 2:19.05.
The Cincinnati men's team was led by senior thrower Brian Zimmerman's (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) third-place finish in the javelin competition with a distance of 55.73 meters (182 feet, 10 inches).
UC recorded a fourth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay race. The four-freshman team of Kevin Fink (Tipp City, Ohio), Eric Hauser (Mason, Ohio), Tyler Ross (Powell, Ohio) and Evan Baum (Shaker Heights, Ohio) completed the race with a mark of 3:34.52.
Additionally, the Bearcat men recorded a trio of fifth-place performances in the pole vault, discus throw and 110-meter hurdle events. Redshirt freshman Josh Dangel (Cincinnati, Ohio) came in fifth place in the pole vault after clearing a height of 5.03 meters (16 feet, 6 inches). Junior Jake Haseman (Napolean, Ohio/Napolean) finished fifth in the discus competition with a mark of 51.66 meters (169 feet, 6 inches). Sophomore Dailyn Moore earned a No. 5 placing in the 110-meter hurdles after finishing the race in 14.77 seconds.
The Cardinal Twilight was a last chance meet where athletes had one final opportunity to record a NCAA qualifying mark.
Cincinnati will learn which of its athletes qualified for the NCAA First Round meet May 26-28 in Bloomington, Ind. Sunday evening after the conclusion of multiple collegiate meets. Current NCAA qualifying marks can be found at www.tfrrs.org.