TicketsJune 7, 2011
CINCINNATI - Three University of Cincinnati student-athletes - Terrence Somerville (Akron, Ohio/Buchtel), Eric Finan (New Richmond, Ohio/New Richmond) and Kathy Klump (Aurora, Ind./South Dearborn) - are set to compete at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Wednesday through Saturday at Drake (University) Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Finan (5,000 meters), Klump (800 meters) and Somerville (110-meter hurdles) earned bids to the championship meet after qualifying in their respective events at the NCAA East Regionals May 26-29 at Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Ind.
Klump will get the action started for the Bearcats when she runs in the women's 800-meter semifinal race at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday. The junior qualified after running a school-record time of 2 minutes, 6.12 seconds in the 800m in Bloomington. If Klump advances past Wednesday, she will run in the 800-meter finals at 8:10 p.m. ET Friday.
Somerville earned a bid to Des Moines in the 110-meter hurdle race after finishing second at the NCAA Regionals with a time of 13.55 seconds. Somerville, the 2011 BIG EAST Conference Championships' Most Outstanding Track Performer, will run in the semifinals of the 110-meter hurdles at 8:10 p.m. ET Thursday. The top two performers from each of the three eight-man heats, plus the next best two marks, will qualify for the finals, which is set to begin at 2:16 p.m. ET Saturday.
Thursday will mark the second time this season Somerville has competed at Drake Stadium. The junior earned the Maury White Award as the most outstanding male performer at the Drake Relays May 2 recording a Drake Stadium record in the 110-hurdles with a time of 13.48 seconds and anchoring the UC 4x100 relay team to a first-place finish.
Rounding out UC's NCAA Championships trio is Finan. The junior advanced to Des Moines after placing fourth in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Regionals with a time of 14:07.54. Earlier this season, Finan set the UC school record after finishing the 5K in 13:49.80 April 23 at the Polytan Invitational. The 5,000-meter championship is scheduled for a 2:21 p.m. ET start.
The NCAA Championships will be televised by CBS Sports Network on Friday from 7:30-9:30 p.m. ET, and by CBS on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. The NCAA also will provide a live webcast available through NCAA.com on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.