Tickets
The University of Cincinnati track & field programs closed out an impressive team performance at the Kentucky Invitational as the combined squad posted 19 career best marks and reeled in 12 top-five finishes.
The lone UC victory came in the women's high jump as Erika Hurd cleared 5' 11.25" to win the event. Hurd remains atop the NCAA rankings in women's high jump with a mark of 6' 1.25".
The Bearcats' Spaniards had an impressive showing as both Adrian Valles and Sergio Acera Villanueva earned runner-up finishes. Valles took second in the pole vault with a collegiate best height of 17' 2.75", which moves him into fourth in the UC records book. The vaulter was beat by UC alum and volunteer coach Josh Dangel. Villanueva made his collegiate debut in Lexington and garnered second place in the long jump with a leap of 23' 6.25".
Cincinnati also received a top-three finish in the women's pole vault as Sarah Rasnick cleared 12' 1.5" and finished in an eight-way tie for third.
Additional top-five finishes in the jumps came from Michael Nwankwo in the men's triple jump (48' 4.5") and Jordan Hardiman in the men's high jump (6' 6.75").
The season debut of senior hurdler Je'Rica Sanders stole the show on the track as she ran a career best 8.47 in the 60-meter hurdles and finished second overall. Her time matches Jasmine Cotton (2012) for the second-fastest time in UC history with Monica Hundley (2008) still holding the school record at 8.31.
Kevin Konkoly also recorded a personal best time at UK as he sprinted to a time of 48.51 in the 400-meter dash for fourth place. His time moves him to ninth in UC's all-time records book.
The Bearcats' 800 runners had a good showing as Kelsey Mueller finished fourth in the women's race with a time of 2:14.62 and Jarrod Hart took third in the men's race at 1:54.63.
In the shot put, Frida Akerstrom and Macklin Tudor showcased similar performance as each claimed fifth overall and both wound up about five inches off their career bests, which also happen to be the UC school records for their respective genders.
Next weekend, Cincinnati heads to familiar territory as they travel to Bloomington, Indiana, which is where the Bearcats opened up the 2014-15 campaign in December. UC will compete in the two-day Gladstein Invitational on Jan. 23 and 24.