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NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS - MEN: DAY 1 | WOMEN: DAY 1
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. - The first day of competition at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships got underway on Friday inside the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., with two members of the University of Cincinnati program competing and both garnering Top 8 finishes in their respective events. Adrian Valles finished fifth overall in the men's pole vault competition while Annette Echikunwoke took eighth in the women's weight throw to score four and one points, respectively, for their teams. Those points currently have the men sitting tied for 22nd and the women in a tie for 23rd through the first day of competition.
// MEN'S POLE VAULT
The lone representative for the men's squad at the national meet was also the first of the four Bearcats in Birmingham to compete as Valles took to the pole vault runway looking to improve upon his sixth-place showing from one year prior. And he did just that as he finished fifth in the field of 16 competitors. The winner of the American Athletic Conference Championships on the same runway just 12 days prior, Valles nearly cleared the opening bar on his first attempt, clipping the bar to force a second attempt, which he easily cleared to advance up to the next height. With 5.25m (17-02.75) cleared, Valles took aim at 5.35m (17-06.50) and, on his first attempt, easily cleared the bar to move him on to the next height.
While 5.45m was the next height in line, Valles passed his attempts at the weight, opting to give 5.50m (18-00.25) a go. Had he cleared the bar - which he nearly did on all three attempts - he would have broken his own school record (5.47m). Despite not clearing his final height, Valles improved upon his sixth-place showing from last year, giving him USTFCCCA All-America First Team honors (Top 8 finish) in three-consecutive national championships after he took fifth outdoors last year, too.
// WOMEN'S WEIGHT THROW
- The second and final competitor for the Bearcats on Day One was Echikunwoke, who entered the weight throw ring as a first-time national participant and exited as an All-American with her eighth-place finish. Echikunwoke, the school record holder in the event, opened her competition with a toss of 18.99m (62-03.75), placing her 14th in the 16-athlete field. She improved upon that mark in the second round, hitting a mark of 20.81m (68-03.25) that, at the time, launched her up 10 places to fourth overall. Following several improvements from the field, Echikunwoke sat seventh overall prior to her third toss, but did not improve upon that mark as her final toss of the preliminary round landed at 20.02m (65-08.25).
In the finals, one competitor passed Echikunwoke, pushing her down one spot to eighth. Despite fouling all three of her finals attempts, Echikunwoke held on to eighth overall to not only garner first-team All-America status, but also tally one team point for the Bearcats. With her All-America honor, it marks the first in a throwing event for a UC student-athlete (male and female) since Miriam Merrill also finished eighth in the weight throw at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Two more women will represent the Bearcats on Saturday as both Loretta Blaut and Erika Hurd will take part in the women's high jump, which gets underway at 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET).
2016 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships - Day 1 (3/11/16)
Women's Weight Throw
8. Annette Echikunwoke - 20.81m (68-03.25) - All-American
Men's Pole Vault
5. Adrian Valles - 5.35m (17-06.50) - All-American