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ORLANDO, Fla. - Adrian Valles successfully defended his American Athletic Conference pole vault title while both Kellsa Mbah and Dan Huben added all-conference honors as the University of Cincinnati track and field program enjoyed another successful day at the 2016 American Outdoor Championships in Orlando, Fla., Saturday. The meet, being held at the UCF Soccer/Track & Field Complex, saw the Bearcats continue to add team points to their respective totals and remain near the top of the team standings through three days of competition.
In the team standings, both Bearcat squads remained in the Top 4 overall standings as the men moved up to third overall and the women fourth. On the men's side, UConn leads the way with 86 points and is trailed by a trio of teams that are within 1.5 points of one another, including Memphis (48), UC (47) and USF (46.5). In the women's standings, Memphis and ECU are tied atop the ledger with 50 points each while SMU (46) and UC (40) round out the Top 4.
// WOMEN'S RESULTS
- The Bearcats competed in one field event final on the day with Mbah and Rebecka Abrahamsson placing in the Top 6 of the long jump to collect 11 valuable team points. Mbah used a mark of 6.02m (19-09.00) to take runner-up honors while also garnering all-conference honors for her finish to go along with the eight team points she earned. Abrahamsson posted a leap of 5.85m (19-02.50) to finish sixth overall for three team points.
- On the track, the 100m hurdles crew dominated the preliminary races as Javette Lee, Je'Rica Sanders and Aliya Barnes each winning their respective races to automatically qualify to the finals and rank first, second and third overall ahead of the final on Sunday. Sanders led off with a win in the opening heat, taking the race in a season-best 13.51 to set the tone before Barnes took the second heat in 13.63. In the third and final heat, Lee took off and won the heat from lane two with a personal-best 13.41, which also ranks as the second-best time in UC history. That same race also had Juliana Puopolo finish 14th overall in 14.37 in just her third race back from surgery.
- While the hurdlers tore up the short track, the quarter-milers also put the hammer down as two advanced to the final with one other just missing the cutoff in the 400m dash preliminaries. Bryana Robinson raced to a PR 53.95 to win her heat and join fellow heat winner Kenya Woodall in the final after the senior ran 54.00. For Robinson, her time ranks as the fourth-fastest in UC history and makes her just the fourth Bearcat woman to run a sub-54 second time in the event. Freshman Deanna Gesicki, who was 10th overall, missing out on a spot in the finals by two places, ran a PR 55.82, which ranks ninth all-time in UC history. Jada Grant ran 57.02 to finish 15th overall.
- The distance runners also fared well, including Meg Westerheide, who posted a time of 4:37.15 in the preliminary round of the 1,500m run, placing her ninth overall and earning one of the 12 qualifying spots into the finals. Westerheide's time moved her up to No. 4 all-time in UC history. Teammate Alexis Anton also competed in the event, finishing 15th overall in 4:44.07.
- In the lone final on the track, rookie Vanessa Robinson led the way in the 3,000m steeplechase as she completed the event in 11:07.05 to take 10th overall while Hannah Christ was 13th in 11:20.04. Robinson's time was a lowering of her personal best and bettered her own UC freshman record while also moving her up to No. 5 on the school's all-time Top 10 chart.
// MEN'S RESULTS
- Entering the week, Valles was a perfect 3-for-3 in conference championships as he won the pole vault at the 2015 indoor and outdoor meets before capturing the title indoors in March. Following his performance Saturday, Valles is now 4-for-4 as he cleared 5.45m (17-10.50) to win the crown and tally 10 points for the team. With the win, Valles not only secured the 18th conference pole vault title in UC history, but also became just the second Bearcat man to repeat as the champion of the pole vault event in school history. Valles also became the first UC man to post a repeat sweep of the same event, too. Also in the event, teammate Colt Robinson cleared 4.80m (15-09.00) to finish 12th overall.
- Getting over the bar was the name of the game for the UC men Saturday as not Valles found success with his win in the pole vault, but a pair of high jumpers also posted PR's to record 10 big team points. In the event, Jordan Hardiman finished third overall with a PR of 2.11m (6-11.00), which ranks as the eighth-best clearance in UC history, while also garnering all-conference honors and six team points. Alex Bloom, one day removed from a third-place showing in the decathlon, came back strong in the high jump and cleared a PR 2.08m (6-09.75) to take fifth place and four team points. Bloom, who ranks No. 2 all-time in UC's decathlon history in the high jump, now ranks among the Top 15 overall in Bearcats history in the open high jump with his mark today.
- In the final event of the night, UC added another third-place showing as Dan Huben covered the 3,000m steeplechase race in 9:16.76 to earn a podium finish and all-conference accolades. While Huben collected six team points, teammates Ian Silver (9:35.03) and Nick Grismer (9:50.32) placed 13th and 15th, respectively.
- In all three sprints contested Saturday, at least one Bearcat entrant recorded a PR in each event. in the 110m hurdles, Kelvin Williams, the lone UC representative, placed eighth overall in 14.46 to book his ticket to the finals. That time also was a PR, bettering his 14.59 run earlier this year.
- In the 100m dash, all three UC men were able to run under 11 seconds with Jeyson Jones leading the way with his PR 10.83 to finish 12th. Rookie Khalid Fuller was 13th in a PR 10.84 while Tevin-Lloyd Thompson was 16th in 10.90.
- Just like their female counterparts, the men's 400m sprinters sent four racers to the starting blocks with two men earning berths into the finals. Jimmy Brooks finished third overall in the preliminary round at 47.83 while Halen Witcher was UC's second finalist as he was eighth in 48.21. Witcher's time, while earning the final qualifying spot, knocked teammate Nathan Alexander out of the meet as he was ninth overall in 48.22, missing the finals by one place and 0.01 seconds. Both Witcher and Alexander's times are PR's. The final racer was Ryan Greene, who was 16th overall in a PR 50.03.
The final day of action will take place Sunday with the crowing of the champions in all remaining events, as well as the team titles.
Women's Results
The American Outdoor Championships (5/14/16) - Day 3
100m Dash - Prelims
12. Haisha Bisiolu - 11.89 - did not advance
20. Alanna Hendricks - 12.19 - did not advance
100m Hurdles - Prelims
1. Javette Lee - 13.41 - PR & UC #2 - advances to final
2. Je'Rica Sanders - 13.51 - advances to final
3. Aliya Barnes - 13.63 - advances to final
14. Juliana Puopolo - 14.37 - did not advance
400m Dash - Prelims
3. Bryana Robinson - 53.95 - PR & UC #4 - advances to final
4. Kenya Woodall - 54.00 - advances to final
10. Deanna Gesicki - 55.82 - PR & UC #9 - did not advance
15. Jada Grant - 57.02 - did not advance
1,500m Run - Prelims
9. Meg Westerheide - 4:37.15 - PR & UC #4 - advances to final
15. Alexis Anton - 4:44.07 - did not advance
3,000m Steeplechase - FINAL
10. Vanessa Robinson - 11:07.05 - PR, UC #5 & UC Freshman Record
13. Hannah Christ - 11:20.04
Long Jump - FINAL
2. Kellsa Mbah - 6.02m (19-09.00) - All-Conference - 8 team points
6. Rebecka Abrahamsson - 5.85m (19-02.50) - 3 team points
Team Scores (through 8 events)
1. Memphis - 50
1. East Carolina - 50
3. SMU - 46
4. Cincinnati - 40
5. UCF - 29
5. UConn - 29
7. Tulane - 20
8. Houston - 16
9. USF - 14
10. Tulsa - 13
11. Temple - 5
Men's Results
The American Outdoor Championships (5/13/16) - Day 2
100m Dash - Prelims
12. Jeyson Jones - 10.83 - PR - did not advance
13. Khalid Fuller - 10.84 - PR - did not advance
16. Tevin-Lloyd Thompson - 10.90 - did not advance
110m Hurdles - Prelims
8. Kelvin Williams - 14.46 - PR - advances to final
400m Dash - Prelims
3. Jimmy Brooks - 47.83 - advances to final
8. Halen Witcher - 48.21 - PR - advances to final
9. Nathan Alexander - 48.22 - PR - did not advance
16. Ryan Greene - 50.03 - PR - did not advance
3,000m Steeplechase - FINAL
3. Dan Huben - 9:16.76 - All-Conference - 6 team points
13. Ian Silver - 9:35.03
15. Nick Grismer - 9:50.32
Long Jump - FINAL
11. Sergio Acera Villanueva - 6.92m (22-08.50)
High Jump - FINAL
3. Jordan Hardiman - 2.11m (6-11.00) - PR & UC #8 - All-Conference - 6 team points
5. Alex Bloom - 2.08m (6-09.75) - PR - 4 team points
Pole Vault - FINAL
1. Adrian Valles - 5.45m (17-10.50) - CHAMPION - All-Conference - Meet Record - 10 team points
12. Colt Robinson - 4.80m (15-09.00)
Team Scores (through 9 events)
1. UConn - 86
2. Memphis - 48
3. Cincinnati - 47
4. USF - 46.5
5. Houston - 42
6. Tulsa - 38
7. East Carolina - 27
8. Tulane - 16.5