Tickets
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The final day of competition at the 2016 NCAA East Preliminary meet came to a close Saturday evening inside Hodges Stadium on the North Florida campus in Jacksonville, Fla., with several members of the University of Cincinnati track and field program taking part in a trio of relays and two individual events. Although the Bearcats were unable to post the results they had hoped, each competitor give his/her all while attempting to add to the program's record haul of national berths.
Overall, the Bearcats will send a program-record six individuals to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 8-11, with five women and one man comprising the travel party. With both the East and West meets now completed, the Bearcats rank among the best in the American Athletic Conference in terms of qualifiers. The five qualifiers for UC are the most among women's programs from the American and accounts for nearly one-half of the 11 qualifiers. Overall, the five female qualifiers and six total for UC are second only to Houston, who will send five individual men and one relay for a total of seven entries (one individual is in two events). As a whole, the American will be represented by 23 total entries.
// WOMEN'S RESULTS
- The end of the meet, as usual, came with the running of the 4x400m relay and, despite not placing among the Top 12 in the region, the team of Javette Lee, Bryana Robinson, Haisha Bisiolu and Deanna Gesicki combined to run 3:38.40 to finish 18th overall. Lee opened up the race with a 54.1 split before Robinson clocked a team-leading 53.8 second leg. Rookie Bisiolu split 54.8 with fellow first-year competitor Gesicki closing out the race in 55.4. The overall time the relay turned in ranks No. 4 all-time in UC history and is set up to improve in the coming years with the youth of Robinson (sophomore), Bisiolu and Gesicki all returning in 2017.
- Three of those women also competed in the 4x100m relay that opened the track events Saturday as the team of Lee, Bisiolu, Robinson and Kellsa Mbah turned in a time of 45.75 to place 22nd overall. The team finished seventh in their heat with a time that ranks just outside of the program's all-time Top 10 listing.
- In the field, Annette Echikunwoke and Leah Heckaman took part in the shot put with the duo placing 24th and 45th, respectively. Echikunwoke, who will compete in Oregon in the hammer throw, finished with a best of 15.37m (50-05.25) while Heckaman's best on the day measured 13.79m (45-03.00).
- In the final field event of the meet, Rebecka Abrahamsson competed in the triple jump, but was unable to place among the Top 12 to make a return appearance at the national meet, finishing 37th overall. Abrahamsson's best came on her third and final attempt as she posted a measurement of 12.40m (40-08.25).
// MEN'S RESULTS
- The men had one entry into the final day of competition as the Bearcat sent four men out to compete in the 4x400m relay. The team of Halen Witcher, Jimmy Brooks, Nathan Smith and Nathan Alexander combined to run 3:15.53 and placed 24th overall in the race. Witcher led off with a 48.8 split before Brooks raced to a 46.9 split. Smith came in at 49.7 before Alexander closed in 49.8. Overall, all four men will be back next season and look to improve upon the school-record 3:08.13 they ran to take second in the conference meet earlier this month.
// OTHER NOTES
- Five UC women have qualified to advance to the national finals in Eugene, Ore. (June 8-11). That total is a program record (men and women), surpassing the four individuals the women sent to the 2012 championships. The largest group the men have sent to the finals is three, including the 1972, 1973 and 2004 events.
- With their qualifications, a trio of Bearcats now have a chance at history as Adrian Valles (men's pole vault), Erika Hurd (women's high jump) and Echikunwoke (hammer) all are looking to add their name to a list of three Bearcats that have earned All-America honors indoors and out in the comparable event. Valles, who was the third Bearcat to add his name to this list with All-America honors attained in the 2015 indoor and 2015 outdoor pole vault competitions, could become the first to double his effort. Hurd and Echikunwoke placed in the Top 8 indoors this year in the high jump and weight throw (hammer equivalent), respectively, to set themselves up to add to the list.
The six Bearcats that have qualified for Eugene will now have a little under two weeks to prepare for the national stage as competition at the NCAA finals will run June 8-11 at Hayward Field on the Oregon campus. The women's events will be held June 9 and June 11 while Valles is set to compete on the first day of the meet (June 8).
Women's Results
NCAA East Preliminary Round (5/28/16) - Day 3
4x100m Relay - Quarterfinal
22. Cincinnati - 45.75
Lee, Bisiolu, B. Robinson, Mbah
4x400m Relay - Quarterfinal
18. Cincinnati - 3:38.40 - UC #4
Lee (54.1), B. Robinson (53.8), Bisiolu (54.8), Gesicki (55.4)
Triple Jump - Quarterfinal
37. Rebecka Abrahamsson - 12.40m (40-08.25)
Shot Put -Quarterfinal
24. Annette Echikunwoke - 15.37m (50-05.25)
45. Leah Heckaman - 13.79m (45-03.00)
Men's Results
NCAA East Preliminary Round (5/28/16) - Day 3
4x400m Relay - Quarterfinal
24. Cincinnati - 3:15.53
Witcher (48.8), Brooks (46.9), Smith (49.7), Alexander (49.8)
Qualifiers to the NCAA Championship Final
Women
Loretta Blaut - High Jump
Annette Echikunwoke - Hammer Throw
Erika Hurd - High Jump
Alyssa McBride - Pole Vault
Kenya Woodall - 400m Dash
Men
Adrian Valles - Pole Vault