Tickets// ON THE STARTING LINE
The 2018 indoor season rolls along this week for the University of Cincinnati track and field program as the Bearcats will venture to the Lone Star State for the Charlie Thomas Invitational this Friday and Saturday in College Station, Texas. The meet will be hosted by Texas A&M inside its Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium which also will serve as the host venue for the NCAA Championships in March. The meet will feature nine teams overall with seven hailing from Texas while the Bearcats will join Georgia Tech in the field as well.
// MEET INFORMATION
The meet will be a scored team event and feature all the individual and relay events that will be contested at the conference and national meet in the coming weeks. Action for the Bearcats gets underway Friday at 2:30 p.m. with the women's pentathlon and will be followed by the start of the men's heptathlon at 2:45 p.m. UC also will run a women's distance medley relay team that night. On Saturday, The heptathlon leads off the day at 10:30 a.m. with field events and running events both slated to begin at 12:30 p.m. Live results will be available through FlashResults.com (http://flashresults.com/2018_Meets/Indoor/02-02_CharlieThomas/) throughout the weekend.
// IN THE MEET
The Charlie Thomas Invitational field is comprised of nine teams with seven hailing from the state of Texas. Scheduled to compete will be representatives from Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Houston, Rice, South Plains College, TCU, UT Arlington and UT San Antonio.
// RETURN TRIP
The last time a member of the program competed inside Texas A&M's facility came March 11, 2017, when Annette Echikunwoke competed in the weight throw of the NCAA Indoor Championships, an event she won to claim the first national title in program history and just the fifth in the history of UC Athletics. Echikunwoke is scheduled to compete in the weight throw this weekend with the event slated to start at 3 p.m. CT.
// FOLLOW US
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsTFXC. As always, fans are encouraged to join in the conversation using the hashtag #Bearcats.
// QUICK STARTS
• Echikunwoke not only won the weight throw at the Indiana Relays, she smashed her own school record twice, finishing at 23.69m (77-08.75) to claim the #5 spot on the NCAA all-time Top 10
• For her efforts, Echikunwoke was named the AAC Female Field Athlete of the Week (Jan. 30)
• Echikunwoke recorded four throws that ranked in the national Top 10 of last week, including #1, #2, #3 and #6 while Loretta Blaut's clearance of 1.83m in the high jump tied for #6
• Tiona Lattimore is 7-for-7 in recording a PR in an open race this year, adding 3 more last week
• Austin Edwards lowered his PR in the 60m twice and his 6.81 PR is #2 in UC history
• Aaron Deaton joined the all-time Top 10 in the shot put at #8 following his 3' 4.25" PR
• In the USTFCCCA team rankings, the women are #27 (up 1) and the men #53 (down 6) this week
• According to the USTFCCCA Squad Rankings, UC's women have four in the Top 16 this week, led by the shot put, which ranks third nationally (15.25m average)
• In the Great Lakes Region, the women are #4 (up 1) and the men #8 (no change) with four women and one man ranked #1 in the region currently
• UC holds 7 marks that currently lead the American Athletic Conference (five by the women)
// IN THE USTFCCCA RANKINGS - TEAM NATIONAL
The updated USTFCCCA computer rankings were released this week with the women climbing one position to #27 and the men slipping six spots to #53. It marks the third week in a row the women have been ranked in the Top 30 and the first time since last year when UC was #29, #25, #26 and #26 in the first four releases and marks the ninth regular season Top 30 for the women while also marking the 19th week in a row UC has been in the national Top 50 during the regular season after having only been in the Top 50 six total times from 2008-15.
// #SQUADGOALS
Another part of the rankings release this week was the first release of the Squad Rankings, a metric that combines the results of the Top 4 individuals from each team in the same event and ranks the squads based upon average marks. This week, the UC women have four squads ranked in the Top 16 with the shot put leading the charge at #3. The group, which averages a toss of 15.25m, is trailing only Minnesota (15.62m) and North Dakota State (15.46m). The other three squads UC has in the Top 16 are the weight throw (#8), high jump (#14) and long jump (#16).
// IN THE USTFCCCA RANKINGS - TEAM REGIONAL
Along with the national rankings came the updated regional rankings with the women moving up one spot to #4 in the Great Lakes Region while the men held steady at #8 for the second week in a row. The women moved up thanks to four individuals holding the top mark in the region, including Tiona Lattimore (60m), Loretta Blaut (HJ), Irati Mitxelena (TJ) and Annette Echikunwoke (WT). The men have one top-ranked individual in Jimmy Brooks, who currently leads the 400m.
// ECHIKUNWOKE GOING DEEP
Echikunwoke entered Saturday at the Indiana Relays with a season-best mark of 23.15m that she threw in the same ring in Indiana (December 8 at the Hoosier Open), a mark that ranked her #7 all-time in NCAA history. Once the senior was done with her six attempts, she had broken her school record twice and moved up the NCAA chart to #5 all-time in the process. After finishing the preliminary rounds with a best of 22.43m, she went off in the final as she record three throws of over 23 meters. First, she hit a mark of 23.66m to break her record and followed that with a mark of 23.47m. On the final throw of the day, she launched the 20-pound ball out to 23.69m (77-08.75) to improve once again and move up several lists.
// ECHIKUNWOKE MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Following the meet, her marks had a big impact on the NCAA all-time national lists. First, on the all-time Top 10 according to the USTFCCCA (one mark per person), her 23.69m mark ranks her fifth all-time with that throw also standing as the longest in the collegiate ranks since 2012 when Jeneva McCall (Southern Illinois) recorded a mark of 23.76m. When looking at the all-time list of marks (multiple entries by the same person are listed), Echikunwoke had recorded the #13 (23.69m), #14 (23.66m) and #16 (23.47m) marks in NCAA history while pushing her previous best of 23.15m down to #18.
// FEELING HONORED
Following the action in Bloomington, the American Athletic Conference honored Echikunwoke as this week's Female Field Athlete of the Week. The award, Echikunwoke's second of the year after earning the first honor of the season December 12, gives UC back-to-back women's honorees in the field after Loretta Blaut was tabbed for the same award last week.
// ALL A-BLAUT CLEARANCES
For the fourth meet in a row, Blaut competed in the high jump. And, for the fourth week in a row, she won the event. To top that, she has now posted a season-best clearance in each of the last three weeks. After winning the Hoosier Open with a best of 1.74m (5-08.50), Blaut took the title at the Kentucky Invitational with a best of 1.76m (5-09.25). The following week, she won the Notre Dame Invitational, this time clearing 1.82m (5-11.50) before topping that again last week with a winning clearance of 1.83m (6-00.00), which was the #6 (tie) mark in the nation last week. Blaut continues to lead the AAC and is also ranked tied for #9 in the nation.
// MORE LATTIMORE IN THE TOP 10
Tiona Lattimore ran one race Saturday after running twice the day before and made it a perfect 7-for-7 on the year as she once again ran a personal-best time that found a home on the program's all-time Top 10. Saturday, she ran 54.97 to finish fifth overall on the day and moved up to #3 all-time in Bearcats history in the 400m. With that run, she now ranks #2 in the 60m (7.46), #2 in the 200m (23.98), #1 in the 300m (38.43) and #3 in the 400m with all but the 300m time being record this weekend at the IU Relays. So far this year, Lattimore has run the 60m three times, going 7.52 (tied for #2) in the Kentucky Invitational heats before running 7.48 (#2) in the final of the same meet. She then ran 7.46 in the prelims yesterday before deciding not to run the final as it was scheduled to be run minutes before the 400m. The 200m is another race she has entered multiple times, first running 24.03 (#3) at the UK meet before running 23.98 in the final yesterday. Currently, Lattimore is ranked #6 (60m), #3 (200m) and #2 (400m) in the American Athletic Conference standings.
// RECORD RAMBLINGS
Looking through the newly rewritten indoor record lists, three current women have taken over the sprint events, led by Lattimore. To date, the trio of Lattimore, Haisha Bisiolu and Bryana Robinson are the only three UC women to be ranked in the program's all-time Top 10 in four sprint events (60m, 200m, 300m & 400m). Lattimore leads the way as her average position on those charts is #2 after ranking #2, #2, #1 and #3, respectively. Robinson averages 4.5 (#10, #4, #3, #1) while Bisiolu's average is 5.25 (#5, #6, #4, #6). If you look at just the three events that are contested at the conference and NCAA meets (60m, 200m and 400m), the trio is joined by Kenya Woodall, who averages 2.00 (#3, #1, #2) with Lattimore in second at 2.34 (#2, #2, #3), Robinson third at 5.00 (#10, #4, #1) and Bisiolu fourth at 5.67 (#5, #5, #6).
// EDWARDS LOWERS HIS TIME
Staying in the sprints, Austin Edwards continued his impressive season as the long jump specialist showed off his speed once again, this time running 6.81 to not only win the 60m final, but also post the #2 time in program history. The redshirt freshman previously had run 6.88 to rank #8 all-time in program history. Then, he lowered that time to 6.87 (tied for #6) in the preliminary race one day earlier to set up his big run today. Historically, his time is the fastest in 13 years as Kenny Wade ran 6.78 in 2005 to set the current standard Edwards is closing in on.
// LIGHTFOOT LIGHTS UP PENTATHLON
Three women took part in the five-event, single day pentathlon Saturday with Angelica Lightfoot recording five marks that now rank her among the Top 10 in the program's pentathlon history. The sophomore finished with 3,647 points to record the fifth-best point total in UC history while also taking over the lead in the American Athletic Conference by 103 points. Lightfoot opened the day running 8.87 in the 60m hurdles to move up to #4 on the pentathlon chart before clearing a personal-best 1.60m (5-03.00) in the high jump for the #9 (tie) clearance in pentathlon history. Next, she had a huge mark in the shot put as she not only broke the pentathlon record with a best of 13.12m (43-00.50), but also became the first UC women to surpass 13 meters in the pentathlon, bettering the previous record of 12.63m that Kaitlyn Good set in 2014. Lightfoot's Top 10 additions came to a close in the long jump as she posted a best of 5.53m (18-01.75) to move up to #3 on the charts. Overall, she placed fourth on the day and was second among collegiate entries as two unattached professionals placed first and second.
// SHOT INTO THE RANKINGS
The men's shot put produced a pair of all-time Top 10 marks on the first day of competition at the Indiana Relays as both Marcus Abraham and Aaron Deaton had big marks. Abraham finished sixth overall with a best of 16.95m (55-07.50) to improve his best mark at UC by 6.75" and better his standing at #4 in the Bearcats' Top 10. Deaton, a redshirt freshman, posted a personal-best mark of 16.47m (54-00.50) to not only record the #8 mark in program history, but also better his previous best by 3' 4.25".
// ON THE NATIONAL LIST
In the latest NCAA descending order list (Jan. 29), a total of 34 marks attained by Bearcats currently rank among the Top 150 in the nation with the women holding 20 marks and the men 14. Of those marks, three for women and one for the men sit in the Top 16, which is the cut-off for qualification into the NCAA Indoor Championships. For the women, Annette Echikunwoke is #1 in the weight throw and #13 in the shot put while Loretta Blaut is tied for #9 in the high jump. On the men's side, Adrian Valles is #3 in the pole vault.
// TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS
According to those same lists, 35 marks held by the Bearcats are currently ranked among the Top 8 in the American Athletic Conference with the women holding 20 marks and the men 15. The women currently hold five marks that lead the league with Echikunwoke (shot put, weight), Blaut (high jump), Bryana Robinson (400m) and Angelica Lightfoot (pentathlon) holding those marks. On the men's side, Valles continues to lead the pole vault while Alex Bloom holds the top mark in the high jump.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// MILE MARKERS
The women's indoor mile has perhaps been the most rewritten Top 10 list in program history over the past two and one-half seasons. Following the 2015 season, the #10 time in UC history was 5:11.82. Following three new names added in 2016, one more in 2017 and now two more in 2018 thanks to Hannah Markel and Sam Mikula's runs at the Notre Dame Invitational, the list is nearly brand new as the current #10 time of 5:06.42 was the #4 time at the end of the 2015 season. With Markel running 5:03.34 and Mikula 5:05.17, the #5 and #7 times, respectively, coach Lara Crofford's current distance roster holds six of the program's Top 11 times ever run as the duo joins #2 Meg Westerheide, #3 Alexis Anton, #8 Tes Corea and #11 Madison Dunlap.
// ANNETTE OFF TO HOT START
To say Annette Echikunwoke got her season off to a hot start might be an understatement. The defending national champion in the weight throw picked up where she left off in the event, smashing her own school and conference record with a heave of 23.15m (75-11.50) to easily win the event at the Hoosier Open (Dec. 8). While she broke her previous record by 1' 6", she also strung together a huge series of throws as four of her six marks were over 22 meters, a feat she accomplished last year six times while the rest of the nation combined for six tosses of 22m. She was not done there, though, as she took second in the shot put with a school-record toss of 16.72m (54-10.50) as well to rank among the Top 5 in the nation for the year so far.
// HISTORICAL MARK
Not only did Echikunwoke reset her own school and conference records, but she also pushed her name higher up both the NCAA and World all-time rankings. On a collegiate level, her toss of 23.15m makes her just the seventh different individual to surpass the 23m mark as she ranks #7 all-time (single mark list) while ranking #15 all-time on the list (Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois holds the #1 through #9 all-time marks). According to the statistical compilation of marks on Tilastopaja.net, Echikunwoke's toss of 23.15m also ranks her #16 all-time in the world.
// ECHIKUNWOKE NAMED TRAILBLAZER
The University of Cincinnati African American Alumni Affiliate (4A) recently announced its 2018 Class of Onyx & Ruby Award honorees with Annette Echikunwoke being named the recipient of the Student Trailblazer Award and will be honored at the Onyx & Ruby Gala February 24 at the Sharonville Convention Center. The first national champion in program history after winning the 2017 NCAA weight throw title was selected for the award that is given annually to individuals who create university firsts or were at the forefront of movements and activities. For more information on the Gala and all award honorees, visit: Alumni.UC.edu/ORG18/Bios.
// GRADE CHECK
On January 10, Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) released academic data for the 2017 Fall semester, including those athletes that finished the semester with a 3.0 or better grade-point average. Overall, 62 track & field/cross country student-athletes recorded better than a 3.0 GPA, including 34 women and 28 men, to earn a place on the Bearcats Honor Roll. Of those student-athletes, 25 women and 19 men maintained a 3.4 GPA or better to garner Dean's List accolades. Also, four men and three women recorded perfect 4.0 GPAs to be named TopCats. That list included Spencer Clark, Dan Huben, Jacob Rieman and Adrian Valles for the men and Alexis Gray, Grace O'Donnell and Tessa Ward for the women.
// RETURNING CHAMPION
On March 11, 2017, Annette Echikunwoke capture the national title in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships, collecting the first crown in program history as she won with a heave of 22.42m (73-06.75). With her win, Echikunwoke became just the fifth UC student-athlete to win an individual national title in the history of UC Athletics. Prior to her victory, two diving and two swimming titles had been captured by Bearcats with the last coming in 2010 when Josh Schneider won the men's 50 freestyle. Echikunwoke also is now just the second UC woman to win an individual national crown, joining diver Becky Ruehl, who won the 1996 platform event at the NCAA meet. Prior to that trio, Pat Evans won the 3m diving event in 1989 and Charles Keating brought home the first gold with the title in 200 butterfly in 1946.
// RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Along with Echikunwoke, the Bearcats have one other returning indoor All-American and five more that earned the national accolade during the outdoor season last year. Adrian Valles finished fifth in the men's pole vault indoors last year before taking national runner-up honors outdoor to collect a pair of USTFCCCA All-America First Team honors, bringing his career total to five. Loretta Blaut placed in a tie for sixth in the high jump outdoors to earn first team honors while the team of Haisha Bisiolu, Deanna Gesicki, Tiona Lattimore and Bryana Robinson combined to earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team honors in the 4x400m relay outdoors, the first for a relay in program history.
// THAT'S A FIRST
The women's 4x400m relay team was full of firsts in 2017. The quartet swept the 4x400m relay events at the AAC Indoor and AAC Outdoor Championships for the first crowns in program history. Then, the ladies broke the school record several times, including in their win at the conference outdoor meet before breaking it once again, running 3:36.59 at the regional meet to qualify for the national finals, marking the first UC relay to reach the NCAA outdoor meet. They weren't done there, however, as they broke the record once again in Eugene, running 3:35.96 in the semifinals to finish 15th overall. Despite not reaching the final, the team did earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team accolades, marking the first time in program history a relay team earned All-America status.
// INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN
For the second time in his career, Adrian Valles took part in one of the largest meets in the world as he represented his native Spain in the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London this past summer. Valles, who competed at the world meet in Beijing, China, in 2015, placed 16th overall in the qualification round this year. To get to London, Valles continued to chase a clearance of 5.70m throughout much of the collegiate season before he was added to the field in a pole vault competition in Landau, Germany. In the street event (raised runway on a city street), Valles climbed over the qualifying standard and punched his ticket to London.
// XC: DUNLAP EARNS ALL-CONFERENCE
Heading into the 2016 cross country season, the Bearcats women had not had an all-conference (Top 15) finisher in the AAC Championships. Then, Juliana Madzia, who was honored as a Top 30 selection for the 2016-17 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, finished 13th at the meet UC hosted to earn the program's first all-conference accolade since Ruth Limo at the 2004 Conference USA meet. This year, Madison Dunlap ran a personal-best time on a hilly course in Philadelphia to place 15th overall and earn her first all-conference selection and the program's second in as many years. The 15th woman in program history to earn cross country all-conference honors (25th total honor), Dunlap combines with Madzia to earn back-to-back conference honors for the first time since 2001 and 2002 when Angie Kist and Limo finished 12th and 10th, respectively, at the CUSA meet.
// UC HOSTING AAC OUTDOORS IN 2018
This season, the 2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted by the Bearcats at Gettler Stadium and Coy Field. The three-day meet will take place May 11-13 on the UC campus and will mark the first AAC track & field meet the Bearcats have played host and the second AAC meet UC has hosted after holding the 2016 AAC Cross Country Championships at Voice of America MetroPark in West Chester. The last time the Bearcats played host to a conference meet came in 2010 when the BIG EAST meet was held at Gettler Stadium.
// UP NEXT
The final big road trip of the indoor regular season awaits the Bearcats next week as the team will travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Challenge. The meet, hosted by Vanderbilt, will take place Friday and Saturday, February 9-10, inside the Commodores' Multipurpose Facility on campus.
The 2018 indoor season rolls along this week for the University of Cincinnati track and field program as the Bearcats will venture to the Lone Star State for the Charlie Thomas Invitational this Friday and Saturday in College Station, Texas. The meet will be hosted by Texas A&M inside its Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium which also will serve as the host venue for the NCAA Championships in March. The meet will feature nine teams overall with seven hailing from Texas while the Bearcats will join Georgia Tech in the field as well.
// MEET INFORMATION
The meet will be a scored team event and feature all the individual and relay events that will be contested at the conference and national meet in the coming weeks. Action for the Bearcats gets underway Friday at 2:30 p.m. with the women's pentathlon and will be followed by the start of the men's heptathlon at 2:45 p.m. UC also will run a women's distance medley relay team that night. On Saturday, The heptathlon leads off the day at 10:30 a.m. with field events and running events both slated to begin at 12:30 p.m. Live results will be available through FlashResults.com (http://flashresults.com/2018_Meets/Indoor/02-02_CharlieThomas/) throughout the weekend.
// IN THE MEET
The Charlie Thomas Invitational field is comprised of nine teams with seven hailing from the state of Texas. Scheduled to compete will be representatives from Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Houston, Rice, South Plains College, TCU, UT Arlington and UT San Antonio.
// RETURN TRIP
The last time a member of the program competed inside Texas A&M's facility came March 11, 2017, when Annette Echikunwoke competed in the weight throw of the NCAA Indoor Championships, an event she won to claim the first national title in program history and just the fifth in the history of UC Athletics. Echikunwoke is scheduled to compete in the weight throw this weekend with the event slated to start at 3 p.m. CT.
// FOLLOW US
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsTFXC. As always, fans are encouraged to join in the conversation using the hashtag #Bearcats.
// QUICK STARTS
• Echikunwoke not only won the weight throw at the Indiana Relays, she smashed her own school record twice, finishing at 23.69m (77-08.75) to claim the #5 spot on the NCAA all-time Top 10
• For her efforts, Echikunwoke was named the AAC Female Field Athlete of the Week (Jan. 30)
• Echikunwoke recorded four throws that ranked in the national Top 10 of last week, including #1, #2, #3 and #6 while Loretta Blaut's clearance of 1.83m in the high jump tied for #6
• Tiona Lattimore is 7-for-7 in recording a PR in an open race this year, adding 3 more last week
• Austin Edwards lowered his PR in the 60m twice and his 6.81 PR is #2 in UC history
• Aaron Deaton joined the all-time Top 10 in the shot put at #8 following his 3' 4.25" PR
• In the USTFCCCA team rankings, the women are #27 (up 1) and the men #53 (down 6) this week
• According to the USTFCCCA Squad Rankings, UC's women have four in the Top 16 this week, led by the shot put, which ranks third nationally (15.25m average)
• In the Great Lakes Region, the women are #4 (up 1) and the men #8 (no change) with four women and one man ranked #1 in the region currently
• UC holds 7 marks that currently lead the American Athletic Conference (five by the women)
// IN THE USTFCCCA RANKINGS - TEAM NATIONAL
The updated USTFCCCA computer rankings were released this week with the women climbing one position to #27 and the men slipping six spots to #53. It marks the third week in a row the women have been ranked in the Top 30 and the first time since last year when UC was #29, #25, #26 and #26 in the first four releases and marks the ninth regular season Top 30 for the women while also marking the 19th week in a row UC has been in the national Top 50 during the regular season after having only been in the Top 50 six total times from 2008-15.
// #SQUADGOALS
Another part of the rankings release this week was the first release of the Squad Rankings, a metric that combines the results of the Top 4 individuals from each team in the same event and ranks the squads based upon average marks. This week, the UC women have four squads ranked in the Top 16 with the shot put leading the charge at #3. The group, which averages a toss of 15.25m, is trailing only Minnesota (15.62m) and North Dakota State (15.46m). The other three squads UC has in the Top 16 are the weight throw (#8), high jump (#14) and long jump (#16).
// IN THE USTFCCCA RANKINGS - TEAM REGIONAL
Along with the national rankings came the updated regional rankings with the women moving up one spot to #4 in the Great Lakes Region while the men held steady at #8 for the second week in a row. The women moved up thanks to four individuals holding the top mark in the region, including Tiona Lattimore (60m), Loretta Blaut (HJ), Irati Mitxelena (TJ) and Annette Echikunwoke (WT). The men have one top-ranked individual in Jimmy Brooks, who currently leads the 400m.
// ECHIKUNWOKE GOING DEEP
Echikunwoke entered Saturday at the Indiana Relays with a season-best mark of 23.15m that she threw in the same ring in Indiana (December 8 at the Hoosier Open), a mark that ranked her #7 all-time in NCAA history. Once the senior was done with her six attempts, she had broken her school record twice and moved up the NCAA chart to #5 all-time in the process. After finishing the preliminary rounds with a best of 22.43m, she went off in the final as she record three throws of over 23 meters. First, she hit a mark of 23.66m to break her record and followed that with a mark of 23.47m. On the final throw of the day, she launched the 20-pound ball out to 23.69m (77-08.75) to improve once again and move up several lists.
// ECHIKUNWOKE MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Following the meet, her marks had a big impact on the NCAA all-time national lists. First, on the all-time Top 10 according to the USTFCCCA (one mark per person), her 23.69m mark ranks her fifth all-time with that throw also standing as the longest in the collegiate ranks since 2012 when Jeneva McCall (Southern Illinois) recorded a mark of 23.76m. When looking at the all-time list of marks (multiple entries by the same person are listed), Echikunwoke had recorded the #13 (23.69m), #14 (23.66m) and #16 (23.47m) marks in NCAA history while pushing her previous best of 23.15m down to #18.
// FEELING HONORED
Following the action in Bloomington, the American Athletic Conference honored Echikunwoke as this week's Female Field Athlete of the Week. The award, Echikunwoke's second of the year after earning the first honor of the season December 12, gives UC back-to-back women's honorees in the field after Loretta Blaut was tabbed for the same award last week.
// ALL A-BLAUT CLEARANCES
For the fourth meet in a row, Blaut competed in the high jump. And, for the fourth week in a row, she won the event. To top that, she has now posted a season-best clearance in each of the last three weeks. After winning the Hoosier Open with a best of 1.74m (5-08.50), Blaut took the title at the Kentucky Invitational with a best of 1.76m (5-09.25). The following week, she won the Notre Dame Invitational, this time clearing 1.82m (5-11.50) before topping that again last week with a winning clearance of 1.83m (6-00.00), which was the #6 (tie) mark in the nation last week. Blaut continues to lead the AAC and is also ranked tied for #9 in the nation.
// MORE LATTIMORE IN THE TOP 10
Tiona Lattimore ran one race Saturday after running twice the day before and made it a perfect 7-for-7 on the year as she once again ran a personal-best time that found a home on the program's all-time Top 10. Saturday, she ran 54.97 to finish fifth overall on the day and moved up to #3 all-time in Bearcats history in the 400m. With that run, she now ranks #2 in the 60m (7.46), #2 in the 200m (23.98), #1 in the 300m (38.43) and #3 in the 400m with all but the 300m time being record this weekend at the IU Relays. So far this year, Lattimore has run the 60m three times, going 7.52 (tied for #2) in the Kentucky Invitational heats before running 7.48 (#2) in the final of the same meet. She then ran 7.46 in the prelims yesterday before deciding not to run the final as it was scheduled to be run minutes before the 400m. The 200m is another race she has entered multiple times, first running 24.03 (#3) at the UK meet before running 23.98 in the final yesterday. Currently, Lattimore is ranked #6 (60m), #3 (200m) and #2 (400m) in the American Athletic Conference standings.
// RECORD RAMBLINGS
Looking through the newly rewritten indoor record lists, three current women have taken over the sprint events, led by Lattimore. To date, the trio of Lattimore, Haisha Bisiolu and Bryana Robinson are the only three UC women to be ranked in the program's all-time Top 10 in four sprint events (60m, 200m, 300m & 400m). Lattimore leads the way as her average position on those charts is #2 after ranking #2, #2, #1 and #3, respectively. Robinson averages 4.5 (#10, #4, #3, #1) while Bisiolu's average is 5.25 (#5, #6, #4, #6). If you look at just the three events that are contested at the conference and NCAA meets (60m, 200m and 400m), the trio is joined by Kenya Woodall, who averages 2.00 (#3, #1, #2) with Lattimore in second at 2.34 (#2, #2, #3), Robinson third at 5.00 (#10, #4, #1) and Bisiolu fourth at 5.67 (#5, #5, #6).
// EDWARDS LOWERS HIS TIME
Staying in the sprints, Austin Edwards continued his impressive season as the long jump specialist showed off his speed once again, this time running 6.81 to not only win the 60m final, but also post the #2 time in program history. The redshirt freshman previously had run 6.88 to rank #8 all-time in program history. Then, he lowered that time to 6.87 (tied for #6) in the preliminary race one day earlier to set up his big run today. Historically, his time is the fastest in 13 years as Kenny Wade ran 6.78 in 2005 to set the current standard Edwards is closing in on.
// LIGHTFOOT LIGHTS UP PENTATHLON
Three women took part in the five-event, single day pentathlon Saturday with Angelica Lightfoot recording five marks that now rank her among the Top 10 in the program's pentathlon history. The sophomore finished with 3,647 points to record the fifth-best point total in UC history while also taking over the lead in the American Athletic Conference by 103 points. Lightfoot opened the day running 8.87 in the 60m hurdles to move up to #4 on the pentathlon chart before clearing a personal-best 1.60m (5-03.00) in the high jump for the #9 (tie) clearance in pentathlon history. Next, she had a huge mark in the shot put as she not only broke the pentathlon record with a best of 13.12m (43-00.50), but also became the first UC women to surpass 13 meters in the pentathlon, bettering the previous record of 12.63m that Kaitlyn Good set in 2014. Lightfoot's Top 10 additions came to a close in the long jump as she posted a best of 5.53m (18-01.75) to move up to #3 on the charts. Overall, she placed fourth on the day and was second among collegiate entries as two unattached professionals placed first and second.
// SHOT INTO THE RANKINGS
The men's shot put produced a pair of all-time Top 10 marks on the first day of competition at the Indiana Relays as both Marcus Abraham and Aaron Deaton had big marks. Abraham finished sixth overall with a best of 16.95m (55-07.50) to improve his best mark at UC by 6.75" and better his standing at #4 in the Bearcats' Top 10. Deaton, a redshirt freshman, posted a personal-best mark of 16.47m (54-00.50) to not only record the #8 mark in program history, but also better his previous best by 3' 4.25".
// ON THE NATIONAL LIST
In the latest NCAA descending order list (Jan. 29), a total of 34 marks attained by Bearcats currently rank among the Top 150 in the nation with the women holding 20 marks and the men 14. Of those marks, three for women and one for the men sit in the Top 16, which is the cut-off for qualification into the NCAA Indoor Championships. For the women, Annette Echikunwoke is #1 in the weight throw and #13 in the shot put while Loretta Blaut is tied for #9 in the high jump. On the men's side, Adrian Valles is #3 in the pole vault.
// TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS
According to those same lists, 35 marks held by the Bearcats are currently ranked among the Top 8 in the American Athletic Conference with the women holding 20 marks and the men 15. The women currently hold five marks that lead the league with Echikunwoke (shot put, weight), Blaut (high jump), Bryana Robinson (400m) and Angelica Lightfoot (pentathlon) holding those marks. On the men's side, Valles continues to lead the pole vault while Alex Bloom holds the top mark in the high jump.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// MILE MARKERS
The women's indoor mile has perhaps been the most rewritten Top 10 list in program history over the past two and one-half seasons. Following the 2015 season, the #10 time in UC history was 5:11.82. Following three new names added in 2016, one more in 2017 and now two more in 2018 thanks to Hannah Markel and Sam Mikula's runs at the Notre Dame Invitational, the list is nearly brand new as the current #10 time of 5:06.42 was the #4 time at the end of the 2015 season. With Markel running 5:03.34 and Mikula 5:05.17, the #5 and #7 times, respectively, coach Lara Crofford's current distance roster holds six of the program's Top 11 times ever run as the duo joins #2 Meg Westerheide, #3 Alexis Anton, #8 Tes Corea and #11 Madison Dunlap.
// ANNETTE OFF TO HOT START
To say Annette Echikunwoke got her season off to a hot start might be an understatement. The defending national champion in the weight throw picked up where she left off in the event, smashing her own school and conference record with a heave of 23.15m (75-11.50) to easily win the event at the Hoosier Open (Dec. 8). While she broke her previous record by 1' 6", she also strung together a huge series of throws as four of her six marks were over 22 meters, a feat she accomplished last year six times while the rest of the nation combined for six tosses of 22m. She was not done there, though, as she took second in the shot put with a school-record toss of 16.72m (54-10.50) as well to rank among the Top 5 in the nation for the year so far.
// HISTORICAL MARK
Not only did Echikunwoke reset her own school and conference records, but she also pushed her name higher up both the NCAA and World all-time rankings. On a collegiate level, her toss of 23.15m makes her just the seventh different individual to surpass the 23m mark as she ranks #7 all-time (single mark list) while ranking #15 all-time on the list (Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois holds the #1 through #9 all-time marks). According to the statistical compilation of marks on Tilastopaja.net, Echikunwoke's toss of 23.15m also ranks her #16 all-time in the world.
// ECHIKUNWOKE NAMED TRAILBLAZER
The University of Cincinnati African American Alumni Affiliate (4A) recently announced its 2018 Class of Onyx & Ruby Award honorees with Annette Echikunwoke being named the recipient of the Student Trailblazer Award and will be honored at the Onyx & Ruby Gala February 24 at the Sharonville Convention Center. The first national champion in program history after winning the 2017 NCAA weight throw title was selected for the award that is given annually to individuals who create university firsts or were at the forefront of movements and activities. For more information on the Gala and all award honorees, visit: Alumni.UC.edu/ORG18/Bios.
// GRADE CHECK
On January 10, Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) released academic data for the 2017 Fall semester, including those athletes that finished the semester with a 3.0 or better grade-point average. Overall, 62 track & field/cross country student-athletes recorded better than a 3.0 GPA, including 34 women and 28 men, to earn a place on the Bearcats Honor Roll. Of those student-athletes, 25 women and 19 men maintained a 3.4 GPA or better to garner Dean's List accolades. Also, four men and three women recorded perfect 4.0 GPAs to be named TopCats. That list included Spencer Clark, Dan Huben, Jacob Rieman and Adrian Valles for the men and Alexis Gray, Grace O'Donnell and Tessa Ward for the women.
// RETURNING CHAMPION
On March 11, 2017, Annette Echikunwoke capture the national title in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships, collecting the first crown in program history as she won with a heave of 22.42m (73-06.75). With her win, Echikunwoke became just the fifth UC student-athlete to win an individual national title in the history of UC Athletics. Prior to her victory, two diving and two swimming titles had been captured by Bearcats with the last coming in 2010 when Josh Schneider won the men's 50 freestyle. Echikunwoke also is now just the second UC woman to win an individual national crown, joining diver Becky Ruehl, who won the 1996 platform event at the NCAA meet. Prior to that trio, Pat Evans won the 3m diving event in 1989 and Charles Keating brought home the first gold with the title in 200 butterfly in 1946.
// RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Along with Echikunwoke, the Bearcats have one other returning indoor All-American and five more that earned the national accolade during the outdoor season last year. Adrian Valles finished fifth in the men's pole vault indoors last year before taking national runner-up honors outdoor to collect a pair of USTFCCCA All-America First Team honors, bringing his career total to five. Loretta Blaut placed in a tie for sixth in the high jump outdoors to earn first team honors while the team of Haisha Bisiolu, Deanna Gesicki, Tiona Lattimore and Bryana Robinson combined to earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team honors in the 4x400m relay outdoors, the first for a relay in program history.
// THAT'S A FIRST
The women's 4x400m relay team was full of firsts in 2017. The quartet swept the 4x400m relay events at the AAC Indoor and AAC Outdoor Championships for the first crowns in program history. Then, the ladies broke the school record several times, including in their win at the conference outdoor meet before breaking it once again, running 3:36.59 at the regional meet to qualify for the national finals, marking the first UC relay to reach the NCAA outdoor meet. They weren't done there, however, as they broke the record once again in Eugene, running 3:35.96 in the semifinals to finish 15th overall. Despite not reaching the final, the team did earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team accolades, marking the first time in program history a relay team earned All-America status.
// INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN
For the second time in his career, Adrian Valles took part in one of the largest meets in the world as he represented his native Spain in the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London this past summer. Valles, who competed at the world meet in Beijing, China, in 2015, placed 16th overall in the qualification round this year. To get to London, Valles continued to chase a clearance of 5.70m throughout much of the collegiate season before he was added to the field in a pole vault competition in Landau, Germany. In the street event (raised runway on a city street), Valles climbed over the qualifying standard and punched his ticket to London.
// XC: DUNLAP EARNS ALL-CONFERENCE
Heading into the 2016 cross country season, the Bearcats women had not had an all-conference (Top 15) finisher in the AAC Championships. Then, Juliana Madzia, who was honored as a Top 30 selection for the 2016-17 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, finished 13th at the meet UC hosted to earn the program's first all-conference accolade since Ruth Limo at the 2004 Conference USA meet. This year, Madison Dunlap ran a personal-best time on a hilly course in Philadelphia to place 15th overall and earn her first all-conference selection and the program's second in as many years. The 15th woman in program history to earn cross country all-conference honors (25th total honor), Dunlap combines with Madzia to earn back-to-back conference honors for the first time since 2001 and 2002 when Angie Kist and Limo finished 12th and 10th, respectively, at the CUSA meet.
// UC HOSTING AAC OUTDOORS IN 2018
This season, the 2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted by the Bearcats at Gettler Stadium and Coy Field. The three-day meet will take place May 11-13 on the UC campus and will mark the first AAC track & field meet the Bearcats have played host and the second AAC meet UC has hosted after holding the 2016 AAC Cross Country Championships at Voice of America MetroPark in West Chester. The last time the Bearcats played host to a conference meet came in 2010 when the BIG EAST meet was held at Gettler Stadium.
// UP NEXT
The final big road trip of the indoor regular season awaits the Bearcats next week as the team will travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Challenge. The meet, hosted by Vanderbilt, will take place Friday and Saturday, February 9-10, inside the Commodores' Multipurpose Facility on campus.