TicketsCINCINNATI - The NCAA today announced its lists of accepted athletes into the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships with four members of the University of Cincinnati program finishing the regular season ranked among the Top 16 nationally to punch their tickets to the meet that will be held next week in College Station, Texas. The Bearcats that will compete for national titles and USTFCCCA All-America honors include Loretta Blaut (high jump) and Annette Echikunwoke (weight throw) for the women and Alex Bloom (heptathlon) and Adrian Valles (pole vault) for the men.
// MEET INFORMATION
The meet will be held Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10, inside the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on the Texas A&M campus in College Station, Texas. Bloom will compete both days with the seven-event heptathlon starting at noon CT (1 p.m. ET) each day. On Friday, Valles will battle in the pole vault final that starts at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) before Blaut takes part in the final of the high jump that is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) start. On Saturday, Echikunwoke will look to defend her national title when the weight throw gets underway at 4:30 p.m. CT (5:30 p.m. ET).
// ECHIKUNWOKE LOOKS TO DEFEND
The first national champion in program history after winning the crown one year ago, Echikunwoke enters the 2018 meet ranked #1 nationally after she threw 24.78m (81-03.75) at the Buckeye Tune-Up two weeks ago. That mark moved her up to #2 on the NCAA's all-time list while the throw measured out as the #4 performance all-time in NCAA history. Recently, Echikunwoke captured her third American Athletic Conference weight throw crown in a row while adding the shot put title to sweep the throws and grab 20 points for the team on its way to the first women's indoor conference crown in program history. A two-time AAC athlete of the week and one-time USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Athlete of the Week earlier this year, Echikunwoke is one of three women nationally this year to record a throw of 24.00m or better after only one throw was over 23.00m last year.
// BLAUT MOVING UP
A two-time indoor high jump champion in the American following her victory over the weekend, Blaut is on the rise as she cleared 1.87m (6-01.50) to win the conference title and tie the school record held previously by Renee Hein (2006). Her win keeps the title in Cincinnati as Bearcats women have won the event all five years of the league's existence. That mark also ranked as the fifth-best clearance of the weekend across the nation while also taking down former teammate Erika Hurd's conference meet record of 1.84m. Blaut will enter the national meet as a returning All-American after earning USTFCCCA All-America Second Team honors two years by placing ninth overall. She is currently ranked #5 in the nation ahead of the NCAA meet.
// VAULTING VALLES
Following a historic win at the AAC meet where he captured his fourth conference crown in a row in the pole vault, Valles will turn his attention to his final indoor competition as a collegiate competitor as he enters the meet ranked #4 with a best of 5.61m (18-04.75), which also is a school record. Valles cleared 5.50m (18-00.50) to win the AAC title, making him the only competitor (men and women) to win the same event four times in the early history of the AAC. Valles is a three-time USTFCCCA All-America First Team honoree after placing sixth as a freshman before taking fifth in each of his last two national meets. A member of Spain's IAAF World Championship team over the summer, Valles has won four of the six meets he entered this year.
// BLOOM MAKES FIRST NCAA MEET
With his selection, Bloom continued to make history for the Bearcats program as he becomes the first UC man to advance to the NCAA indoor meet in the combined events. In fact, when including outdoors, he is the first UC man to make the national meet in the combined events since both Ben Haber and Jimmy Mount competed in the outdoor decathlon in 2005. He is the first UC athlete to reach the NCAA indoor meet in the combined events since Jasmine Cotten competed in the pentathlon for the women at the 2009 meet. The school record holder in the heptathlon with 5,649 points, Bloom scored that total at the same venue he will compete next week as he battled a strong field at the Charlie Thomas Invitational in early February. That score, which broke the record held by his current coach Chris Wineberg, saw him record personal-best marks in four of the seven events, including the 60m dash (7.03), 1,000m run (2:46.50), the pole vault (4.55m) and the shot put (12.78m).
2018 NCAA Indoor Championship Selection
Women
Loretta Blaut - High Jump - ranked #5 at 1.87m (6-01.50)
Annette Echikunwoke - Weight Throw - ranked #1 at 24.78m (81-03.75)
Men
Alex Bloom - Heptathlon - ranked #16 at 5,649 points
Adrian Valles - Pole Vault - ranked #4 at 5.61m (18-04.75)
Schedule of Competition
Friday, March 9
12:00 pm CT - Heptathlon 60m (Bloom)
12:40 pm CT - Heptathlon Long Jump (Bloom)
1:50 pm CT - Heptathlon Shot Put (Bloom)
3:00 pm CT - Heptathlon High Jump (Bloom)
5:30 pm CT - Pole Vault (Valles)
6:00 pm CT - High Jump (Blaut)
Saturday, March 10
12:00 pm CT - Heptathlon 60m Hurdles (Bloom)
12:50 pm CT - Heptathlon Pole Vault (Bloom)
4:00 pm CT - Heptathlon 1,000m Run (Bloom)
4:30 pm CT - Weight Throw (Echikunwoke)
// MEET INFORMATION
The meet will be held Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10, inside the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on the Texas A&M campus in College Station, Texas. Bloom will compete both days with the seven-event heptathlon starting at noon CT (1 p.m. ET) each day. On Friday, Valles will battle in the pole vault final that starts at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) before Blaut takes part in the final of the high jump that is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) start. On Saturday, Echikunwoke will look to defend her national title when the weight throw gets underway at 4:30 p.m. CT (5:30 p.m. ET).
// ECHIKUNWOKE LOOKS TO DEFEND
The first national champion in program history after winning the crown one year ago, Echikunwoke enters the 2018 meet ranked #1 nationally after she threw 24.78m (81-03.75) at the Buckeye Tune-Up two weeks ago. That mark moved her up to #2 on the NCAA's all-time list while the throw measured out as the #4 performance all-time in NCAA history. Recently, Echikunwoke captured her third American Athletic Conference weight throw crown in a row while adding the shot put title to sweep the throws and grab 20 points for the team on its way to the first women's indoor conference crown in program history. A two-time AAC athlete of the week and one-time USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Athlete of the Week earlier this year, Echikunwoke is one of three women nationally this year to record a throw of 24.00m or better after only one throw was over 23.00m last year.
// BLAUT MOVING UP
A two-time indoor high jump champion in the American following her victory over the weekend, Blaut is on the rise as she cleared 1.87m (6-01.50) to win the conference title and tie the school record held previously by Renee Hein (2006). Her win keeps the title in Cincinnati as Bearcats women have won the event all five years of the league's existence. That mark also ranked as the fifth-best clearance of the weekend across the nation while also taking down former teammate Erika Hurd's conference meet record of 1.84m. Blaut will enter the national meet as a returning All-American after earning USTFCCCA All-America Second Team honors two years by placing ninth overall. She is currently ranked #5 in the nation ahead of the NCAA meet.
// VAULTING VALLES
Following a historic win at the AAC meet where he captured his fourth conference crown in a row in the pole vault, Valles will turn his attention to his final indoor competition as a collegiate competitor as he enters the meet ranked #4 with a best of 5.61m (18-04.75), which also is a school record. Valles cleared 5.50m (18-00.50) to win the AAC title, making him the only competitor (men and women) to win the same event four times in the early history of the AAC. Valles is a three-time USTFCCCA All-America First Team honoree after placing sixth as a freshman before taking fifth in each of his last two national meets. A member of Spain's IAAF World Championship team over the summer, Valles has won four of the six meets he entered this year.
// BLOOM MAKES FIRST NCAA MEET
With his selection, Bloom continued to make history for the Bearcats program as he becomes the first UC man to advance to the NCAA indoor meet in the combined events. In fact, when including outdoors, he is the first UC man to make the national meet in the combined events since both Ben Haber and Jimmy Mount competed in the outdoor decathlon in 2005. He is the first UC athlete to reach the NCAA indoor meet in the combined events since Jasmine Cotten competed in the pentathlon for the women at the 2009 meet. The school record holder in the heptathlon with 5,649 points, Bloom scored that total at the same venue he will compete next week as he battled a strong field at the Charlie Thomas Invitational in early February. That score, which broke the record held by his current coach Chris Wineberg, saw him record personal-best marks in four of the seven events, including the 60m dash (7.03), 1,000m run (2:46.50), the pole vault (4.55m) and the shot put (12.78m).
2018 NCAA Indoor Championship Selection
Women
Loretta Blaut - High Jump - ranked #5 at 1.87m (6-01.50)
Annette Echikunwoke - Weight Throw - ranked #1 at 24.78m (81-03.75)
Men
Alex Bloom - Heptathlon - ranked #16 at 5,649 points
Adrian Valles - Pole Vault - ranked #4 at 5.61m (18-04.75)
Schedule of Competition
Friday, March 9
12:00 pm CT - Heptathlon 60m (Bloom)
12:40 pm CT - Heptathlon Long Jump (Bloom)
1:50 pm CT - Heptathlon Shot Put (Bloom)
3:00 pm CT - Heptathlon High Jump (Bloom)
5:30 pm CT - Pole Vault (Valles)
6:00 pm CT - High Jump (Blaut)
Saturday, March 10
12:00 pm CT - Heptathlon 60m Hurdles (Bloom)
12:50 pm CT - Heptathlon Pole Vault (Bloom)
4:00 pm CT - Heptathlon 1,000m Run (Bloom)
4:30 pm CT - Weight Throw (Echikunwoke)