Tickets// ON THE STARTING LINE
The second week of the outdoor season will see the University of Cincinnati track and field team travel to the Sonoran Desert as the Bearcats are set to compete in the Jim Click Multis and the Jim Click Shootout in Tucson, Ariz., Thursday through Saturday. The meet, which will take place on the University of Arizona campus inside Roy P. Drachman Stadium, will see Alex Bloom take part in the Jim Click Multis as the top-seed in the decathlon on Thursday and Friday before the rest of the travel party competes in the Jim Click Shootout all day Saturday.
// IN THE MEET
This week's action in Tucson will see competitors from eight different schools. Joining Cincinnati and host Arizona on Saturday will be athletes from Auburn, Illinois, Kansas State and Ohio State. For the decathlon, Alex Bloom is one of eight competitors that represent five schools, including UC, UA, Air Force, Grand Canyon and KSU.
// GET THE RESULTS
FinishedResults.com will be on hand to provide live result updates throughout the meet.
// 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 Tweet #Bearcats .
// QUICK STARTS
• Blaut was named the AAC Female Field Athlete of the Week following her win at the Nikoloff
• Blaut cleared 1.82m in the high jump for the #2 mark in the nation so far this season
• Blaut also cleared two of the Top 10 marks of the weekend according to the USTFCCCA
• Through one week, the Bearcats have recorded 21 marks that currently rank in the Top 8 of the AAC, including 14 by the men and seven by the women
• Both teams won the titles at the Oliver Nikoloff Open last week, the first of two home meets the Bearcats will play host to in 2018
• Austin Edwards had a big weekend as he had a hand in three wins, including two individual wins
• The women recorded six victories and the men added three more to Edwards' three
• Tessa Ward had a huge PR in the 10,000m run, lowering her best time by 1:45.74
• Rookie Sam Meece entered three throws and recorded a mark that landed him in the program's all-time Top 10 in all three in his collegiate outdoor debut
• Another freshman, Nicholas Lauria, won the javelin with the longest toss by a Bearcats man since 2012 (six seasons)
// BIG UPS
At the Oliver Nikoloff Open over the weekend, the Bearcats opened their outdoor season with Loretta Blaut really opening up as she won the high jump title with a best of 1.82m (5-11.50), just 1cm off her outdoor PR. Not only did she win the event title, she also posted the #2 mark in the NCAA so far this year (through three weeks).
// AMONG THE BEST
Blaut wasn't done there, however, as the senior posted two of the Top 10 marks across the nation last week. Her 1.82m clearance was the #2 mark of the week according to the USTFCCCA Weekly Top 10 list while her 1.78m clearance before that was tied for #7.
// BLAUT HONORED
Following the weekend's competitions, Blaut was selected as the American Athletic Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week. The honor is her third of the year and her first during the outdoor campaign and gives the program 11 awards in total (men and women) earned in 2018.
// MORE WINS
Along with Blaut's victory, the Bearcats combined to collect 11 event titles over the weekend with the women winning six times and the men five. For the women, Blaut joined Alexis Anton (1,500m), Tessa Ward (10,000m), Brooke Catherine (pole vault), Alexis Gray (discus) and the 4x100m relay team of Kellsa Mbah, Haisha Bisiolu, Juliana Puopolo and Tiona Lattimore as winners on the weekend while the men got two wins from Austin Edwards (long jump, 100m), who also joined Khalid Fuller, Halen Witcher and Mykel Chambers in winning the 4x100m relay, as well as Albert Kalala (high jump) and Nicholas Lauria (javelin). Overall, the men and women also swept the team titles.
// EDWARDS CRUSHING IT
Austin Edwards took part in three events at the Nikoloff Open and walked away with three victories for the Bearcats, the most of anyone on the team. Individually, Edwards ran 10.81 to win the 100m dash and also jumped 7.62m (25-00.00) to win the long jump. During that time, he also anchored the 4x100m relay to victory, teaming with Khalid Fuller, Halen Witcher and Mykel Chambers for the win in 41.94.
// HUGE PR FOR WARD
The first women's race on the track was the 10,000m run Friday night. When the race came to an end, not only did Tessa Ward claim the victory by running 36:59.25, she did so with a massive personal-best time, improving over her PR by 1:45.76. Her time ranks her eighth all-time in program history and was the fastest turned in by a Bearcats woman in seven years (Michele McKenney, 36:58.81, 2011). In the 14 years UC has played host to the Nikoloff event, Ward's time now ranks as the sixth fastest.
// LAURIA LETS IT FLY
Redshirt freshman Nicholas Lauria had a solid outdoor debut as he won the javelin and took second in the pole vault at the Nikoloff Open. In the throwing event, Lauria launched the spear out to 58.44m (191-09), placing just off the program's all-time Top 10 list. His throw also was the first measuring over 50 meters by a Bearcats man since the 2013 season (52.55m by Nathan Deslandes) and the longest since the 2012 season when Brian Zimmerman threw a season-best of 67.72m (222-02).
// OF MEECE AND TEN
In the opening weekend, freshman Sam Meece took part in the three throwing events - the shot put, discus and hammer - and posted marks that rank him in the program's all-time Top 10 in all three, making him the only man in UC history currently able to say that. One of nine men that appear on at least two of the charts, Meece threw 54.35m (178-03) in the hammer to rank seventh all-time and break the freshman record by over five feet; threw 16.26m (53-04.25) in the shot put to take the #10 spot; and threw 50.40 (165-04) in the discus for the #10 position as well. Overall, his Top 10 marks mark the second year in a row that a Bearcats man has added two marks to the Top 10 in at least two events as Macklin Tudor set the school records in both the shot put (18.90m) and the discus (63.54m) one year ago.
// ROOKIE REWRITES
The hammer record is the second rookie record Meece has secure this year after he took down the weight throw standard during the indoor season. After breaking the hammer mark outdoors last week, he already closing in on the other two outdoor event freshman marks, particularly the discus, which he is just three inches away from tying. The current record is held by Scott Ference, who threw the platter to 50.46m (165-07) in 1991 while Meece's mark measured 50.40m (165-04) over the weekend. The shot put record is a little further out as Steve Kahle's throw of 16.87m (55-04.25) in 2003 is two feet ahead of Meece's weekend mark of 16.26m (53-04.25).
// GRAY GOES LONG
Meece was not the only thrower that had a field day at the Nikoloff Open as Alexis Gray posted several strong marks in her Senior Day meet. Gray competed in and recorded personal bests in all three weight events while also placing in the Top 5 in all three, including claiming the win in the discus. Gray threw the plate to 49.22m (161-06) to win the event while also recording the third-best mark in program history and the sixth-best throw in meet history. She also finished third in the shot put with a heave of 14.13m (46-04.25) to post the #8 mark in program history. On the first day of the meet, she placed fifth in the hammer with a PR of 48.51m (159-02).
// MORE IN THE TOP 10
Two other Bearcats recorded marks that rank in the program's all-time Top 10 as well with both coming in field events. On the women's side, Irati Mitxelena tied her outdoor PR with a leap of 5.85m (19-02.50) in the long jump to post the #9 mark in UC history. For the men, junior transfer Marcus Abraham threw the shot put to 16.56m (54-04.00) for the #8 mark in UC history.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// RUNNERS-UP
At the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 9-10) in College Station, Texas, both UC women that competed finished as the national runners-up in their respective events with Loretta Blaut placing second in the high jump and Annette Echikunwoke second in the weight throw. Outside of Echikunwoke's national crown won last year in the same event, the silver medal finishes mark the second-highest finishes in program history as each woman scored eight points each.
// SO CLOSE
Not only did both women finish second nationally, both did so by very slim margins. For Blaut, she tied for the national title with Nicole Green (North Carolina) before both women took part in a seven-attempt jump-off to determine the national champion. After six rounds, Blaut was unable to clear the bar and Green did to secure the title. The next day, Echikunwoke had a best throw of 23.29m heading into the final round of throws before Kaitlyn Long (Minnesota) threw 23.30m to edge Echikunwoke for the title by 1cm.
// HIGH FINISH
Despite both women finishing second in their events, each earned eight team points to give the Bearcats 16 for the meet. The point total and team finish of 12th nationally both are the highest achieved in the history of the women's program, surpassing the 10 points and tied for 21st-place finish UC recorded one year ago.
// VAULTING VALLES
For the seventh NCAA track & field meet in a row, Adrian Valles was part of the competition and, for the sixth time, he cleared several bars to place in the Top 8 and earn USTFCCCA All-America First Team accolades. The two-time IAAF World Championships competitor for Spain and seven-time AAC pole vault champion, Valles cleared 5.55m (18-02.50) to tie for fifth place overall and earn 3.5 team points, which would end up tying the Bearcats men for 52nd place. Valles is now a four-time All-American indoors and will look for his seventh career accolade later this year at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
// ELITE AGAIN
Prior to the meet, Valles was honored for the second year in a row as the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 Award. The honor is given to the student-athlete at each of the NCAA's 90 championship sites (all three divisions throughout the year) that holds the highest GPA of all entrants at the location. Valles first earned the accolade last year and was the first member of the Bearcats program to receive the honor in any sport in the history of UC Athletics.
// BLOOMING
In his final indoor collegiate season, Alex Bloom made the most of it as he qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time as the 16th-ranked man in the heptathlon. Following the two-day, seven-event competition, Bloom battled to a score of 5,618 points and a 12th-place showing, moving up four spots from his initial ranking. Not only did he compete in the national meet for the first time in his career, he also earned his first career USTFCCCA All-America honor, earning a second team accolades for his Top 16 finish. To add to his historic competition, Bloom also is the only UC man to compete in the indoor combined events and is just the second UC man to earn All-America honors in the combined events after his current coach Chris Wineberg took eighth place in the outdoor decathlon in 2004.
// ALL-TIME ALL-AMERICANS - MEN
Valles recently earned his fourth indoor All-America honor, bringing his career total to six and tying him with Al Lanier for the most All-America honors earned in a career for the UC track & field program. Lanier earned four in the long jump and two in the triple jump between 1972 and 1973 (indoor and outdoor) to hold the most accolades in program history until Valles' tie for fifth-place earlier this month gave him his sixth honor to Lanier. Valles will have one more chance to add to his All-America total during the outdoor season and, should he place in the Top 16 at the national meet in Eugene, Ore., he will take over the all-time record at UC.
// ALL-TIME ALL-AMERICANS - WOMEN
With their honors earned at the NCAA Indoor Championships, both Blaut and Echikunwoke tied for the program record for the most All-America honors earned by a UC woman, joining Erika Hurd (2015-16) as the record holders with four each. Echikunwoke leads all women with four selections to the first team while Blaut is second with three first-team honors and one second-team accolade. Hurd, who competed in the high jump, earned first team and second team honors twice each.
// BIG AWARDS
In recent weeks, Annette Echikunwoke has seen her name called for prestigious honors. First, she was added to The Bowerman Watch List, becoming the first members of the Bearcats program (man or woman) to be selected for the elite list that will be used to select the top collegiate athlete of the year. Then, that was followed up with the announcement she had been selected as the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Female Field Athlete of the Year. She is now eligible for the national athlete of the year honor for indoors.
// MAKING HER-STORY
Prior to the NCAA Championships, the Bearcats women traveled to Birmingham, Ala., and returned home to Cincinnati with the American Athletic Conference crown, the women's program's first indoor conference title. The two-time defending outdoor champions scored an AAC-record 147 points to easily win their crown after falling two points shy one year ago, falling to UCF, 122-120.
// TELL'EM LARGE MARGIN SENT YA!
The women won their title by a 62-point margin, the largest in the history of the American Athletic Conference. The previous largest margin came in 2016 when UC was the runner-up by 24.5 points.
// GRABBING GOLD
At the AAC Championships, the Bearcats collected nine conference titles with the women winning seven and the men two. For the women, champions included Bryana Robinson (400m), Irati Mitxelena (triple jump), Loretta Blaut (high jump), Brooke Catherine (pole vault), Annette Echikunwoke (shot put and weight throw) and Naomi Urbano (pentathlon). The men's champions included Alex Bloom (high jump) and Adrian Valles (pole vault).
// UNDEFEATED
With his win at the AAC Championships, Valles became the first athlete in the five-year history of the conference to win the same event four times in a career. Valles, who also has won each of the last three pole vault titles outdoors, is undefeated in competitions against AAC foes, winning all seven league meets he has entered in his Bearcats career.
// SWEEP IT UP
Three different sweeps were recorded by the Bearcats at the AAC Championships:
• The Bearcats won both high jump events as Bloom won his first indoor crown with a clearance of 2.11m while Blaut successfully defended her title with a meet-record clearance of 1.87m
• Valles won his fourth-consecutive pole vault title with a best of 5.50m while Brooke Catherine won her first conference title by taking the women's title with a winning clearance of 4.09m
• Echikunwoke did her own sweeping as she won the shot put with a meet-record toss of 16.50m after winning her third weight throw title in as many years with a toss of 22.15m
// KEEPER OF THE CROWN
With Blaut's win in the high jump, the victory was not only her second in as many years at the AAC meet, but also kept the title in Cincinnati, the only home the women's high jump crown has known in the five years of the AAC. In the first three years, former All-American Erika Hurd won all three titles, giving UC the victory in five-consecutive meets.
// BIG POINTS
Not only did the Bearcats have seven champions, they also scored huge points in a pair of events to distance themselves from the rest of the field as the 400m runners and shot put throwers combined for 46 points - more than six different teams scored in the entire meet. In the 400m, the Bearcats finished 1-2-4-5 as Robinson (10 points) won the event in 53.37 with Tiona Lattimore (8) close behind in 54.21. Haisha Bisiolu (5) took fourth place with a time of 54.76 while Deanna Gesicki (4), who was ranked 10th ahead of the meet, placed fifth in 56.53. In the shot put, it was another 1-2 punch for the Bearcats as Echikunwoke (10) was victorious and Ashley Williams (8) took second with a best of 15.82m (51-11.00), the #3 mark in program history. Leah Heckaman (1) added to the total by placing eighth with a toss of 14.91m (48-11.00).
// FIRE 400
The members of the women's 4x400m relay brought the heat in Nashville as the each turned in superb times in the open 400m before laying down a school-record 3:36.96 in the relay at the end of the meet. In the open, Bryana Robinson led the way running 53.31, just off her season-best and UC record 53.08, while Tiona Lattimore was just behind her in 53.75, the #3 time in program history. Haisha Bisiolu ran 54.46 to post the #4 time in Bearcats history with Deanna Gesicki running 56.28 to post the #10 time in program history, meaning all four women are now in the Top 10 for the first time. Later in the meet, the four came together and ran 3:36.96, breaking their own school record by 3.17 seconds as they ran splits of 53.7 (Lattimore), 54.5 (Bisiolu), 55.5 (Gesicki) and 52.9 (Robinson). Through the weekend, the relay is the leader in the American while the individual runners rank #1 (Robinson), #2 (Lattimore), #4 (Bisiolu) and #9 (Gesicki) in the open 400m race. If they were to finish this way at the conference meet, that would be a huge 33 points for the women's team.
// MORE ON THE RELAY
Last year, the relay team made history as the first Bearcats relay to not only make the national meet, but also earned All-America honors (second team). Their record run this past weekend added to their historical accounts as they posted the #4 time ever at UC when combining indoor and outdoor marks, giving them the Top 4 marks all-time. When removing their three marks run last year during the outdoor season that broke the record each time, the team's indoor mark run last weekend is faster than any other relay team UC has ever assembled.
// BIENENFELD CONTINUES TO ADD
Aaron Bienenfeld joined the program in January and has raced four times with three of his time ranking among the program's all-time Top 10. More interestingly is the fact that those three times have come in three different events as he currently ranks #9 in the mile (4:10.82), #7 in the 3,000m run (8:23.99) and #3 in the 5,000m (14:29.23) with the longest race being run last week in Nashville. He is now just the second Bearcats to be listed on all three lists with only former All-American standout Eric Finan joining him as the #2, #1 and #1, respectively, in the three races.
// WOMEN'S DISTANCE HITTING THE BRICKS
The women's distance squad had runners in three different events post times that moved them up the all-time Top 10 charts in program history over the weekend. Senior Alexis Anton ran 2:13.38 to lower her personal best and claim the #6 position on the 800m chart. Two rookies were back at it once again this week as well. Hannah Markel (redshirt freshman) continued her back-and-forth PR lowering with true freshman Sam Mikula in the mile as Markel ran 5:02.29 to move past Mikula one week after Mikula ran 5:03.26 to overtake Markel. With Markel's time in Nashville, she is the fourth Bearcats woman to run under 5:03 in the event. Mikula took her turn on the track and raced the 3,000m event where she ran 10:01.07 to post the #7 time in UC history. The two rookies are now both on the mile and the 3,000m charts with Markel ranked #4 and #3, respectively, while Mikula is #6 and #7, respectively.
// 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.
// MEN ACADEMICALLY HONORED
Following the cross country season, the American Athletic Conference announced its annual award winners with the UC men being named the 2017 AAC Team Academic Award winners. This is the second year in a row that the Bearcats men have won the award, which is given to the team with the highest cumulative GPA.
// 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.
// 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.
// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The Bearcats welcomed 22 newcomers to the program this year, including 18 true freshmen, with 17 of those total newcomers joining the men's roster. Joining the men's track & field and cross country rosters are freshmen Cameron Davis (Strongsville), Connor Duricky (Mentor), Ryan Guenthner (Louisville, Ky.), Danny Jones (Canal Winchester), Albert Kalala (Cincinnati), Isaiah McCall (Lexington, Ky.), Sam Meece (Napolean), Issac Naayers (Lancaster), Cannon Riddle (Hilliard), Jacob Rieman (Beavercreek), Matt Stump (Medina), Brandon White (Stafford, Va.) and Zion Wynn (Loveland). The men also welcomed in transfers Marcus Abraham (Charlotte, N.C./Gardner-Webb U.), Branden Nosker (Troy, Ohio/Mississippi State) and Anthony Woods (Macedonia, Ohio/Ohio Dominican U.) with Steven Zombory (Chardon) joining the program after running for the campus running club. On the women's side, four of the five newcomers are true freshmen, including Sydney Hess (Curtice), Kennedy Marable (Toledo), Sam Mikula (Columbus) and Katrina Patterson (Clarence, N.Y.) with the fifth newcomer being Mary Purtsa (Germany).
// WELCOME TO UC!
While the majority of newcomers to the 2017-18 rosters were men, the 2018-19 signing class is comprised mostly of women. The class, which will join the Bearcats in time for the 2018 cross country and 2019 track & field seasons, includes 13 members, including nine women and four men. The women's class includes Faith Banks (Macedonia), Kaylia Black (Sandusky), Caisja Chandler (Euclid), Kylie Cutlip (Quaker City), Izzy Kline (Newton Falls), Carmen Licht (Macedonia), Leah Maschino (Maineville), Rylee Penn (Corona, Calif.) and Malin Smith (Lansing, Mich.) while the newest members of the men's program will include Toni Banos (Berga, Spain), Aaron Bienenfeld (Frankfurt, Germany), Austin Goolsby (Hillsboro) and Quincy Mitchell (Hanahan, S.C.).
// TWO MORE TO ADD
The Bearcats men added a pair of mid-year competitors over the winter break as signee Bienenfeld and transfer Andre Wright are ready to compete for the Bearcats immediately. Both individuals will be entering their sophomore seasons with Bienenfeld coming from the University of Frankfurt (Germany) and Wright transferring in from Liberty University. Bienenfeld will run in the distance events while Wright will take part in the horizontal jumps (long and triple).
// UP NEXT
A pair of meets await the Bearcats next weekend with athletes competing at either the Tennessee Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. (April 12-14), or the Miami Duals in Oxford (April 14). The Tennessee meet will be held at Tom Black Track on the UT campus with the heptathlon, decathlon, hammer and 10,000m run leading things off Thursday before the combined events conclude Friday along with all individual running events and several field events. Saturday will see the remaining field events contested along with six relay events on the track. In Oxford, the meet, which will be held at George L. Rider Track, will start with field events at 9:30 a.m. and running events at 10:20 a.m. for the one-day meet.
The second week of the outdoor season will see the University of Cincinnati track and field team travel to the Sonoran Desert as the Bearcats are set to compete in the Jim Click Multis and the Jim Click Shootout in Tucson, Ariz., Thursday through Saturday. The meet, which will take place on the University of Arizona campus inside Roy P. Drachman Stadium, will see Alex Bloom take part in the Jim Click Multis as the top-seed in the decathlon on Thursday and Friday before the rest of the travel party competes in the Jim Click Shootout all day Saturday.
// IN THE MEET
This week's action in Tucson will see competitors from eight different schools. Joining Cincinnati and host Arizona on Saturday will be athletes from Auburn, Illinois, Kansas State and Ohio State. For the decathlon, Alex Bloom is one of eight competitors that represent five schools, including UC, UA, Air Force, Grand Canyon and KSU.
// GET THE RESULTS
FinishedResults.com will be on hand to provide live result updates throughout the meet.
// 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 Tweet #Bearcats .
// QUICK STARTS
• Blaut was named the AAC Female Field Athlete of the Week following her win at the Nikoloff
• Blaut cleared 1.82m in the high jump for the #2 mark in the nation so far this season
• Blaut also cleared two of the Top 10 marks of the weekend according to the USTFCCCA
• Through one week, the Bearcats have recorded 21 marks that currently rank in the Top 8 of the AAC, including 14 by the men and seven by the women
• Both teams won the titles at the Oliver Nikoloff Open last week, the first of two home meets the Bearcats will play host to in 2018
• Austin Edwards had a big weekend as he had a hand in three wins, including two individual wins
• The women recorded six victories and the men added three more to Edwards' three
• Tessa Ward had a huge PR in the 10,000m run, lowering her best time by 1:45.74
• Rookie Sam Meece entered three throws and recorded a mark that landed him in the program's all-time Top 10 in all three in his collegiate outdoor debut
• Another freshman, Nicholas Lauria, won the javelin with the longest toss by a Bearcats man since 2012 (six seasons)
// BIG UPS
At the Oliver Nikoloff Open over the weekend, the Bearcats opened their outdoor season with Loretta Blaut really opening up as she won the high jump title with a best of 1.82m (5-11.50), just 1cm off her outdoor PR. Not only did she win the event title, she also posted the #2 mark in the NCAA so far this year (through three weeks).
// AMONG THE BEST
Blaut wasn't done there, however, as the senior posted two of the Top 10 marks across the nation last week. Her 1.82m clearance was the #2 mark of the week according to the USTFCCCA Weekly Top 10 list while her 1.78m clearance before that was tied for #7.
// BLAUT HONORED
Following the weekend's competitions, Blaut was selected as the American Athletic Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week. The honor is her third of the year and her first during the outdoor campaign and gives the program 11 awards in total (men and women) earned in 2018.
Congrats to Loretta Blaut for being named the @AmericanXCTrack Female Field Athlete of the Week!
— Cincinnati TF & XC (@GoBearcatsTFXC) April 3, 2018
Blaut cleared 1.82m in the high jump, the #2 mark in the @NCAATrackField so far this year at the #Bearcats home meet last weekend!
????: https://t.co/9ykh7Kv01I pic.twitter.com/wC3blIilHz
// MORE WINS
Along with Blaut's victory, the Bearcats combined to collect 11 event titles over the weekend with the women winning six times and the men five. For the women, Blaut joined Alexis Anton (1,500m), Tessa Ward (10,000m), Brooke Catherine (pole vault), Alexis Gray (discus) and the 4x100m relay team of Kellsa Mbah, Haisha Bisiolu, Juliana Puopolo and Tiona Lattimore as winners on the weekend while the men got two wins from Austin Edwards (long jump, 100m), who also joined Khalid Fuller, Halen Witcher and Mykel Chambers in winning the 4x100m relay, as well as Albert Kalala (high jump) and Nicholas Lauria (javelin). Overall, the men and women also swept the team titles.
// EDWARDS CRUSHING IT
Austin Edwards took part in three events at the Nikoloff Open and walked away with three victories for the Bearcats, the most of anyone on the team. Individually, Edwards ran 10.81 to win the 100m dash and also jumped 7.62m (25-00.00) to win the long jump. During that time, he also anchored the 4x100m relay to victory, teaming with Khalid Fuller, Halen Witcher and Mykel Chambers for the win in 41.94.
// HUGE PR FOR WARD
The first women's race on the track was the 10,000m run Friday night. When the race came to an end, not only did Tessa Ward claim the victory by running 36:59.25, she did so with a massive personal-best time, improving over her PR by 1:45.76. Her time ranks her eighth all-time in program history and was the fastest turned in by a Bearcats woman in seven years (Michele McKenney, 36:58.81, 2011). In the 14 years UC has played host to the Nikoloff event, Ward's time now ranks as the sixth fastest.
Last event of the day and Tessa Ward drops a 1:45.76 PR in the 10k! ??????
— Cincinnati TF & XC (@GoBearcatsTFXC) March 30, 2018
Ward runs 36:59.25, #8 in #Bearcats history, #6 in #Nikoloff18 history!
Total team effort, too, w/ Mikula, Markel pacing and teammates cheering non-stop around the track! Congrats Tessa! pic.twitter.com/08eGrkffOR
// LAURIA LETS IT FLY
Redshirt freshman Nicholas Lauria had a solid outdoor debut as he won the javelin and took second in the pole vault at the Nikoloff Open. In the throwing event, Lauria launched the spear out to 58.44m (191-09), placing just off the program's all-time Top 10 list. His throw also was the first measuring over 50 meters by a Bearcats man since the 2013 season (52.55m by Nathan Deslandes) and the longest since the 2012 season when Brian Zimmerman threw a season-best of 67.72m (222-02).
// OF MEECE AND TEN
In the opening weekend, freshman Sam Meece took part in the three throwing events - the shot put, discus and hammer - and posted marks that rank him in the program's all-time Top 10 in all three, making him the only man in UC history currently able to say that. One of nine men that appear on at least two of the charts, Meece threw 54.35m (178-03) in the hammer to rank seventh all-time and break the freshman record by over five feet; threw 16.26m (53-04.25) in the shot put to take the #10 spot; and threw 50.40 (165-04) in the discus for the #10 position as well. Overall, his Top 10 marks mark the second year in a row that a Bearcats man has added two marks to the Top 10 in at least two events as Macklin Tudor set the school records in both the shot put (18.90m) and the discus (63.54m) one year ago.
Did you 'Meece' the action in the men's hammer? Well, you shouldn't have because 6 #Bearcats threw and 4 had PRs! Oh, and Sam Meece broke the UC freshman record by 5' 5" with his all-time #7 mark of 54.35m (178-03)! #Nikoloff18 @susanseaton8
— Cincinnati TF & XC (@GoBearcatsTFXC) March 30, 2018
// ROOKIE REWRITES
The hammer record is the second rookie record Meece has secure this year after he took down the weight throw standard during the indoor season. After breaking the hammer mark outdoors last week, he already closing in on the other two outdoor event freshman marks, particularly the discus, which he is just three inches away from tying. The current record is held by Scott Ference, who threw the platter to 50.46m (165-07) in 1991 while Meece's mark measured 50.40m (165-04) over the weekend. The shot put record is a little further out as Steve Kahle's throw of 16.87m (55-04.25) in 2003 is two feet ahead of Meece's weekend mark of 16.26m (53-04.25).
// GRAY GOES LONG
Meece was not the only thrower that had a field day at the Nikoloff Open as Alexis Gray posted several strong marks in her Senior Day meet. Gray competed in and recorded personal bests in all three weight events while also placing in the Top 5 in all three, including claiming the win in the discus. Gray threw the plate to 49.22m (161-06) to win the event while also recording the third-best mark in program history and the sixth-best throw in meet history. She also finished third in the shot put with a heave of 14.13m (46-04.25) to post the #8 mark in program history. On the first day of the meet, she placed fifth in the hammer with a PR of 48.51m (159-02).
// MORE IN THE TOP 10
Two other Bearcats recorded marks that rank in the program's all-time Top 10 as well with both coming in field events. On the women's side, Irati Mitxelena tied her outdoor PR with a leap of 5.85m (19-02.50) in the long jump to post the #9 mark in UC history. For the men, junior transfer Marcus Abraham threw the shot put to 16.56m (54-04.00) for the #8 mark in UC history.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// RUNNERS-UP
At the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 9-10) in College Station, Texas, both UC women that competed finished as the national runners-up in their respective events with Loretta Blaut placing second in the high jump and Annette Echikunwoke second in the weight throw. Outside of Echikunwoke's national crown won last year in the same event, the silver medal finishes mark the second-highest finishes in program history as each woman scored eight points each.
// SO CLOSE
Not only did both women finish second nationally, both did so by very slim margins. For Blaut, she tied for the national title with Nicole Green (North Carolina) before both women took part in a seven-attempt jump-off to determine the national champion. After six rounds, Blaut was unable to clear the bar and Green did to secure the title. The next day, Echikunwoke had a best throw of 23.29m heading into the final round of throws before Kaitlyn Long (Minnesota) threw 23.30m to edge Echikunwoke for the title by 1cm.
// HIGH FINISH
Despite both women finishing second in their events, each earned eight team points to give the Bearcats 16 for the meet. The point total and team finish of 12th nationally both are the highest achieved in the history of the women's program, surpassing the 10 points and tied for 21st-place finish UC recorded one year ago.
// VAULTING VALLES
For the seventh NCAA track & field meet in a row, Adrian Valles was part of the competition and, for the sixth time, he cleared several bars to place in the Top 8 and earn USTFCCCA All-America First Team accolades. The two-time IAAF World Championships competitor for Spain and seven-time AAC pole vault champion, Valles cleared 5.55m (18-02.50) to tie for fifth place overall and earn 3.5 team points, which would end up tying the Bearcats men for 52nd place. Valles is now a four-time All-American indoors and will look for his seventh career accolade later this year at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
// ELITE AGAIN
Prior to the meet, Valles was honored for the second year in a row as the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 Award. The honor is given to the student-athlete at each of the NCAA's 90 championship sites (all three divisions throughout the year) that holds the highest GPA of all entrants at the location. Valles first earned the accolade last year and was the first member of the Bearcats program to receive the honor in any sport in the history of UC Athletics.
// BLOOMING
In his final indoor collegiate season, Alex Bloom made the most of it as he qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time as the 16th-ranked man in the heptathlon. Following the two-day, seven-event competition, Bloom battled to a score of 5,618 points and a 12th-place showing, moving up four spots from his initial ranking. Not only did he compete in the national meet for the first time in his career, he also earned his first career USTFCCCA All-America honor, earning a second team accolades for his Top 16 finish. To add to his historic competition, Bloom also is the only UC man to compete in the indoor combined events and is just the second UC man to earn All-America honors in the combined events after his current coach Chris Wineberg took eighth place in the outdoor decathlon in 2004.
// ALL-TIME ALL-AMERICANS - MEN
Valles recently earned his fourth indoor All-America honor, bringing his career total to six and tying him with Al Lanier for the most All-America honors earned in a career for the UC track & field program. Lanier earned four in the long jump and two in the triple jump between 1972 and 1973 (indoor and outdoor) to hold the most accolades in program history until Valles' tie for fifth-place earlier this month gave him his sixth honor to Lanier. Valles will have one more chance to add to his All-America total during the outdoor season and, should he place in the Top 16 at the national meet in Eugene, Ore., he will take over the all-time record at UC.
// ALL-TIME ALL-AMERICANS - WOMEN
With their honors earned at the NCAA Indoor Championships, both Blaut and Echikunwoke tied for the program record for the most All-America honors earned by a UC woman, joining Erika Hurd (2015-16) as the record holders with four each. Echikunwoke leads all women with four selections to the first team while Blaut is second with three first-team honors and one second-team accolade. Hurd, who competed in the high jump, earned first team and second team honors twice each.
// BIG AWARDS
In recent weeks, Annette Echikunwoke has seen her name called for prestigious honors. First, she was added to The Bowerman Watch List, becoming the first members of the Bearcats program (man or woman) to be selected for the elite list that will be used to select the top collegiate athlete of the year. Then, that was followed up with the announcement she had been selected as the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Female Field Athlete of the Year. She is now eligible for the national athlete of the year honor for indoors.
// MAKING HER-STORY
Prior to the NCAA Championships, the Bearcats women traveled to Birmingham, Ala., and returned home to Cincinnati with the American Athletic Conference crown, the women's program's first indoor conference title. The two-time defending outdoor champions scored an AAC-record 147 points to easily win their crown after falling two points shy one year ago, falling to UCF, 122-120.
// TELL'EM LARGE MARGIN SENT YA!
The women won their title by a 62-point margin, the largest in the history of the American Athletic Conference. The previous largest margin came in 2016 when UC was the runner-up by 24.5 points.
// GRABBING GOLD
At the AAC Championships, the Bearcats collected nine conference titles with the women winning seven and the men two. For the women, champions included Bryana Robinson (400m), Irati Mitxelena (triple jump), Loretta Blaut (high jump), Brooke Catherine (pole vault), Annette Echikunwoke (shot put and weight throw) and Naomi Urbano (pentathlon). The men's champions included Alex Bloom (high jump) and Adrian Valles (pole vault).
// UNDEFEATED
With his win at the AAC Championships, Valles became the first athlete in the five-year history of the conference to win the same event four times in a career. Valles, who also has won each of the last three pole vault titles outdoors, is undefeated in competitions against AAC foes, winning all seven league meets he has entered in his Bearcats career.
// SWEEP IT UP
Three different sweeps were recorded by the Bearcats at the AAC Championships:
• The Bearcats won both high jump events as Bloom won his first indoor crown with a clearance of 2.11m while Blaut successfully defended her title with a meet-record clearance of 1.87m
• Valles won his fourth-consecutive pole vault title with a best of 5.50m while Brooke Catherine won her first conference title by taking the women's title with a winning clearance of 4.09m
• Echikunwoke did her own sweeping as she won the shot put with a meet-record toss of 16.50m after winning her third weight throw title in as many years with a toss of 22.15m
// KEEPER OF THE CROWN
With Blaut's win in the high jump, the victory was not only her second in as many years at the AAC meet, but also kept the title in Cincinnati, the only home the women's high jump crown has known in the five years of the AAC. In the first three years, former All-American Erika Hurd won all three titles, giving UC the victory in five-consecutive meets.
// BIG POINTS
Not only did the Bearcats have seven champions, they also scored huge points in a pair of events to distance themselves from the rest of the field as the 400m runners and shot put throwers combined for 46 points - more than six different teams scored in the entire meet. In the 400m, the Bearcats finished 1-2-4-5 as Robinson (10 points) won the event in 53.37 with Tiona Lattimore (8) close behind in 54.21. Haisha Bisiolu (5) took fourth place with a time of 54.76 while Deanna Gesicki (4), who was ranked 10th ahead of the meet, placed fifth in 56.53. In the shot put, it was another 1-2 punch for the Bearcats as Echikunwoke (10) was victorious and Ashley Williams (8) took second with a best of 15.82m (51-11.00), the #3 mark in program history. Leah Heckaman (1) added to the total by placing eighth with a toss of 14.91m (48-11.00).
// FIRE 400
The members of the women's 4x400m relay brought the heat in Nashville as the each turned in superb times in the open 400m before laying down a school-record 3:36.96 in the relay at the end of the meet. In the open, Bryana Robinson led the way running 53.31, just off her season-best and UC record 53.08, while Tiona Lattimore was just behind her in 53.75, the #3 time in program history. Haisha Bisiolu ran 54.46 to post the #4 time in Bearcats history with Deanna Gesicki running 56.28 to post the #10 time in program history, meaning all four women are now in the Top 10 for the first time. Later in the meet, the four came together and ran 3:36.96, breaking their own school record by 3.17 seconds as they ran splits of 53.7 (Lattimore), 54.5 (Bisiolu), 55.5 (Gesicki) and 52.9 (Robinson). Through the weekend, the relay is the leader in the American while the individual runners rank #1 (Robinson), #2 (Lattimore), #4 (Bisiolu) and #9 (Gesicki) in the open 400m race. If they were to finish this way at the conference meet, that would be a huge 33 points for the women's team.
// MORE ON THE RELAY
Last year, the relay team made history as the first Bearcats relay to not only make the national meet, but also earned All-America honors (second team). Their record run this past weekend added to their historical accounts as they posted the #4 time ever at UC when combining indoor and outdoor marks, giving them the Top 4 marks all-time. When removing their three marks run last year during the outdoor season that broke the record each time, the team's indoor mark run last weekend is faster than any other relay team UC has ever assembled.
// BIENENFELD CONTINUES TO ADD
Aaron Bienenfeld joined the program in January and has raced four times with three of his time ranking among the program's all-time Top 10. More interestingly is the fact that those three times have come in three different events as he currently ranks #9 in the mile (4:10.82), #7 in the 3,000m run (8:23.99) and #3 in the 5,000m (14:29.23) with the longest race being run last week in Nashville. He is now just the second Bearcats to be listed on all three lists with only former All-American standout Eric Finan joining him as the #2, #1 and #1, respectively, in the three races.
// WOMEN'S DISTANCE HITTING THE BRICKS
The women's distance squad had runners in three different events post times that moved them up the all-time Top 10 charts in program history over the weekend. Senior Alexis Anton ran 2:13.38 to lower her personal best and claim the #6 position on the 800m chart. Two rookies were back at it once again this week as well. Hannah Markel (redshirt freshman) continued her back-and-forth PR lowering with true freshman Sam Mikula in the mile as Markel ran 5:02.29 to move past Mikula one week after Mikula ran 5:03.26 to overtake Markel. With Markel's time in Nashville, she is the fourth Bearcats woman to run under 5:03 in the event. Mikula took her turn on the track and raced the 3,000m event where she ran 10:01.07 to post the #7 time in UC history. The two rookies are now both on the mile and the 3,000m charts with Markel ranked #4 and #3, respectively, while Mikula is #6 and #7, respectively.
// 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.
// MEN ACADEMICALLY HONORED
Following the cross country season, the American Athletic Conference announced its annual award winners with the UC men being named the 2017 AAC Team Academic Award winners. This is the second year in a row that the Bearcats men have won the award, which is given to the team with the highest cumulative GPA.
// 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.
// 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.
// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The Bearcats welcomed 22 newcomers to the program this year, including 18 true freshmen, with 17 of those total newcomers joining the men's roster. Joining the men's track & field and cross country rosters are freshmen Cameron Davis (Strongsville), Connor Duricky (Mentor), Ryan Guenthner (Louisville, Ky.), Danny Jones (Canal Winchester), Albert Kalala (Cincinnati), Isaiah McCall (Lexington, Ky.), Sam Meece (Napolean), Issac Naayers (Lancaster), Cannon Riddle (Hilliard), Jacob Rieman (Beavercreek), Matt Stump (Medina), Brandon White (Stafford, Va.) and Zion Wynn (Loveland). The men also welcomed in transfers Marcus Abraham (Charlotte, N.C./Gardner-Webb U.), Branden Nosker (Troy, Ohio/Mississippi State) and Anthony Woods (Macedonia, Ohio/Ohio Dominican U.) with Steven Zombory (Chardon) joining the program after running for the campus running club. On the women's side, four of the five newcomers are true freshmen, including Sydney Hess (Curtice), Kennedy Marable (Toledo), Sam Mikula (Columbus) and Katrina Patterson (Clarence, N.Y.) with the fifth newcomer being Mary Purtsa (Germany).
// WELCOME TO UC!
While the majority of newcomers to the 2017-18 rosters were men, the 2018-19 signing class is comprised mostly of women. The class, which will join the Bearcats in time for the 2018 cross country and 2019 track & field seasons, includes 13 members, including nine women and four men. The women's class includes Faith Banks (Macedonia), Kaylia Black (Sandusky), Caisja Chandler (Euclid), Kylie Cutlip (Quaker City), Izzy Kline (Newton Falls), Carmen Licht (Macedonia), Leah Maschino (Maineville), Rylee Penn (Corona, Calif.) and Malin Smith (Lansing, Mich.) while the newest members of the men's program will include Toni Banos (Berga, Spain), Aaron Bienenfeld (Frankfurt, Germany), Austin Goolsby (Hillsboro) and Quincy Mitchell (Hanahan, S.C.).
// TWO MORE TO ADD
The Bearcats men added a pair of mid-year competitors over the winter break as signee Bienenfeld and transfer Andre Wright are ready to compete for the Bearcats immediately. Both individuals will be entering their sophomore seasons with Bienenfeld coming from the University of Frankfurt (Germany) and Wright transferring in from Liberty University. Bienenfeld will run in the distance events while Wright will take part in the horizontal jumps (long and triple).
// UP NEXT
A pair of meets await the Bearcats next weekend with athletes competing at either the Tennessee Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. (April 12-14), or the Miami Duals in Oxford (April 14). The Tennessee meet will be held at Tom Black Track on the UT campus with the heptathlon, decathlon, hammer and 10,000m run leading things off Thursday before the combined events conclude Friday along with all individual running events and several field events. Saturday will see the remaining field events contested along with six relay events on the track. In Oxford, the meet, which will be held at George L. Rider Track, will start with field events at 9:30 a.m. and running events at 10:20 a.m. for the one-day meet.