Tickets// ON THE STARTING LINE
The quest for national titles and All-America accolades gets underway Thursday for the University of Cincinnati track and field program as 13 Bearcats are set to compete at the 2018 NCAA East Preliminary Round meet at the USF Track & Field Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The three-day meet serves as the first rounds of competition for the NCAA Finals with the Top 12 in each event advancing to the national meet June 6-9 in Eugene, Ore.
// IN THE MEET
Two meets will be held this weekend, including the NCAA East and NCAA West Preliminary competitions that will be hosted in Tampa (East) and Sacramento, Calif. (West). The teams set to compete in each meet are determined by their home state. The East is comprised of all teams east of the Mississippi River with the inclusion of the state of Louisiana while all other teams will head to the West meet in Sacramento.
// HOW IT WORKS
The Top 48 individuals and Top 24 relay in each of the two regions will compete this weekend with the Top 12 in each earning advancement to the NCAA Finals in Eugene.
// EVER CHANGING
With threatening weather in the area, the meet schedule for the NCAA East Preliminary Round has been vastly altered with many events starting in the early morning instead of late afternoon as previously scheduled. To stay up to date on all times, be sure to visit the NCAA.com track and field page.
// INFORMATION CENTRAL
• Results: live results will be available at FlashResults.com
• Heat Sheets: are available on the NCAA web site
• Social: be sure to follow @GoBearcatsTFXC and @NCAATrackField for all the latest on the meet and use the hashtags #Bearcats and #ncaaTF to join the conversation
• Streaming: FloTrack.org will stream all the action live from Tampa (subscription service)
// QUICK STARTS
• UC recently played host to the AAC Championships with four individual titles being won by the Bearcats, including women Blaut (high jump) and Catherine (pole vault) and men Bloom (decathlon) and Bienenfeld (10,000m run)
• Blaut and Catherine broke out the brooms as they swept the indoor and outdoor titles in their respective events in 2018
• UC athletes broke six school records at the AAC Championships with two of those marks also going down as AAC all-time, AAC meet and Gettler Stadium records
• Blaut's jump was the best in the nation during conference weekend and earned her the AAC Women's Field Most Outstanding Performance Award, which she also won indoors
• 15 Bearcats qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round, including 14 in individual events
• Of those 14, eight are returning to compete in individual events after qualifying last year
• Four men and one woman will be competing in individual events at the regional meet for the first time in their careers
• Two men qualified for the meet, but will be unable to compete because of injury, including senior Adrian Valles (pole vault) and rookie Connor Duricky (110mH)
// SET TO COMPETE - WOMEN
Individually, seven Bearcats earned eight entries into the meet with Tiona Lattimore grabbing berths in the 100m (#47) and 200m (#41) to lead the way for UC. Also set to compete individually will be Haisha Bisiolu in the 200m (#47); Loretta Blaut in the high jump (t-#1); Brooke Catherine in the pole vault (#12); Irati Mitxelena in the triple jump (#34) and Ashley Williams in the shot put (#24). Bisiolu and Lattimore also helped the 4x100m relay qualify to the meet (#16) and will be running with Kellsa Mbah and Juliana Puopolo.
// SET TO COMPETE - MEN
Seven men qualified for the meet in individual events, but only five will compete in the meet as the injury bug struck recently. Still set to compete are Marcus Abraham in the shot put (#44), Aaron Bienenfeld in the 5,000m run (#43), Alex Bloom in the high jump (#34), Austin Edwards in the long jump (#27) and Sam Meece in the discus (#32). Rookie Connor Duricky and senior Adrian Valles qualified in the 110m hurdles (#43) and the pole vault (#34), respectively, but will be unable to compete this weekend, ending their seasons.
// NOT HOW HE WANTED IT TO END
With the injury to Valles, one of the most decorated careers in all of UC athletics has come a close, most certainly not in the fashion he wanted. Valles' career comes to an abrupt end with the two-time IAAF World Championships competitor for Spain having won all seven AAC meets he entered and collecting six USTFCCCA All-America First Team honors. The school and conference record holder both indoors and out, Valles was also one of the top academic Bearcats in the program as a two-time recipient of the NCAA's Elite 90 Award, given annually to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each of the NCAA's 90 championship sites. A two-time AAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Valles graduated from UC last year and is set to wrap up his Master's degree this summer.
// NOTING THE WOMEN
100m Dash
• Lattimore is the 1st regional qualifier in the event for UC since Kenya Woodall in 2014
• Since the regional structure came about in 2003, Lattimore is just the fourth UC woman to qualify in the event, joining Natasha Burse (2x), Shanay Portis and Woodall on the list
200m Dash
• Bisiolu is making her second appearance in the event after first racing in 2016 as a freshman
• Bisiolu now joins Woodall as the only UC women to qualify for the 200m twice in a career
• Lattimore is racing the distance for the first time after running the 400m as a rookie last year
• Lattimore's double (100m/200m) is just the third in UC history and the first since Portis in 2012
4x100m Relay
• The short relay is back for the third year in a row and the fourth all-time (2011)
• UC finished 13th in the region last year, missing the NCAA Finals by one place (Top 12)
• The team made the regional meet on its final chance as they ran 44.66 to take runner-up honors at the AAC Championships, moving from #51 to #16 by shaving a full one second off their time
High Jump
• Blaut is entering her fourth East meet to become the third UC woman to accomplish the feat, joining Erika Hurd (2013-16) and Renee Hein (2004-07)
• Should she advance to nationals, she will break a tie with Hurd for the most advancements from the regional meet in the event after both women advanced twice
Pole Vault
• Catherine is headed to the East meet for the third year in a row
• She is the fourth Bearcats woman to reach the regional meet three or more times in a career, joining Mackenzie Fields (4x), Michelle Eby (4x) and Brittany Klima (3x)
• Catherine is the eighth different UC woman to reach the meet in the event and will be making the 20th all-time appearance in the pole vault for UC
Triple Jump
• Mitxelena is making her NCAA debut after earning her first qualification to the regional meet
• She is only the third UC woman to qualify in the triple jump and the first since the 2016 meet when Rebecka Abrahamsson earned her second berth in as many years
Shot Put
• Williams has qualified for the regional meet for the first time in her UC career
• Her qualification marks the fourth year in a row that at least one Bearcats woman has been included in the event at the regional sit
• Williams is the fifth different UC woman to qualify for the shot put since 2003
// NOTING THE MEN
110m Hurdles
• Although unable to compete, Duricky is just the fifth UC man to qualify for the hurdles
• The last time UC had a high hurdler in the meet was Bryan Cain in 2014
5,000m Run
• Bienenfeld is making his NCAA debut after transferring in from Germany in January
• He is only the second UC man to qualify to the regional meet in the event and the first since All-American Eric Finan was part of the 2010 and 2011 races
• Bienenfeld's qualification gives the long distance men their second qualifier in as many years after Dan Huben made the steeplechase field one year ago
Long Jump
• Edwards is back for the second year in a row, making him the third UC man to qualify in the event at the regional meet on multiple occasions
• The last time UC had a man qualify for a second or third time in the event was 2006 when Chandler Groves made his third meet and Bob Kandell his second
High Jump
• Bloom is back for the second year in a row in the high jump after qualifying last year
• He is just the second UC man to qualify in the event multiple times and the first since 2010 when Brandon Fitch made his third appearance in as many meets
Pole Vault
• Valles' qualification for the meet was his fourth all-time, tying him with Josh Dangel as the program's only four-time entrants in the event
• Had he been able to compete and advance, Valles would have become a four-time NCAA outdoor qualifier and an eight-time overall qualifier
Shot Put
• Abraham is making his NCAA debut and is the sixth UC man to reach to meet in the shot put
• UC has now qualified a man in the event in back-to-back years (Macklin Tudor, 2017) for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 meets
• Should Abraham finish in the Top 12 in Tampa, he would become the first UC man to qualify to the NCAA Finals in the event
Discus
• Rookie Sam Meece is the fifth UC man to qualify in the discus and marks the second year in a row after Tudor qualified last year
• Meece is looking to become just the second UC man to reach the NCAA Finals after Tudor competed in the meet last year and placed 10th
// CHAMPIONS
UC played host to the American Athletic Conference Championships two weeks ago and saw four individual Bearcats win conference crowns with two each by the men and women. The first title came on the first night with Aaron Bienenfeld winning the men's 10,000m run. One day later, Brooke Catherine took gold in the women's pole vault while Alex Bloom rounded out his two-day decathlon victory to successfully defend his crown. Finally, on the last day, Loretta Blaut won the high jump to defend her crown and thrill the home crowd as the local product broke multiple records on her way to victory.
// BREAKING OUT THE BROOMS
With their wins, both Blaut and Catherine swept their respective events for 2018. For Blaut, the sweep is her second in as many years after she won the indoor and outdoor double one year ago before duplicating the feat once again this year. Catherine completed the sweep after winning first conference crown at the indoor championships earlier this season. Catherine is now just the second UC woman to sweep the indoor and outdoor pole vault titles in a season. She was joined in the scoring by Rachel Coghill (5th) and Allie Plybon (t-7th), giving the group 15.5 points scored this year, the most since the 2013 season that saw Michelle Eby (1st) and Emily Clay (3rd) score 16 points. It also marks the first time since 2011 that three Bearcats have scored in the pole vault in the same meet.
// BREAKING RECORDS - CINCINNATI
Six marks turned in at the AAC meet went down as school records with Alex Bloom recording three of those marks. Bloom broke his own record in both the decathlon Day One score (4,119 points) and decathlon long jump (7.42m) while adding the top mark for the decathlon 110m hurdles (14.93). Sam Meece was the only other man to record a UC record mark as he broke his own freshman record in the hammer with a best of 55.48m. On the women's side, Alexis Anton rewrote the mark for the 1,500m run (4:29.60) while Blaut's 1.88m clearance gives her not only the high jump record, but the UC all-time (indoor and outdoor combined) record.
// BREAKING RECORDS - CONFERENCE
Two of those school records also brought about changes to several other record books as both Blaut and Bloom rewrote the overall conference, meet and stadium records as well. With her clearance, Blaut is now the all-time record holder indoors and out in the AAC, holds both meet records and now has the Gettler Stadium record as well. Bloom is no stranger to conference records as his decathlon long jump and high jump marks are AAC meet records while also standing as the stadium records. For his career, Bloom now holds four combined-event meet records as those two join his indoor heptathlon 60m (7.00) and heptathlon high jump (2.16m) marks.
// BLAUT HONORED AGAIN
Blaut won the high jump for the second year in a row and the fourth-consecutive AAC meet after winning indoors earlier this year. With the win, which came with a school, conference, meet and venue record clearance of 1.88m (6-2.00) that also leads the NCAA this year, Blaut is now the only woman in UC history to win the event multiple times outdoors in a career and has the most titles (four) after sweeping for the second year in a row. Overall, the Bearcats have dominated the event as UC has won 8 of the 10 available titles since the AAC first held a conference championship meet in 2014. With her win and the marks she attained, Blaut was selected as the 2018 AAC Women's Field Most Outstanding Performance Award recipient, an honor she also win indoors this year.
// GERMAN ENGINEERING
Aaron Bienenfeld scored a huge 18 points for the men - the most of any UC athlete, man or woman, this year - as he won the 10,000m run and doubled back to take second in the 5,000m run. Bienenfeld is the first UC man to win the 10,000m event (at least since 1980) and is only the second man in UC history to go 1-2 in events at the same meet in the distance races. The first was Mark Rupe, who won the 5,000m run and took runner-up honors in the 10,000m in 1994.
// GETTING POINTS - SPRINTS
The women's team had two individuals score in the 200m as Lattimore was 6th and Bisiolu 7th, marking the first time in program history the Bearcats have had multiple point scorers in the event in the same conference meet. Similarly, in the 400m, three women scored, marking the first time that has happened in program history as UC went 3rd (Bisiolu), 4th (Lattimore) and 7th (Gesicki). It also marks the third year in a row that at least two Bearcats women have scored in the event at the AAC meet.
// DISTANCE DOUBLE
Alexis Anton made a bit of history for the mid-distance crew with her career runs in the 800m and 1,500m. In the half, she is the first UC woman since Kathy Klump in 2012 to score in the event after Klump was third in her senior race. Anton also broke the school record in the 1,500m run as the first UC woman to run under 4:31 in the event. Her huge run gives UC a point scorer in the metric mile in back-to-back years after having not scored in the event since 2005 and marks the first time since 2001-2002-2003 that UC has scored in the event in consecutive meets. Additionally, Anton is just the second UC woman to score in the double after Jocelyn Gibson finished eighth in both races in 2005. With the points Anton scored, the distance squad accounted for seven points this year which is not only the most it has scored as members of the AAC, but also is more than all the points previously scored in the AAC after UC tallied five last year and one in 2015 (six total). It also is the most points the group has scored since 2008 when Lilian Jelimo (3rd) and Jill Glassmeyer (7th) combined to score eight points in the 10,000m run.
// NOT MEECING AN OPPORTUNITY
Sam Meece scored in three throwing events for the men, putting the freshman in elite company in UC history. After placing eighth in the shot put, eighth in the discus and seventh in the hammer, he became the first UC man in 21 years (1997) to accomplish the feat with Scott Keane (8th/7th/4th) and Tim Berwanger (6th/5th/7th) both doing so that year. Overall, Meece is the fifth UC man to accomplish the triple score and added the seventh instance.
// GOING OUT ON TOP
Alex Bloom successfully defended his decathlon title, making him just the third UC man (since 1980) to win multiple decathlon titles in a career, joining his coach, Chris Wineberg (2002 & 2004) and David Yimsumruay (1996 & 1997) as the only two-time champions. In fact, Bloom joins Yimsumruay as the only men to win their decathlon titles in back-to-back years.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// 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.
// 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.
// UP NEXT
For those that advance, the final collegiate meet of the season will await them in Eugene, Ore., with the NCAA Finals taking place June 6-9 inside Hayward Field.
The quest for national titles and All-America accolades gets underway Thursday for the University of Cincinnati track and field program as 13 Bearcats are set to compete at the 2018 NCAA East Preliminary Round meet at the USF Track & Field Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The three-day meet serves as the first rounds of competition for the NCAA Finals with the Top 12 in each event advancing to the national meet June 6-9 in Eugene, Ore.
// IN THE MEET
Two meets will be held this weekend, including the NCAA East and NCAA West Preliminary competitions that will be hosted in Tampa (East) and Sacramento, Calif. (West). The teams set to compete in each meet are determined by their home state. The East is comprised of all teams east of the Mississippi River with the inclusion of the state of Louisiana while all other teams will head to the West meet in Sacramento.
// HOW IT WORKS
The Top 48 individuals and Top 24 relay in each of the two regions will compete this weekend with the Top 12 in each earning advancement to the NCAA Finals in Eugene.
// EVER CHANGING
With threatening weather in the area, the meet schedule for the NCAA East Preliminary Round has been vastly altered with many events starting in the early morning instead of late afternoon as previously scheduled. To stay up to date on all times, be sure to visit the NCAA.com track and field page.
// INFORMATION CENTRAL
• Results: live results will be available at FlashResults.com
• Heat Sheets: are available on the NCAA web site
• Social: be sure to follow @GoBearcatsTFXC and @NCAATrackField for all the latest on the meet and use the hashtags #Bearcats and #ncaaTF to join the conversation
• Streaming: FloTrack.org will stream all the action live from Tampa (subscription service)
// QUICK STARTS
• UC recently played host to the AAC Championships with four individual titles being won by the Bearcats, including women Blaut (high jump) and Catherine (pole vault) and men Bloom (decathlon) and Bienenfeld (10,000m run)
• Blaut and Catherine broke out the brooms as they swept the indoor and outdoor titles in their respective events in 2018
• UC athletes broke six school records at the AAC Championships with two of those marks also going down as AAC all-time, AAC meet and Gettler Stadium records
• Blaut's jump was the best in the nation during conference weekend and earned her the AAC Women's Field Most Outstanding Performance Award, which she also won indoors
• 15 Bearcats qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round, including 14 in individual events
• Of those 14, eight are returning to compete in individual events after qualifying last year
• Four men and one woman will be competing in individual events at the regional meet for the first time in their careers
• Two men qualified for the meet, but will be unable to compete because of injury, including senior Adrian Valles (pole vault) and rookie Connor Duricky (110mH)
// SET TO COMPETE - WOMEN
Individually, seven Bearcats earned eight entries into the meet with Tiona Lattimore grabbing berths in the 100m (#47) and 200m (#41) to lead the way for UC. Also set to compete individually will be Haisha Bisiolu in the 200m (#47); Loretta Blaut in the high jump (t-#1); Brooke Catherine in the pole vault (#12); Irati Mitxelena in the triple jump (#34) and Ashley Williams in the shot put (#24). Bisiolu and Lattimore also helped the 4x100m relay qualify to the meet (#16) and will be running with Kellsa Mbah and Juliana Puopolo.
// SET TO COMPETE - MEN
Seven men qualified for the meet in individual events, but only five will compete in the meet as the injury bug struck recently. Still set to compete are Marcus Abraham in the shot put (#44), Aaron Bienenfeld in the 5,000m run (#43), Alex Bloom in the high jump (#34), Austin Edwards in the long jump (#27) and Sam Meece in the discus (#32). Rookie Connor Duricky and senior Adrian Valles qualified in the 110m hurdles (#43) and the pole vault (#34), respectively, but will be unable to compete this weekend, ending their seasons.
// NOT HOW HE WANTED IT TO END
With the injury to Valles, one of the most decorated careers in all of UC athletics has come a close, most certainly not in the fashion he wanted. Valles' career comes to an abrupt end with the two-time IAAF World Championships competitor for Spain having won all seven AAC meets he entered and collecting six USTFCCCA All-America First Team honors. The school and conference record holder both indoors and out, Valles was also one of the top academic Bearcats in the program as a two-time recipient of the NCAA's Elite 90 Award, given annually to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each of the NCAA's 90 championship sites. A two-time AAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Valles graduated from UC last year and is set to wrap up his Master's degree this summer.
// NOTING THE WOMEN
100m Dash
• Lattimore is the 1st regional qualifier in the event for UC since Kenya Woodall in 2014
• Since the regional structure came about in 2003, Lattimore is just the fourth UC woman to qualify in the event, joining Natasha Burse (2x), Shanay Portis and Woodall on the list
200m Dash
• Bisiolu is making her second appearance in the event after first racing in 2016 as a freshman
• Bisiolu now joins Woodall as the only UC women to qualify for the 200m twice in a career
• Lattimore is racing the distance for the first time after running the 400m as a rookie last year
• Lattimore's double (100m/200m) is just the third in UC history and the first since Portis in 2012
4x100m Relay
• The short relay is back for the third year in a row and the fourth all-time (2011)
• UC finished 13th in the region last year, missing the NCAA Finals by one place (Top 12)
• The team made the regional meet on its final chance as they ran 44.66 to take runner-up honors at the AAC Championships, moving from #51 to #16 by shaving a full one second off their time
High Jump
• Blaut is entering her fourth East meet to become the third UC woman to accomplish the feat, joining Erika Hurd (2013-16) and Renee Hein (2004-07)
• Should she advance to nationals, she will break a tie with Hurd for the most advancements from the regional meet in the event after both women advanced twice
Pole Vault
• Catherine is headed to the East meet for the third year in a row
• She is the fourth Bearcats woman to reach the regional meet three or more times in a career, joining Mackenzie Fields (4x), Michelle Eby (4x) and Brittany Klima (3x)
• Catherine is the eighth different UC woman to reach the meet in the event and will be making the 20th all-time appearance in the pole vault for UC
Triple Jump
• Mitxelena is making her NCAA debut after earning her first qualification to the regional meet
• She is only the third UC woman to qualify in the triple jump and the first since the 2016 meet when Rebecka Abrahamsson earned her second berth in as many years
Shot Put
• Williams has qualified for the regional meet for the first time in her UC career
• Her qualification marks the fourth year in a row that at least one Bearcats woman has been included in the event at the regional sit
• Williams is the fifth different UC woman to qualify for the shot put since 2003
// NOTING THE MEN
110m Hurdles
• Although unable to compete, Duricky is just the fifth UC man to qualify for the hurdles
• The last time UC had a high hurdler in the meet was Bryan Cain in 2014
5,000m Run
• Bienenfeld is making his NCAA debut after transferring in from Germany in January
• He is only the second UC man to qualify to the regional meet in the event and the first since All-American Eric Finan was part of the 2010 and 2011 races
• Bienenfeld's qualification gives the long distance men their second qualifier in as many years after Dan Huben made the steeplechase field one year ago
Long Jump
• Edwards is back for the second year in a row, making him the third UC man to qualify in the event at the regional meet on multiple occasions
• The last time UC had a man qualify for a second or third time in the event was 2006 when Chandler Groves made his third meet and Bob Kandell his second
High Jump
• Bloom is back for the second year in a row in the high jump after qualifying last year
• He is just the second UC man to qualify in the event multiple times and the first since 2010 when Brandon Fitch made his third appearance in as many meets
Pole Vault
• Valles' qualification for the meet was his fourth all-time, tying him with Josh Dangel as the program's only four-time entrants in the event
• Had he been able to compete and advance, Valles would have become a four-time NCAA outdoor qualifier and an eight-time overall qualifier
Shot Put
• Abraham is making his NCAA debut and is the sixth UC man to reach to meet in the shot put
• UC has now qualified a man in the event in back-to-back years (Macklin Tudor, 2017) for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 meets
• Should Abraham finish in the Top 12 in Tampa, he would become the first UC man to qualify to the NCAA Finals in the event
Discus
• Rookie Sam Meece is the fifth UC man to qualify in the discus and marks the second year in a row after Tudor qualified last year
• Meece is looking to become just the second UC man to reach the NCAA Finals after Tudor competed in the meet last year and placed 10th
// CHAMPIONS
UC played host to the American Athletic Conference Championships two weeks ago and saw four individual Bearcats win conference crowns with two each by the men and women. The first title came on the first night with Aaron Bienenfeld winning the men's 10,000m run. One day later, Brooke Catherine took gold in the women's pole vault while Alex Bloom rounded out his two-day decathlon victory to successfully defend his crown. Finally, on the last day, Loretta Blaut won the high jump to defend her crown and thrill the home crowd as the local product broke multiple records on her way to victory.
// BREAKING OUT THE BROOMS
With their wins, both Blaut and Catherine swept their respective events for 2018. For Blaut, the sweep is her second in as many years after she won the indoor and outdoor double one year ago before duplicating the feat once again this year. Catherine completed the sweep after winning first conference crown at the indoor championships earlier this season. Catherine is now just the second UC woman to sweep the indoor and outdoor pole vault titles in a season. She was joined in the scoring by Rachel Coghill (5th) and Allie Plybon (t-7th), giving the group 15.5 points scored this year, the most since the 2013 season that saw Michelle Eby (1st) and Emily Clay (3rd) score 16 points. It also marks the first time since 2011 that three Bearcats have scored in the pole vault in the same meet.
// BREAKING RECORDS - CINCINNATI
Six marks turned in at the AAC meet went down as school records with Alex Bloom recording three of those marks. Bloom broke his own record in both the decathlon Day One score (4,119 points) and decathlon long jump (7.42m) while adding the top mark for the decathlon 110m hurdles (14.93). Sam Meece was the only other man to record a UC record mark as he broke his own freshman record in the hammer with a best of 55.48m. On the women's side, Alexis Anton rewrote the mark for the 1,500m run (4:29.60) while Blaut's 1.88m clearance gives her not only the high jump record, but the UC all-time (indoor and outdoor combined) record.
// BREAKING RECORDS - CONFERENCE
Two of those school records also brought about changes to several other record books as both Blaut and Bloom rewrote the overall conference, meet and stadium records as well. With her clearance, Blaut is now the all-time record holder indoors and out in the AAC, holds both meet records and now has the Gettler Stadium record as well. Bloom is no stranger to conference records as his decathlon long jump and high jump marks are AAC meet records while also standing as the stadium records. For his career, Bloom now holds four combined-event meet records as those two join his indoor heptathlon 60m (7.00) and heptathlon high jump (2.16m) marks.
// BLAUT HONORED AGAIN
Blaut won the high jump for the second year in a row and the fourth-consecutive AAC meet after winning indoors earlier this year. With the win, which came with a school, conference, meet and venue record clearance of 1.88m (6-2.00) that also leads the NCAA this year, Blaut is now the only woman in UC history to win the event multiple times outdoors in a career and has the most titles (four) after sweeping for the second year in a row. Overall, the Bearcats have dominated the event as UC has won 8 of the 10 available titles since the AAC first held a conference championship meet in 2014. With her win and the marks she attained, Blaut was selected as the 2018 AAC Women's Field Most Outstanding Performance Award recipient, an honor she also win indoors this year.
// GERMAN ENGINEERING
Aaron Bienenfeld scored a huge 18 points for the men - the most of any UC athlete, man or woman, this year - as he won the 10,000m run and doubled back to take second in the 5,000m run. Bienenfeld is the first UC man to win the 10,000m event (at least since 1980) and is only the second man in UC history to go 1-2 in events at the same meet in the distance races. The first was Mark Rupe, who won the 5,000m run and took runner-up honors in the 10,000m in 1994.
// GETTING POINTS - SPRINTS
The women's team had two individuals score in the 200m as Lattimore was 6th and Bisiolu 7th, marking the first time in program history the Bearcats have had multiple point scorers in the event in the same conference meet. Similarly, in the 400m, three women scored, marking the first time that has happened in program history as UC went 3rd (Bisiolu), 4th (Lattimore) and 7th (Gesicki). It also marks the third year in a row that at least two Bearcats women have scored in the event at the AAC meet.
// DISTANCE DOUBLE
Alexis Anton made a bit of history for the mid-distance crew with her career runs in the 800m and 1,500m. In the half, she is the first UC woman since Kathy Klump in 2012 to score in the event after Klump was third in her senior race. Anton also broke the school record in the 1,500m run as the first UC woman to run under 4:31 in the event. Her huge run gives UC a point scorer in the metric mile in back-to-back years after having not scored in the event since 2005 and marks the first time since 2001-2002-2003 that UC has scored in the event in consecutive meets. Additionally, Anton is just the second UC woman to score in the double after Jocelyn Gibson finished eighth in both races in 2005. With the points Anton scored, the distance squad accounted for seven points this year which is not only the most it has scored as members of the AAC, but also is more than all the points previously scored in the AAC after UC tallied five last year and one in 2015 (six total). It also is the most points the group has scored since 2008 when Lilian Jelimo (3rd) and Jill Glassmeyer (7th) combined to score eight points in the 10,000m run.
// NOT MEECING AN OPPORTUNITY
Sam Meece scored in three throwing events for the men, putting the freshman in elite company in UC history. After placing eighth in the shot put, eighth in the discus and seventh in the hammer, he became the first UC man in 21 years (1997) to accomplish the feat with Scott Keane (8th/7th/4th) and Tim Berwanger (6th/5th/7th) both doing so that year. Overall, Meece is the fifth UC man to accomplish the triple score and added the seventh instance.
// GOING OUT ON TOP
Alex Bloom successfully defended his decathlon title, making him just the third UC man (since 1980) to win multiple decathlon titles in a career, joining his coach, Chris Wineberg (2002 & 2004) and David Yimsumruay (1996 & 1997) as the only two-time champions. In fact, Bloom joins Yimsumruay as the only men to win their decathlon titles in back-to-back years.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// 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.
// 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.
// UP NEXT
For those that advance, the final collegiate meet of the season will await them in Eugene, Ore., with the NCAA Finals taking place June 6-9 inside Hayward Field.