TicketsWACO, Texas— The University of Cincinnati track and field program closed out its inaugural appearance at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday as the Bearcats claimed seven podium finishes on the final day of the meet.
Over the course of three days and battling multiple lengthy weather delays, Cincinnati recorded 13 podium finishes as the men's team tied TCU for 11th (24 points) while the women's team finished in 11th (22 points) in the team standings. Texas claimed both the men's and women's team titles.
Junior Abby Knouff kicked things off for UC on day three as she earned All-Big 12 honors after placing fifth overall in the women's pole vault. Knouff cleared an outdoor personal best bar height of 4.21m / 13' 9.75" and tied former Bearcat Brooke Catherine for the third-best mark in program history.
The men's 4x100m relay team of Brandon Bonsu, Naquille Harris, Tosin Ayodeji, and Keco Morrison set the tone of the day for the sprints group as the team earned All-Big honors after placing seventh overall. The relay clocked a time of 40.58, the 10th fastest time in school history.
Harris was not done scoring points for the men's team as he placed fifth overall in the men's 100m with a time of 10.29. Harris was the only Bearcat to earn multiple All-Big 12 honors this weekend.
Star freshman sprinter Davenae Fagan turned in another great performance as she ran the second-fastest 400m in school history with a time of 52.73 and placed eighth overall in the event.
Also finding success on the track was graduate student Hannah Connell who ran a personal best 13.42 in the women's 100m hurdles. Connell placed sixth overall and her time moved her to sixth in the UC record book.
Dealing with injury for most of the outdoor season, sophomore Spirit Morgan had her best performance of the year as she cleared an outdoor personal best 1.80m / 5' 11" in the women's high jump, the sixth-best mark in program history. Morgan earned her first career Big 12 Championship podium finish as she placed fifth overall.
After running the second fastest 1,500m (3:42.08) in program history in the preliminary round on Friday, graduate student Jed Helker returned to the track on Saturday and ran a 3:44.16 to finish seventh overall in the finals. Helker was the only Bearcat to advance out of Friday's preliminary event.
Cincinnati's multis squad, consisting of freshman Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, junior Dominique Hall and senior Justin Abrams, all turned in All-Big 12 performances on Friday.
The freshman standout Laracuente-Huebner shined heptathlon competition as she took down the 17-year-old school heptathlon record by scoring 5,637 points en route to placing fourth overall in the event.
Laracuente-Huebner bested former Bearcat Ashley Wilhelm's point total of 5,592 (2007) and became the first UC woman to score over 5,600 points in a heptathlon competition.
The Marengo, Ohio native won 200m section with a time of 24.28 and placed second in the 100m hurdles (14.05), the long jump (6.08m / 19' 11.5"), the high jump (1.73m / 5' 8") and in the 800m after running a personal best 2:13.42 to reach her record point total.
Hall and senior Justin Abrams did not let a six-and-a-half-hour weather delay prevent them from reaching the podium on Friday, as Hall placed second overall, and Abrams finished sixth in the men's decathlon.
Hall was locked in all weekend as he scored a personal best of 7,649 in the men's decathlon, the second-best score in school history.
The Alabama native placed inside the top four in seven of the 10 events, including winning the 400m section with a season-best time of 47.94 on Thursday. He also placed second in the long jump (6.96m / 22' 10") and third in the 100m after running a personal best time of 10.91.
Hall began day two strong, placing third in both the discus (40.92m / 134' 3") and pole vault sections after clearing a personal best 4.90m / 16' 0.75". After waiting out the weather delay, Hall came back and placed ninth in the javelin. Then, he left everything on the track, winning the 1500m portion with a time of 4:26.77 to reach his record score.
Abrams also recorded a personal best score of 7072, placing inside the top five in four events, including first in the pole vault (5.00m / 16' 4.75") section, which helped him earn him All-Big 12 honors.
Sophomore Robert Hart jumped his way to the podium in the men's long jump, leaping 7.45m / 24' 5.5" to place fifth overall and earn All-Big 12 honors.
Cincinnati opened the weekend with a pair of scorers as Hannah Jackson placed fourth in the women's hammer throw (58.17m /190-10), and Noah Thomas finished eighth in the men's hammer throw with the second-best throw in program history (61.98m / 203' 04").
ALL-BIG 12 BEARCATS
Dominique Hall- Decathlon, 2nd (7,649 points)
Juliette Laracuente-Huebner- Heptathlon, 4th (5,637 points)
Hannah Jackson- Hammer Throw, 4th (58.17m /190-10)
Robert Hart- Long Jump, 5th (7.45m / 24' 5.5")
Abby Knouff- Pole Vault, 5th (4.21m / 13' 9.75")
Spirit Morgan- High Jump, 5th (1,80m / 5' 11")
Naquille Harris- 100m, 5th (10.29)
Hannah Connell- 100m Hurdles, 6th (13.42)
Justin Abrams- Decathlon, 6th (7,072 points)
Men's 4x100m Relay (Bonsu, Harris, Ayodeji, Morrison), 7th (40.58).
Jed Helker- 1,500m, 7th (3:44.16)
Noah Thomas- Hammer Throw, 8th (61.98m / 203' 04")
Davenae Fagan- 400m, 8th (52.73)
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats postseason journey continues on as Cincinnati will head to Lexington, Ky., to compete in the NCAA East First Rounds on May 22-25. The NCAA qualifying list will be announced on Thursday, May 16; more information about the meet can be found here.
Over the course of three days and battling multiple lengthy weather delays, Cincinnati recorded 13 podium finishes as the men's team tied TCU for 11th (24 points) while the women's team finished in 11th (22 points) in the team standings. Texas claimed both the men's and women's team titles.
Junior Abby Knouff kicked things off for UC on day three as she earned All-Big 12 honors after placing fifth overall in the women's pole vault. Knouff cleared an outdoor personal best bar height of 4.21m / 13' 9.75" and tied former Bearcat Brooke Catherine for the third-best mark in program history.
The men's 4x100m relay team of Brandon Bonsu, Naquille Harris, Tosin Ayodeji, and Keco Morrison set the tone of the day for the sprints group as the team earned All-Big honors after placing seventh overall. The relay clocked a time of 40.58, the 10th fastest time in school history.
Harris was not done scoring points for the men's team as he placed fifth overall in the men's 100m with a time of 10.29. Harris was the only Bearcat to earn multiple All-Big 12 honors this weekend.
Star freshman sprinter Davenae Fagan turned in another great performance as she ran the second-fastest 400m in school history with a time of 52.73 and placed eighth overall in the event.
Also finding success on the track was graduate student Hannah Connell who ran a personal best 13.42 in the women's 100m hurdles. Connell placed sixth overall and her time moved her to sixth in the UC record book.
Dealing with injury for most of the outdoor season, sophomore Spirit Morgan had her best performance of the year as she cleared an outdoor personal best 1.80m / 5' 11" in the women's high jump, the sixth-best mark in program history. Morgan earned her first career Big 12 Championship podium finish as she placed fifth overall.
After running the second fastest 1,500m (3:42.08) in program history in the preliminary round on Friday, graduate student Jed Helker returned to the track on Saturday and ran a 3:44.16 to finish seventh overall in the finals. Helker was the only Bearcat to advance out of Friday's preliminary event.
Cincinnati's multis squad, consisting of freshman Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, junior Dominique Hall and senior Justin Abrams, all turned in All-Big 12 performances on Friday.
The freshman standout Laracuente-Huebner shined heptathlon competition as she took down the 17-year-old school heptathlon record by scoring 5,637 points en route to placing fourth overall in the event.
Laracuente-Huebner bested former Bearcat Ashley Wilhelm's point total of 5,592 (2007) and became the first UC woman to score over 5,600 points in a heptathlon competition.
The Marengo, Ohio native won 200m section with a time of 24.28 and placed second in the 100m hurdles (14.05), the long jump (6.08m / 19' 11.5"), the high jump (1.73m / 5' 8") and in the 800m after running a personal best 2:13.42 to reach her record point total.
Hall and senior Justin Abrams did not let a six-and-a-half-hour weather delay prevent them from reaching the podium on Friday, as Hall placed second overall, and Abrams finished sixth in the men's decathlon.
Hall was locked in all weekend as he scored a personal best of 7,649 in the men's decathlon, the second-best score in school history.
The Alabama native placed inside the top four in seven of the 10 events, including winning the 400m section with a season-best time of 47.94 on Thursday. He also placed second in the long jump (6.96m / 22' 10") and third in the 100m after running a personal best time of 10.91.
Hall began day two strong, placing third in both the discus (40.92m / 134' 3") and pole vault sections after clearing a personal best 4.90m / 16' 0.75". After waiting out the weather delay, Hall came back and placed ninth in the javelin. Then, he left everything on the track, winning the 1500m portion with a time of 4:26.77 to reach his record score.
Abrams also recorded a personal best score of 7072, placing inside the top five in four events, including first in the pole vault (5.00m / 16' 4.75") section, which helped him earn him All-Big 12 honors.
Sophomore Robert Hart jumped his way to the podium in the men's long jump, leaping 7.45m / 24' 5.5" to place fifth overall and earn All-Big 12 honors.
Cincinnati opened the weekend with a pair of scorers as Hannah Jackson placed fourth in the women's hammer throw (58.17m /190-10), and Noah Thomas finished eighth in the men's hammer throw with the second-best throw in program history (61.98m / 203' 04").
ALL-BIG 12 BEARCATS
Dominique Hall- Decathlon, 2nd (7,649 points)
Juliette Laracuente-Huebner- Heptathlon, 4th (5,637 points)
Hannah Jackson- Hammer Throw, 4th (58.17m /190-10)
Robert Hart- Long Jump, 5th (7.45m / 24' 5.5")
Abby Knouff- Pole Vault, 5th (4.21m / 13' 9.75")
Spirit Morgan- High Jump, 5th (1,80m / 5' 11")
Naquille Harris- 100m, 5th (10.29)
Hannah Connell- 100m Hurdles, 6th (13.42)
Justin Abrams- Decathlon, 6th (7,072 points)
Men's 4x100m Relay (Bonsu, Harris, Ayodeji, Morrison), 7th (40.58).
Jed Helker- 1,500m, 7th (3:44.16)
Noah Thomas- Hammer Throw, 8th (61.98m / 203' 04")
Davenae Fagan- 400m, 8th (52.73)
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats postseason journey continues on as Cincinnati will head to Lexington, Ky., to compete in the NCAA East First Rounds on May 22-25. The NCAA qualifying list will be announced on Thursday, May 16; more information about the meet can be found here.