TicketsTUCSON, Ariz. — Behind a conference title from Orry Willems and three additional school records on the track, the University of Cincinnati track and field teams opened competition Thursday at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships with four podium finishes and four athletes advancing through preliminary races into Saturday finals.
Willems headlined the day by winning the men’s hammer throw with a school-record mark of 68.65m. He broke his own school record twice during the competition en route to capturing the first Big 12 title of his career. Cincinnati added two more scorers in the event as Tyler Thompson placed sixth with a personal-best throw of 62.27m and Ben Fiser finished eighth at 59.77m.
In the women’s hammer throw, Miranda Tcheutchoua earned a fifth-place finish with a toss of 59.79m.
On the track, Cincinnati advanced four athletes through preliminary races into Saturday finals while rewriting the program record book in the process. Kya Epps finished second overall in the women’s 200-meter prelims with a school-record time of 22.66 to qualify for Saturday’s final. Camden Beatty took third in the men’s 400-meter hurdle prelims in a school-record 50.13 to advance, while Macaela Walker placed fourth in the women’s 400-meter hurdle prelims with a school-record 57.11 to earn a spot in Saturday’s final. Seth Elking also advanced, finishing eighth in the men’s 1,500-meter prelims in 4:47.22.
In the decathlon, Miller Mabury ended the first day in fourth place overall with 3,944 points. Mabury placed ninth in the 100 meters with a personal-best 11.12, third in the long jump at 7.34m, sixth in the shot put with a personal-best 13.15m, tied for first in the high jump with a personal-best clearance of 1.97m and recorded a time of 51.15 in the 400 meters. He will conclude competition Friday in the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters.
On the women’s side, Juliette Laracuente-Huebner sits second overall in the heptathlon with 3,640 points after four events. Laracuente-Huebner placed third in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.52, seventh in the high jump at 1.70m, third in the shot put with a personal-best 13.20m and third in the 200 meters with a time of 23.83. She will finish the competition on Friday in the long jump, javelin, and 800 meters.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats are back in action for day two of the Big 12 Championships on Friday. Mabury kicks things off with the second day of the decathlon, starting with the 110m hurdles at 2 p.m. ET. Laracuente-Huebner begins the second day of the heptathlon with the long jump at 3 p.m. ET, while Walker gets the track events started with the 100m hurdle prelims at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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