TicketsTUCSON, Ariz. — University of Cincinnati track and field star Juliette Laracuente-Huebner captured the heptathlon title Friday at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, totaling a school-record 6,086 points to secure Cincinnati’s second conference championship of the weekend.
Laracuente-Huebner edged Annie Molenhouse of Oklahoma State, who finished runner-up with 6,005 points, as the Bearcat standout used a strong second day to surge to the conference crown.
After ending Thursday in second place with 3,640 points, Laracuente-Huebner opened Friday by winning the long jump with a mark of 6.22 meters. She followed with a sixth-place finish and personal-best throw of 37.73m in the javelin before placing second in the 800 meters in 2:14.23 to clinch the title.
During the opening day of competition, 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 mark of 13.20m and third in the 200 meters in 23.83.
The outdoor conference championship adds to an already historic season for Laracuente-Huebner, who defended her Big 12 indoor pentathlon title earlier this year while breaking her own school record with 4,437 points — the second-best mark in the nation during the indoor season. She later earned First Team All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships after placing third in the pentathlon with another school-record total of 4,442 points.
Laracuente-Huebner became the first Cincinnati athlete to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the pentathlon since Jasmine Cotten in 2012 and now owns four career All-America honors between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Friday’s victory also marked another major step forward from last outdoor season, when Laracuente-Huebner earned Second Team All-America honors with an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and finished runner-up in the heptathlon at the Big 12 Championships.
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