Champ Central
Day One Men's Results
Day One Women's Results
Day Two Live Stream
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tulsa men and Cincinnati women are the league’s two leading teams after the first day of competition at the 2016 American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The Golden Hurricane men’s squad totaled 48 points through the first five events, holding a one-point advantage over Cincinnati (47). USF’s 34 points put the Bulls in third place, followed by UConn in fourth (27). Houston and East Carolina are in a tie for fifth with 13 points apiece, with Memphis (12) completing the field of seven.
After six events on the women’s side, Cincinnati (38) narrowly leads second-place UConn (36), and third-place Memphis (32). East Carolina holds fourth with 29 points, and UCF is in fifth (23). Temple’s 20 points are good for sixth, with Tulsa in seventh (17) and SMU in eighth (16). Tulane (11), Houston (10) and USF (3) round out the field of 11 women’s teams.
UConn senior Saija Bikanova repeated as the women’s pentathlon champion, with a final score of 3,829. The junior held off SMU senior Lucija Cvitanovic (3,808) and Memphis sophomore Martine Bye (3,799). Cvitanovic and Temple freshman Crystal Jones set a new meet record in the pentathlon high jump, each finishing with a mark of 5-8.5/1.74m.
UCF had two of the top-three finishes in the women’s 5,000 meter run, including a first-place finish by Anne-Marie Blaney. The senior topped her own meet record in the event with a time of 16:31.30. Teammate Holly Wooley took third (17:10.14), as Tulsa’s Stacie Taylor finished in second (16:49.59).
Tulsa swept the men’s 5,000 final, led by senior Tim Rackers with a time of 14:31.28. Teammate Marc Scott finished in second (14:33.51), followed by freshman Benjamin Preisner in third (14:34.01). Four additional Tulsa athletes finished in the top 10 of the event.
UConn surpassed its meet record as it won the women’s distance medley in 11:35.64, from the team of Alexis Panisse, Sydnee Over, Hannah Parker and Laura Williamson. Temple’s group of Blanca Fernandez, Kenya Gaston, Maya Halprin-Adams and Catherine Pinson took second (11:43.70). In third place, Tulsa’s squad of Emma Galbraith, Aundrea Hamric, Sabrina Monsees and Olivia Lopez finished in 11:49.35.
In the men’s distance medley relay Tulsa’s quartet of Braydon Rennie, Isaac Sanders, Robert Tully and Mark Middleton broke its meet record on the way to a first-place finish (9:56.46). Cincinnati’s team of Ian Silver, Ryan Greene, Jarrod Hart and Seamus Collins came in second (9:57.82), while UConn’s group of Parker Timmerman, Aaeron Sykes, Nicholas O'Leary and Michael McGonnigle took third (9:59.52).
Cincinnati sophomore Adrian Valles, who entered the meet with the 15th-best mark in the nation, won the men’s pole vault for the second consecutive year (17-9.75/5.43m). With a mark of 17-3.5/5.27m USF’s David Akins placed second, followed by Valles’ teammate, Nathan Alexander, in third (16-7.5/5.07m).
The Bearcats earned first place in the men’s weight throw, as senior Josh Province surpassed defending champion Oluwatosin Edwards, with a 64-10.75/19.78m toss. Edwards, UConn’s senior captain, finished in second (64-5.75/19.65m), followed by USF senior Devin Screen in third (60-2.0/18.34m).
Junior Sergio Acera won the men’s long jump (23-9.5/7.25m), which marked the third field event title for the Cincinnati men’s team. Memphis freshman Olushola Olojo was runner-up (23-7.5/7.20m), while USF’s Matthew O’Neal took third (23-6.75/7.18m).
The women‘s long jump title came down to a tiebreaker between Cincinnati’s Rebecka Abrahamsson and Temple’s Bionca St. Fleur. The athletes both recorded a leap of 19-8.75/6.01m, and Abrahamsson was determined the winner due to her second-best mark of 5.96m. UConn’s Sarah Bowens was third with a 19-8.25/6.0m jump.
Memphis teammates Clara Amat-Fernandez and Carolina Carmichael took first and second, respectively, in the women’s pole vault, with meet-record marks of 13-10.0/4.22m. Amat-Fernandez was awarded first place after winning a tiebreaker jump-off with Carmichael. Rounding out the top three in the event was Cincinnati senior Alyssa McBride (13-2.25/4.02m).
In the final event of the day, the women’s weight throw, four athletes broke the meet record. Cincinnati sophomore Annette Echikunwoke won the event with a 70-2.5/21.40m toss. Senior Raqurra Ishmar of East Carolina took second place (68-10.5/20.99m), followed by classmate Kayla Padgett in third (68-6.5/20.89m).
Memphis’ Luis Hanssler, already a two-time American Athletic Conference heptathlon champion, leads the event through the first day of competition with a score of 3,038. UConn senior Patrick Meyer currently holds second place with 3,024 points, as Cincinnati sophomore Alex Bloom is in third with 2,948 points. In the heptathlon high jump Bloom set a new meet record of 6-8.75/2.05m.
Tulsa's Bryce Robinson had the top qualifying time in the men’s 200 meter dash. The senior finished the preliminaries in 20.73 seconds, which outdid his meet record of 21.01, set in 2015.
Three athletes broke the meet record in the men’s 800 meter run, led by Houston’s Brian Bell. The freshman ran the preliminaries in 1:48.78, which also marked a new Birmingham CrossPlex record.
Houston teammates Marcus McWilliams and Issac Williams surpassed the meet record of 7.88 seconds in the men’s 60 meter hurdles. McWilliams, a freshman, finished the event preliminaries in 7.75 seconds. In the heat prior, Williams ran a 7.78.
The 2016 American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships conclude Monday at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. For updated championship information, visit
TheAmerican.org/ITF and follow @AmericanXCTrack on Twitter.
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