Day 1 Results |
Highlights |
Champ Central | Photos
CINCINNATI, OHIO – Four student-athletes earned a championship title at the opening day of the 2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, as UConn leads both the men’s and women’s meets after the completion of the first two scored events. Four conference outdoor championship field records were broken on Day 1.
The American’s defending men’s hammer throw champion, Cameron Thompson of UConn, won the first title of the 2018 championships, placing first with his meet-record toss of 63.19 meters (207-04). ECU’s Ryan Davis, who entered The American championship with the top regular season mark, finished second after bettering the original conference record with his throw of 62.90 meters (206-04). USF’s Zach Diaczynsky placed third with a throw that traveled 57.66 meters (189-02). UConn was the only team to place two in the top eight with Sebastian Castano taking the eighth-place spot.
One of the top opening-day performances came from freshman Winny Koskei of Wichita State in the 10,000-meter run for Friday’s final women’s event. SMU’s Hannah Miller, The American’s top points scorer at the conference’s indoor championship in February and cross country individual champion, ran ahead of the pack for the majority of the race with Koskei pacing closely behind. On the final lap, Koskei bolted ahead of Miller, finishing the lap in 74 seconds for a sub-five-minute mile pace to capture the title with her time of 35:21.14. The Mustangs took the second and third-place spots for 14 key points. SMU’s Svenja Ojstersek finished second with her time of 35:31.43, while Miller crossed the finish line in third place at 35:56.78. Memphis’ Arnica Zitting ran 36:17.55 for fourth place, while UConn placed three runners in the top 10.
ECU’s Mohogany Baker improved seven spots from last season to capture the hammer throw title with her distance of 59.40 meters (194-10). Baker is also the reigning discus throw champion. UConn placed three athletes in the top eight to pick up 11 points, including runner-up Chanell Botis with a throw that traveled 58.99 meters (193-06). Memphis’ Mona Jaidi placed third with a distance of 58.81 meters (192-11). Tulane’s Jackie Esmay broke the Green Wave’s school record with her toss of 58.27 meters (191-02) to clinch fourth place.
In the final event of the day, Cicninnati’s Aaron Bienenfeld clocked 30:50.31 and won the 10,000-meter run to give the Bearcat men 10 points. The Sophomore ran his final mile in 4:53 and was joined in the top eight by teammate Ryan Guenthner. UConn’s Patrick Begley (31:24.82; 3rd), Kyle Brackman (32:14.85; 7th) and Aidan Fiol (32:26.26; 8th) combined to earn nine points for the Huskies. Tulsa’s Adam Roderique (31:16.44) placed second, while teammate Steven Salvano (32:03.74) took fifth place. Wichita State’s Gage Garcia (31:31.88) finished in fourth place to earn five points for the Shockers.
Defending American Athletic Conference decathlon champion Alex Bloom of Cincinnati will enter Saturday ahead of pack with 4,119 points. The Bearcats’ senior broke a pair of conference decathlon marks, winning both the long jump and high jump. Bloom reached a distance of 7.42 meters in the decathlon long jump and cleared a height of 2.13 meters in the high jump. He placed third in the shot put, ran for second place in the 100-meter dash and finished fifth place in the 400-meter dash. Three Shockers are listed in the decathlon’s top eight heading into tomorrow’s final five events. The Shockers’ Ben Johnson won the decathlon’s shot put with a toss of 14.15 meters. USF’s Raekwon Scott finished second place in the long jump, shot put and high jump to finish second after the first five events. The final five events will take place on Saturday, starting at 10:30 a.m. ET.
After the first four events of the heptathlon, USF’s freshman Kaitlyn Kirby leads the field of 13 athletes with 3,166 points. Kirby, the runner-up at The American’s indoor championship pentathlon, clocked 14.28 seconds to win the 100-meter dash. She placed third in the shot put and ended the day with a second place finish in the 200-meter dash to wrap up the day in the lead. UCF’s Natosha Jordan placed top-three in three events, including a conference-meet heptathlon high jump record with a 1.76-meter clearance. Four Bearcats ended the day in the top four of the heptathlon. Cincinnati’s Angelica Lightfoot stands in third place, while teammate and defending conference indoors and outdoors champion Naomi Urbano is in sixth place after the first four events. The heptathlon will conclude on Saturday with the final three events, starting at Noon ET.
The 800-meter women’s prelim featured two former meet champions—Susan Aneno of UConn and Rosie Chamberlain of UCF. However, it was Memphis’ Martina Rodriguez-Sala who ran the fastest time at 2:08.39, as the conference’s meet record holder, Chamberlain, finished second and Aneno took third place. The finals will also feature Temple’s Millie Howard and Helene Holm Gottlieb. Cincinnati’s Alexis Anton finished sixth, UConn’s Katie Foley placed seventh, while ECU’s Nuria Tillo-Prats claimed the final qualifying spot.
Last year’s defending 800-meter men’s conference champion, Stefano Miglioraty of ECU, won his heat at 1:51.93, but the league’s indoor 800m runner-up, Cameron Laverty of Houston, led the field in the prelims with his time of 1:51.70. Tulsa’s Grey Howard and Robert Wichita State’s Zach Penrod and Stan Swarlo, UConn’s Tyler Gleen and Memphis’ Matthew Viveiros will join them in Sunday’s finals.
Four Cougars led by Kahmari Montgomery with his time of 20.62 seconds will make up half of the field for The American’s 200-meter men’s finals on Sunday. Teammates Cameron Burrell, Nicholas Alexander and Mario Burke will join him in the race for this year’s crown. Memphis’ Davon DeMoss ran the second-fastest 200-meter time at 20.78 seconds, as teammate Kolbeinn Gunnarsson ran for the final spot in the championship race. The finals field will also feature UConn’s Trenton Beram and USF’s Maurice Nock.
Cincinnati and SMU each had two athletes run for top-eight times in the women’s 200-meter prelim. The American’s defending champion, Latessa Johnson of SMU, is once again the frontrunner heading into the race after her 23.05-second performance. Teammate Chelsea Francis ran the fourth-fastest 200 meters at 23.48 seconds. Running within 0.11 seconds of one another for the sixth and seventh-place times, respectively, was Cincinnati’s Tiona Lattimore and Haisha Bisiolu. USF’s Chelsea Francis, ECU’s Courtney Wagner and Tulane’s Maya Harewood will also be featured in Sunday’s finals.
The conference’s women’s 400-meter hurdles record-holder, Tulane’s Jessica Duckett, shined in the prelims winning her heat for the fastest time of the day at 58.25 seconds. The two-time defending conference champion will look for her third-straight 400-meter title on Sunday. Teammate Brandi Hughes ran the second-fastest time in her heat, behind UCF’s Ebany Crear. Houston’s Birexus Hawkins, Tulsa’s Kiara Jones, SMU’s Madison Pyle, UConn’s Kristina Cherrington and Memphis’ Melinda Murdock will meet them in the finals.
Three Memphis athletes and two Houston and Wichita State competitors will make up seven of the eight spots in the men’s 400-meter hurdles final on Sunday. The American’s record holder in the event, Amere Lattin of Houston, will look to grab his third-straight 400m hurdles title after recording the top prelim time at 50.82 seconds. Teammate Quivell Jordan ran the second-fastest prelim time at 51.28 seconds. The trio of Tiger hurdlers includes Jason Kimmet, Michael Cary and Aaron Persinger. The Shockers’ Austin Corley and Isaac Poe ran the third and fourth-fastest times, respectively, just in front of Tulsa’s Henry Visser, who clocked the fifth-best mark.
Women’s Team Rankings - Thru Two Events
1) UConn 17
2) SMU 14
3) Memphis 11
4) Wichita State 10
ECU 10
6) Tulane 8
7) Houston 4
8) UCF 3
9) Temple 1
Men’s Team Rankings - Thru Two Events
1) UConn 20
2) Tulsa 16
3) Cincinnati 15
4) Wichita State 10
5) ECU 8
6) USF 6
7) Memphis 3