Louisville Takes Third at BIG EAST Indoor Championships

Sunday, February 22

New York, N.Y.

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University of Louisville

Big East Indoor Championships

Louisville Takes Third at BIG EAST Indoor Championships

February 22, 2009 | Women's Track and Field

Feb. 22, 2009

Complete Results | Photo Gallery

NEW YORK - The University of Louisville men's and women's track and field teams both finished third at the 2009 BIG EAST Indoor Championships at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York City. The Cards won an event title, earned 10 medals, picked up two NCAA provisional qualifying marks and set three school records on the final day of competition.

"It's exactly as how I predicted it was going to be," said U of L head coach Ron Mann. "It was very competitive on both sides. We had some places where some people really stepped up and I was proud of their efforts."

The Cardinal men finished with 114 points behind Connecticut who won their second straight BIG EAST title and third in four years with 138.5 points. Notre Dame earned the runner-up finish with 134 points, followed by U of L, Syracuse in fourth with 68 points and Georgetown in fifth with 66 points.

Leading the way on the men's side was the triple jump group who placed first, second and third. The group's effort was led by red-shirt junior Andre Black who earned his third BIG EAST triple jump title with a leap of 51.03.75 (15.64m). Black, a three-time All-American, won the event for the fourth time this season and has already earned an NCAA automatic bid. Senior Michael Johnson, Jr. finished second with a jump of 50-10.75 (15.51m), while red-shirt junior Tone Belt placed third with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 50-08.75 (15.46m). Johnson's jump was an improvement on his previous NCAA mark.

"Going one, two, and three in the triple jump is a great accomplishment," said Mann. "It speaks volumes of the ability these athletes have and how they compete."

Senior Steven Hnat earned a medal in the shot put, finishing second with a mark of 58-04.75 (17.80m). The toss marked the second straight meet the Floyds Knobs, Ind. native has reached NCAA provisional status.

Belt cleared 7.00.25 (2.14m) in the high jump to earn a runner-up finish. The mark was the third time Belt has reached NCAA provisional status this season. The 2007 BIG EAST Champion in the event currently holds the 13th best jump in the NCAA.

Also earning a medal was freshman Jacques Caldwell who finished runner-up in the 200-meter dash with a school record and personal best time of 21.58. Caldwell, a mid-year addition from the Cardinal football team, surpassed Bryan Webb's previous time of 21.62.

"The cooperation we are getting from football is a real accomplishment for Caldwell with setting the school record," said Mann.

In the 3000-meter run, red-shirt junior Cory Thorne finished fourth with a time of 8:13.60, while sophomore Michael Eaton ran 8:17.63 to take eighth.

Others scoring on Sunday for the Cards included: sophomores Weston Banks, Phil Feinberg, and Tony Baffour. Banks had a personal best throw of 56-05.25 (17.20m) in the shot put, Feinberg cleared 6-07 (2.01m) in the high jump and Baffour ran a 6.92 in the 60-meter dash. Both Banks and Feinberg finished fifth in their events, while Baffour placed sixth.

The Louisville women finished third for the second consecutive year with 88 points, matching their best finish-ever. Connecticut won their second straight BIG EAST title with 107 points, while Georgetown took second with 98 points. Louisville in third was followed by Villanova in fourth with 74.5 points and both Notre Dame and West Virginia in fifth with 74 points apiece.

The Cardinals were paced by the school record performance of red-shirt sophomore Tarah McKay who earned a runner-up finish in the mile run with a time of 4:40.18. McKay, a St. Clements, Ont. native, clipped her previous record time of 4:41.27 and improved her NCAA standing to 12th in the event. This marked the second time McKay has surpassed the record mark and the third time she has reached NCAA provisional status this season. McKay first set the school record on Jan. 24 at the Gene Edmonds Cup.

"McKay's second-place finish in the mile run is a wonderful performance and should put her into the national championships," said Mann.

Freshman Khadija Abdullah finished second in the shot put with a personal best throw of 51-10.50 (15.81m), improving her ranking on the NCAA list. Abdullah has reached NCAA provisional status in three consecutive meets and four times total on the season. Louisville scored 20 points in the event, with sophomores Chinwe Okoro and D'Ana McCarty coming in right behind at third and fourth, respectively. Okoro's personal record throw of 51-07.25 (15.73m) was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, while McCarty finished with a toss of 49-00.75 (14.95m).

Senior Seidre Forde led a group of three scorers in the triple jump with a leap of 40-04.25 (12.30m) to earn a runner-up finish for the second straight year. It was Forde's first meet of the season. Freshman Keisha Lockhart placed fifth with a jump of 39-06 (12.04m), while junior Amaka Omenyinma followed at sixth with a leap of 39-05.75 (12.03m).

In the high jump, junior Rachel Gehret and freshman Megan Schubert also scored points for Louisville. Gehret cleared 5-08.50 (1.74m) to place fourth, while Schubert finished eighth with a height of 5-07 (1.70m).

Junior Saravia Richardson finished fifth and eighth in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, clocking 7.52 and personal record 24.56, respectively.

Rounding out the scoring was the 4x400-meter relay team of Lecia Brown, Gehret, Shane Mullany-Banks and Trimiew who capped the championships with a school record time of 3:46.09 to place sixth.

"Now we have to get ready for the national championships in three weeks," said Mann. "It's too early to tell how we stack up, but I feel confident we will have a good showing."

The Cardinals will have a weekend off to prepare for the Alex Wilson Invitational on March 6-7 in South Bend, Ind. The meet will mark U of L's last attempt to earn qualifying marks for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships.

BIG EAST Indoor Championships - New York CityDay Two Results
Women's Team Standings (Final)1   Connecticut     107 points2   Georgetown      98 points3    LOUISVILLE      88 points4   Villanova           74.5 points5   Notre Dame      74 points5   West Virginia       74 points7   Cincinnati      49 points8   Seton Hall      46 points8   Pittsburgh      46 points10  Providence      33 points11  St. John's      21 points12  South Florida       20.5 points13  Syracuse            18 points14  Rutgers         17 points
U of L Women's Individual Results60m - Finals5   Richardson, Saravia  7.52200m - Finals8   Richardson, Saravia  24.56400m - Finals6   Trimiew, Heather        55.369   Brown, Lecia        56.41800m - Finals9   Alcorn, Kat      2:13.62Mile2   McKay, Tarah        *#4:40.183000m9   Borsare, Emily        9:39.8315  McKay, Tarah        9:51.46High Jump4   Gehret, Rachel        1.74m/5-08.508   Schubert, Megan      J1.70m/5-07.00Triple Jump2   Forde, Seidre      12.30m/40-04.255   Lockhart, Keisha        12.04m/39-06.006   Omenyinma, Amaka             12.03m/39-05.7512  Pressley, Jenean        11.55m/37-10.75Shot Put2   Abdullah, Khadija      #15.81m/51-10.503   Okoro, Chinwe      #15.73m/51-07.254   McCarty, D'Ana     14.95m/49-00.754x400m Relay6   Brown, Gehret       *3:46.09    Mullany-Banks, Trimiew
Men's Team Standings (Final)1   Connecticut     138.5 points2   Notre Dame      134 points3    LOUISVILLE      114 points4   Syracuse            68 points5   Georgetown      66 points6   Seton Hall      59 points7   Villanova           47 points8   Rutgers         46.5 points9   Providence      43 points10  DePaul          19 points10  South Florida       19 points12  Pittsburgh      15 points13  Marquette   11 points
U of L Men's Individual Results60m - Finals6   Baffour, Tony      6.92200m - Finals2   Caldwell, Jacques      *21.583000m4   Thorne, Cory        8:13.608   Eaton, Michael        8:17.6314  Bruce, Matt      8:26.74High Jump2   Belt, Tone        #2.14m/7-00.255   Feinberg, Phil        2.01m/6-07.0016  Angermeier, Neil        J1.96m/6-05.00Triple Jump1   Black, Andre        #15.64m/51-03.752   Johnson, Jr., Michael #15.51m/50-10.753   Belt, Tone        #15.46m/50-08.75Shot Put2   Hnat, Steven        #17.80m/58-04.755   Banks, Weston      17.20m/56-05.2511  Greenwald, Josh      15.11m/49-07.004x400m Relay10  Spalding, Caldwell      3:27.74    Wolfe, Baffour
* = School Record# = NCAA Indoor provisional qualifying mark