Bearcats track finishes second

The University of Cincinnati was in a buzz this weekend as schools from all over the state of Ohio convened at Gettler Stadium for the All-Ohio Championships.

Overall, the UC men and women both came in second place behind the University of Akron.

The men scored 162.50, nine points behind Akron, and the women scored 128.50 points, 46 points behind the Zips.

Several Bearcats recorded personal bests and regional-qualifying performances. Senior Bob Kandell qualified for the regionals with a time of 47.16 in the 400-meter.

Sophomore hurdler Troy Lammers came in fourth in the 400-meter hurdles, with a regional qualifying and personal best time of 52.06.

Junior John Dixon finished third in the 5,000-meter, but had a personal best time of 14:45.12.

But the Bearcat star of the day was senior sprinter John Bowie, who is expecting to be drafted in next weekend's NFL Draft.

Bowie won the 100-meter dash and anchored his team for the winning 4x100-meter relay.

Bowie's 4.3 second 40-yard dash speed is what makes him a projected fourth or fifth-round draft pick.

The senior has been working out for the draft, while running for the UC track and field team.

"Track is going pretty good for me," Bowie said. "Although I just came back from working out in Houston, I knew I had a good run in me today."

Bowie narrowly defeated Howard Harris Jr. of the University of Akron with a time of 10.52 seconds in the 100-meter dash, just two one-hundredths of a second ahead of Harris.

In the 4x100-meter relay, the team of senior Cedric Powell, senior Bob Kandell, freshman Ekundayo Igeleke and Bowie won in a regional-qualifying time of 40.15.

For the women, junior Monica Hundley beat her own school record in the 100 hurdles, winning in 14.08. Hundley has won the 100-meter hurdles in five consecutive meets.

The team of freshman Sharika Thompson, freshman Jasmine Cotton, sophomore Courtney Wicks and junior Dominique Davis won the 4x400 relay team with a time of 3:48.08, which was a season's best for the women Bearcats.

Thompson ran a personal best time of 1:03.03 as she finished second in the 400 hurdles.

Senior Ashley Wilhelm won the heptathlon with a score of 5351, thanks in large part to her javelin toss of 139-feet-2 inches, which also set a school record.

Ian Jarman finished ninth in the hammer throw, but had a regional qualifying throw of 187 1/3.

The women had a few record-breaking performances of their own.

Senior Renee Hein won the high jump while setting a school record, clearing the bar at 6-3 3/4. Hein has won the high jump in five of the last six meets.

Next week the Bearcats travel to Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Relays.