BEARCATS ON THE RISE

Loretta Blaut 2018 NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Runner-Up

Aaron Bienenfeld Austin Edwards AAC 10,000m Champion 2018 American Athletic Conference Indoor Champions AAC All-Conference (60m) What They Are Saying about UC WHY ?

“I chose UC for the culture. It is a different feel than I could have ever imagined. We are together as one here at Cincinnati and I feel that makes us exceptional compared to other teams. I always felt at home and that helped me excel to a very high level in both academics and athletics. The coaching and support staff around us made sure we would achieve at the highest level in the country and I feel that makes the one of a kind.”

Alex Bloom ~ Combined Events & High Jump ~ 2018 UC Graduate / USTFCCCA All-America Second Team (indoor heptathlon)

“I chose UC because we are FAMILY! The love and ‘One Team’ spirit we have is unmatched. Everyone you encounter is genuinely for you and the advancement of not only your athletic, but academic career. UC has molded me into the compassionate, driven, hard- working person I am today. This is because of the limitless resources, encouragement, and support I received during my four years. The most amazing part about my experience at UC is the relationships I made here are ones that will last forever.”

Kellsa Mbah ~ Sprints, Relays & Jumps ~ 2018 UC Graduate / School Long Jump Record Holder / AAC Long Jump Champion Cincinnati Track & Field/Cross Country COMPETITIVE SUCCESS

SINCE 2006 UC Track and Field/Cross Country has…. • EARNED 41 USTFCCCA ALL-AMERICA CERTIFICATES • WON 77 INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCE TITLES • WON 7 RELAY TITLES • WON 15 MOST OUSTANDING PERFORMER AWARDS • WON 3 CONFERENCE TEAM TITLE • TEAM PLACED IN THE AAC’S TOP 2 SEVEN TIMES

Brooke Catherine (pole vault) joined Loretta Blaut (high jump) as Bearcats that swept their primary event at the 2018 AAC Indoor and 2018 AAC Outdoor Championships.

2018 American Athletic Conference Champions 2018-19 Cincinnati Track & Field/Cross Country Susan Seaton ∙ Director of Track & Field/Cross Country ∙ Works with: Throws COACHING STAFF ∙ [email protected] ∙ (513) 518-8125

Chris Wineberg ∙ Associate Head T&F Coach ∙ Works with: High Jump / 400m / 4x400m / Multi-Events ∙ [email protected] ∙ (513) 349-6355

Sam Burroughs ∙ Associate Head XC Coach/Assistant T&F Coach ∙ Works with: Men’s Cross Country & Men’s Distances ∙ [email protected] ∙ (513) 802-7076

Lara Crofford ∙ Assistant Coach ∙ Works with: Women’s Cross Country & Women’s Distances ∙ [email protected] ∙ (717) 713-0113

Nadine Faustin-Parker ∙ Assistant Coach ∙ Works with: Sprints / Hurdles / 4x100m Relay ∙ [email protected] ∙ (919) 673-0826

The University of Cincinnati coaching staff was voted by its fellow conference coaches as the 2018 American Athletic Sam Kranz ∙ Assistant Coach Conference Women’s Indoor Coaching Staff of the Year following the women’s team capturing its first indoor conference ∙ Works with: Pole Vault / Horizontal Jumps crown in program history. ∙ [email protected] Pictured (L-R): Logan Steiner (ATC), Jordan Bellomy (ATC), Lara Crofford (AC), Chris Wineberg (AC), Susan Seaton (HC), Nadine Faustin- Parker (AC), Sam Kranz (AC), Sam Burroughs (AC), Sarah Wiseman (VC) and Laruen Kelly (SP). ∙ (630) 696-1965

Burroughs Crofford Faustin-Parker Kranz Seaton Wineberg 2017-18 Cincinnati Track & Field/Cross Country Throughout Bearcats Athletics, there are numerous departments and individuals that work closely with coaches and student-athletes throughout the year. From academics to strength and conditioning and all points between, every member on staff is part of One SUPPORT STAFF Team that helps every single student-athlete work toward being the best he/she can be in all aspects of collegiate life.

Student-Athlete Support Services / Academics Torry Cornett Associate Director [email protected] (513) 556-5612

Strength & Conditioning Lauren Kelly Assistant Coach [email protected] (513) 556-2889

Equipment Room Andy Kolb Assistant Manager [email protected] (513) 556-2223

Sports Medicine / Athletic Training Jordan Bellomy Athletic Trainer [email protected] (513) 556-4352 Lydia Wright Physical Therapist [email protected] (513) 556-4352

Sport Oversight Trever Wright Sr. Dir./Compliance [email protected] (513) 556-0557

Compliance Grace Kroner Assistant Director [email protected] (513) 556-0574

Athletics Communications (Sports Information) Alex Ryan Director [email protected] (513) 623-9992

Bearcats Athletics on Social ∙ FB/GoBearcats ∙ Twitter/@GoBearcats Bearcats TF/XC on Social ∙ FB/GoBearcatsTFXC ∙ Twitter/@GoBearcatsTFXC

J. Bellomy T. Cornett L. Kelly A. Kolb G. Kroner A. Ryan L. Wright T. Wright The Places You Will See… CHAMPIONSHIP SITES

x Birmingham, Ala. 2019 AAC Indoor Championships & 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships

Jacksonville, Fla. 2019 NCAA East Preliminary Round

Wichita, Kan. 2019 AAC Outdoor Championships

Austin, Texas 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships Student-Athlete Support Services (S.A.S.S.) BEARCATS ACADEMICS Throughout the year, S.A.S.S. assists student-athletes in preparing to be a successful total person. Along with leadership and community service, S.A.S.S. continues to work with Bearcats academically, an area that continues to see great improvements as 47-percent of all student-athletes (a UC Athletics record) made the Dean’s List in Spring 2018 (3.4+ GPA) and the department averaged an overall GPA of 3.253, also a UC Athletics record.

Juliana Madzia not only graduated in 2017, but also was selected for the UC President’s Leadership Medal of Excellence, a first for a UC female student-athlete.

SPRING ‘18 GPAs Cross Country (W) 3.547 Cross Country (M) 3.247 Track & Field (W) 3.458 Track & Field (M)

Adrian Valles 3.231 2018 Spring/Summer Graduates 2x NCAA Elite 90 Award winner & 3x Academic All-American Chronicle of Higher Education calls Cincinnati “A RESEARCH HEAVYWEIGHT”

RESEARCH FACTS • In 2015, UC and it’s affiliates were awarded $396,812,015 in funding toward research • UC graduate George Rieveschl invented the first antihistamine Benadryl • UC graduate Albert Sabin created the first oral polio vaccine

UNIVERSITY FACTS • UC boasts a 15:1 student/faculty ratio • UC offers 309 programs of study with several ranked among the Top 20 nationally, according to the September 2015 U.S. News & World Report “Best National Universities” edition: – #3 Pediatrics – #6 Industrial Design – #10 Accounting – #20 Environmental Engineering • Co-ops, which were invented at UC in 1906, have been continually ranked among the nation’s best according to The Princeton Review • UC students also have many THE UNIVERSITY opportunities to participate in Cincinnati offers students a balance of educational excellence and real-world internships to gain more experience experience. UC is a public research university with an enrollment of more than 44,000 students and has been named "Among the top tier of the Best National Universities," according to U.S. News & World Report. A Dynamic Conference Covering Eleven States: AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE The American began competition in the 2013-14 academic year and consists of 12 institutions covering 11 different states (13 and 11 when including football affiliate Navy). The teams that make up the American Athletic Conference for the 2018-19 academic year are:

Cincinnati Bearcats East Carolina Pirates Houston Cougars Memphis Tigers SMU Mustangs Temple Owls Tulane Green Wave Tulsa Golden Hurricane UCF Golden Knights UConn Huskies USF Bulls Wichita State Shockers Looking Back at 2018, Another GOLDEN YEAR

Adrian Valles continued to dominate the AAC, winning his seventh title at the indoor meet

Annette Echikunwoke swept the throws (weight, shot put) at the AAC indoor meet CONFERENCE GOLD Combining the indoor and outdoor competitions, UC won 12 individual and one women’s team title at the 2018 American Athletic Conference championship meets: MEN (4) • Bienenfeld, Aaron – 10,000m (out) • Bloom, Alex – high jump (in), decathlon (out) • Valles, Adrian – pole vault (in) WOMEN (8) • Blaut, Loretta – high jump (in & out) • Catherine, Brooke – pole vault (in & out) • Echikunwoke, Annette – weight throw (in), shot put (in) • Mitxelena, Irati (pictured) – triple jump (in) Alex Bloom won the outdoor decathlon and • Robinson, Bryana – 400m (in) indoor high jump in his senior year The Program’s First NCAA CHAMPION

Heading into the final toss of the weight throw at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in College Station, Texas, on March 11, 2017, the announcement rang out: “Now entering the ring, your 2017 national champion, Annette Echikunwoke of Cincinnati!” With her previous five throws, along with all the massive marks she had recorded throughout the , the final throw of the day for Echikunwoke was just a formality as Echikunwoke had already secured her gold medal and the first national title in program history. In the early 1970’s, Al Lanier had come the closest as he was the national runner-up in the long jump four times in his career. But now, UC had its first champion in track and field and just the fifth individual title in UC history. Echikunwoke’s first-round toss of 21.87m (71’ 9”) was all she needed on the day, but she improved that to 21.81m (71’ 6.75”) before closing out the meet with her best mark of the day: a toss of 22.42m (73’ 6.75”), her seventh 22m throw of the year (the rest of the nation combined for five). A FIRST “It is amazing for me to get the victory,” Echikunwoke said. “But it also Echikunwoke won the program’s first national title at the means a lot to me to put UC on the map more and more. I just wanted to 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships compete and do the best I could do and the best I could do was win. It is a great feeling!” Bearcats Women: 12th IN THE NATION

At the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, Echikunwoke placed second in the weight throw to score 8 team points one day before Blaut was the runner-up in the high jump after she tied for the title and settled for second after a seven-round jump-off to break the national title tie. With 16 points, the women placed 12th nationally, marking the first time UC has placed in the Top 15 nationally and just the second Top 25 placement (21st in 2017) in program history. The 10 points scored at the 2017 meet had stood as the most in program history as well. Nationally Known ALL-AMERICANS

Alex Bloom’s All-America honor marked the first time in program history a UC man has earned the national honor in the combined events indoors.

2018 USTFCCCA ALL-AMERICANS - WOMEN Indoor (2): • Blaut, Loretta – High Jump – 2nd (1st) • Echikunwoke, Annette – Weight – 2nd (1st) Outdoor (1): • Blaut, Loretta – High Jump – t-2nd (1st)

2018 USTFCCCA ALL-AMERICANS - MEN Indoor (2): • Valles, Adrian – Pole Vault – t-5th (1st) • Bloom, Alex – Heptathlon – 12th (2nd)

* (1st) indicates USTFCCCA All-America First Team * (2nd) indicates USTFCCCA All-America Second Team

FIRST TEAM Loretta Blaut twice earned USTFCCA All-America First Team accolades in 2018 as she was the national runner-up in the high jump at both the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets. A Historical Look at ALL-AMERICAN HISTORY - MEN • 14 individuals with 27 honors • Since 2012: 5 men with 11 honors ALL-AMERICANS • Al Lanier and Adrian Valles are the most decorated men with each having earned six career All-America honors… both men also have finished as a national runner-up, the highest finish for a man in program history

ALL-AMERICAN HISTORY - WOMEN • 14 individuals with 27 honors • Since 2012: 12 women with 24 honors • Echikunwoke won the program’s first national title in 2017 (indoor weight) • Loretta Blaut’s five career USTFCCCA All- America honors makes her the most decorated woman in UC history

ALL-AMERICAN HISTORY - TOTAL • 28 different Bearcats have combined to earn 54 All-America awards in program history

AMONG THE BEST Echikunwoke is tied with Blaut for the With his fifth-place showing at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships, Adrian Valles most USTFCCCA All-America First Team earned his sixth career USTFCCCA All-America honor in the pole vault, tying him with Al honors in women’s program history with Lanier (1972-73) for the most All-America honors in UC track & field history. four honors earned. U.S. National Events

Following the 2016 outdoor season, five with OLYMPIC TRIALS ties to the Bearcats program competed at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field in Eugene, Ore. In Eugene, Kenya Woodall competed in the 200m and 400m events with Loretta Blaut and Erika Hurd in the high jump and Macklin Tudor in the men’s discus. Former Bearcat and Olympic David Payne Silver Medalist David Payne was also in the Cincinnati’s 110m Hurdles Record Holder & meet, racing in the 110m hurdles. Olympic Silver Medalist for Team USA

Kenya Woodall

Freshman Sam Mikula ran at the 2018 USATF Erika Hurd Loretta Blaut Junior Championships (3,000m) International Success BEARCATS OLYMPIANS

MARY WINEBERG

A pair of Bearcats greats not only represented the United States at the Olympic Games, but also captured medals as Mary (Danner) Wineberg was part of the gold- medal winning 4x400m relay team and David Payne earned the silver medal in the 110m hurdles. Both former Bearcats represented the Americans at the 2008 Beijing Games.

DAVID PAYNE Home of the UC Athletics VARSITY VILLAGE

TOP-RATE ATHLETIC FACILITIES Located on south side of campus, Varsity Village is the home of UC Athletics and, with the exception of cross country and golf, contains all home competition venues for Bearcats teams, as well as the Athletics Department staff. Home of the Bearcats GETTLER STADIUM

Armory Fieldhouse, located in the Varsity Village, is the indoor training home of the Bearcats. The Armory allows for the Bearcats to train not only for indoor competitions, but also provides a practice venue in case of inclement weather throughout the year.

Gettler Stadium is the home of Bearcats Track & Field and recently served as the host site of the 2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships. Each year, Gettler plays host to the Oliver Nikoloff Open at the start of the outdoor season while also serving as the home for UC men’s and women’s soccer. Strength and Conditioning WEIGHT ROOM

Located in the lower levers of the Lindner Athletic Center in the heart of Varsity Village, the weight room measures out at 18,000 square feet, which ranks as the fifth-largest in the U.S. With over $1 million in equipment and specialized coaches, Bearcats student-athletes will received event group-specific workouts, personalized training and nutrition plans. Sports Medicine & Athletic Training TRAINING ROOM

The UC Sports Medicine Department is devoted to providing medical care to every athlete independent of gender, scholarship status or sport. A diversified program of prevention, evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation will ensure a positive, healthy recovery experience, an improved quality of life, a safe return to full athletic participation and continued athletic success. CAMPUS LIFE

With its rolling hills and diverse architecture, the University of Cincinnati is one of the “world’s 14 most beautiful campuses*”! Located in the Uptown Area, campus is part of a booming area of redesign and renewal aimed at making the area one of the best locations not only in the city, but anywhere! * According to Forbes Magazine University Park Apartments CAMPUS LIVING

Located on the East and South ends of Gettler Stadium, the UPA (University Park Apartments) is home to all first-year student-athletes. The fully furnished apartment complex offers many great amenities, including a full kitchen in every apartment, as well as on-site laundry and nearby restaurants. Photos courtesy of UPA Facebook page/PepplePhotography.com THE QUEEN CITY CINCINNATI

Pictured (clockwise) are Fountain Square; Eden Park; Kings Island Amusement Park, Union Terminal and the Cincinnati Zoo.

The Queen City has much to offer and that’s not just in the vibrant downtown area. The world renown Cincinnati Zoo is located minutes from campus, as are many other gorgeous sites, like Fountain Square, Union Terminal and Eden Park. Along with sporting events, numerous miles of trails and fun times at Kings Island Amusement Park, Cincinnati has something for everyone! THE QUEEN CITY CINCINNATI

Pictured (L-R) are (Bengals); (UC Football and FC Cincinnati); Great America Ballpark (Reds) and U.S. Bank Arena (Cyclones).

The Queen City is home to two major league teams, including the (MLB) and (NFL). In 2019, that list will grow to three with FC Cincinnati joining the ranks of with their home matches being played on campus at historic Nippert Stadium (home of UC football). The city also boasts a professional hockey team in the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Global Bearcats

INTERNATIONALS 2019 International Bearcats • Toni Banos– Spain • Damien Berthenet – France • Aaron Bienenfeld – Germany • Alanna Hendricks – Canada • Irati Mitxelena - Spain • Naomi Urbano – Mexico

Banos – Spain Berthenet – France

Naomi Urbano (pictured) of Mexico will be back in 2019 and looking to add to her stellar UC career after winning three of the past four AAC combined events titles. Urbano swept the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon in 2017 before repeating as the indoor champion in 2018 to help the women to their first indoor team title in program history, a win that came with an AAC-record 62.5 point margin of victory. Bienenfeld – Germany Hendricks – Canada Mitxelena – Spain One Team ONE COMMUNITY

Along with academics and athletics, members of all Bearcats teams come together to take part in various community projects. Each year, thousands of community service hours are logged by all 17 teams on campus. Cincinnati Track & Field and Cross Country is more than a team… IT IS A FAMILY

Loretta Blaut 2017-18 award winners following the annual team 2017-18 Gettler Spirit of Track & Field Award Recipient banquet on campus