Washington U. Men Win Fourth-Straight UAA Outdoor Title, Women Finish Second
RESULTS
Pittsburgh, Pa., April 29, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis men’s track & field team won its fourth-consecutive University Athletic Association (UAA) outdoor title, while the WUSTL women finished as the runner-up for the second year in a row on the final day of the 2012 UAA Outdoor Championships on Sunday.
The Washington U. men scored 195.5 points in the meet to out-distance runner-up Carnegie Mellon University (149.5). The team title was the 15th overall for the Bears, and gave them a sweep of the UAA indoor and outdoor men’s crowns for the third-straight year. The WUSTL women scored 201.5 points to finish as the runner-up behind Emory University, who scored 226.5. It is the second outdoor runner-up finish in a row for Washington U., and the program’s 19th top-two finish in 25 UAA Outdoor Championships.
Senior Justin Pieper was one of four individual champions for the Washington U. men on the second day of competition. He broke a 38-year-old school record to win the men’s high jump with a clearance of 2.05 meters. The mark was four centimeters higher than Pieper’s previous career best, and bettered the previous Washington U. record of 2.03m set in 1974 by Bruce Crowe and again in 1976 by Kevin Muhm.
Senior Erica Jackey earned two individual titles to lead the Washington U. women on Sunday. She set a stadium record to win the women’s 800 with a time of 2:11.76. Jackey also set a stadium record in winning the women’s 1,500 with a time of 4:36.65. Senior teammate Elizabeth Phillips finished as the runner-up in both events with times of 2:13.51 (800) and 4:37.48 (1,500). Sophomore Katy Barron (2:25.68) finished eighth in the 800, while junior Claire Tourjee (4:46.61) claimed sixth in the 1,500.
On Saturday evening, senior Michael Burnstein won the men’s 10,000 title with a career-best, UAA and stadium record time of 30:26.87. Sophomore Kevin Sparks also posted a career-best time (30:30.27) to finish as the runner-up in the event. Burnstein and Sparks separated from the pack to beat the third-place finisher by more than 35 seconds. The times for Burnstein and Sparks rank second and third in Washington U. school history, respectively. Burnstein and Sparks also finished third and fourth with times of 15:20.52 and 15:21.19, respectively, in the men’s 5,000 on Sunday.
In the men’s javelin, senior Ben Cutting led with a throw of 52.63m until Emory’s James Bassen moved past Cutting with a toss of 52.67m on his sixth throw. Cutting responded with a career-best mark of 55.20m to win the conference title. Cutting’s throw ranks third all-time in school history. Freshman Connor Duermit finished third with a toss of 52.25m to earn all-UAA honors.
Sophomore Shannon Howell broke the UAA record with a career-best time of 1:01.50 to win the women’s 400 hurdles. Her time ranks second all-time in Washington U. history. Senior Amanda Matheson finished sixth in the event with a time of 1:06.11. Howell and Matheson also clocked season-best times of 15.40 and 15.53 to finish sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 100 hurdles.
Senior Tyler Jackson clocked a season-best time of 14.57 to win the UAA championship in the men’s 110 hurdles. Freshman Tyler Frank also had a season-best time, finishing fourth in 15.90. Jackson (56.40), Frank (56.51) and freshman Jake Bruemmer (56.66) all posted season-bests to finish third through fifth in the 400 hurdles.
Freshman Lucy Cheadle was the fourth UAA champion of the day for the Washington U. women. After finishing second in the 3,000 steeplechase on Saturday, she set the stadium record with a time of 17:27.09 to win the women’s 5,000.
The Washington U. women had three other runner-up finishes on Sunday. Sophomore Jasmine Williams (high jump) and junior Anne Diaz-Arrastia (triple jump) each earned second place in their respective events. Sophomore Nkele Davis, Jackey, Williams and Howell teamed up to finish second in the 1,600 relay with a time of 3:54.96. Junior Tom Arnold earned a runner-up finish in the discus throw (45.36m) for the Washington U. men. Freshman Zach Lonneman finished sixth in the event with a season-best mark of 42.43m. Junior Ryan Doll earned a runner-up finish in the 200 with a time of 22.37.
Freshman Melissa Gilkey earned all-UAA honors with a third-place finish in the women’s javelin. The Washington U. women’s 400 relay team of Diaz-Arrastia, and sophomores Ahkianne Wanliss, Katie Sandson and Liz Godar also earned all-UAA honors with a third-place finish. Sophomore Arthur Townsend clocked a season-best time of 49.76 to finish third in the men’s 400. The men’s 400 relay (Jackson, freshman James Hallwood, freshman Nick Alaniva and Doll) also finished third to earn all-UAA honors.
The Washington University track & field teams travel to Monmouth, Ill., on Saturday, May 5, to compete in the Fighting Scot Invitational hosted by Monmouth College. The meet is scheduled to begin at Noon.