Championship Central
Order of Events
Women's Results | Men's Results

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Senior Uhunoma Osazuwa won her second consecutive BIG EAST heptathlon crown and received an NCAA automatic qualification on day two of the conference championships at University of Cincinnati's Gettler Stadium. Osazuwa, who won all but three heptathlon events, compiled 5,549 points to keep the top of the podium Orange for the fourth straight year. She was one of three Syracuse student-athletes to garner All-BIG EAST honors in addition to sophomores Tito Medrano and Heather Stephens.

"I can rest assured for Nationals because I was an automatic qualifier," Osazuwa said. "It was another BIG EAST Championship win for Syracuse. We have a really good reputation with the heptathlon, so it was really good to keep that going my senior year. Moving forward, I'm just looking forward to high jumping and long jumping at ECAC to warm-up for Nationals. If I can get at least 100 more points, I can hopefully repeat my performance from indoor and become an All-American. There's still room for improvement and I'm happy to get another BIG EAST Championship."

The Las Vegas native accomplished the feat after posting winning marks in the 100-meter dash (14.08), 200-meter dash (24.82), long jump (5.87m) and tying for first in the high jump (1.79). She finished second in the shot put with a heave of 12.00m and third in the javelin (33.62) before concluding with a time of 2:29.61 in the 800-meter dash. The defending BIG EAST Champion accumulated an NCAA Regional-qualifying total of 5,236 points to become the 2009 BIG EAST heptathlon champion and succeeded graduate Jillian Drouin, who won back-to-back conference crowns in 2007 and 2008.

Stephens garnered all-conference laurels in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a second-place showing of 10:24.44. Her NCAA Regional-qualifying time was her second fastest of the season. She was one of four Orange women to round out the top 10 in the event, including senior Stefanie Slekis, junior Cassie White and sophomore Natalie Busby. Senior Curtis Bixler lined up on the men's side, placing 12th with a time of 9:14.46.

Medrano won the 10,000-meter run with a time of 29:38.20 to earn all-conference laurels. He was joined by senior Dan Busby and junior Jay Koloseus, who finished fifth and 10th, respectively.

Joining Osazuwa in the multi-events were juniors Kelsey Rubeor and Evan Stivala. Rubeor turned in a first-place finish in the javelin (40.39) to contribute to her season-best 4,888 points to take fourth-place. She also finished seventh in the long jump (5.19m) and ended day two with a time of 2:38.43 in the 800-meter run. On the men's side, Stivala improved on last year's 10th-place finish, as he earned eighth with 6,204 points in the decathlon. He turned in his best performance of the afternoon in the pole vault, where he tied for fifth (3.85). Stivala took eighth in the final event, the 1,500-meter run, with a time of 4:41.02.

All three Syracuse hurdlers advanced to the finals of the 110-meter, including two who notched season-best times. Junior standout Jarret Eaton led the group with a season-best, first-place time of 13.91 in the prelims, while rookie Amadou Gueye also set a season-best (14.48). Sophomore Matthew Callanan ran a time of 14.82 to take the last spot in the finals.

In the sprints, graduate student Michael LeBlanc (10.59) and freshman Darryl White (10.71) finished second and third in the 100-meter dash to head to the finals. LeBlanc and White edged graduate student teammates Bernard Bush (10.76) and Antoine Clark (10.78), who both finished in the top 10. LeBlanc also earned a spot in the 200-meter dash finals after placing fifth (21.56). Junior Lareea Chisholm was the lone representative for Syracuse on the women's side and ran the prelims of the 100-meter dash in 12.31 to take 20th going into tomorrow's finals.

The women finished strong in the 10,000-meter run, as freshman Kimberly Spano, graduate student Nana Sang-Bender and junior Catherine DeSarle finished in sixth-, seventh- and eighth-place.

In the field, Osazuwa and Bush both earned sixth in the long jump with marks of 5.82m and 7.33m, respectively. Senior Lorraine Hill placed 10th in the javelin with a toss of 38.51m, while sophomore Mark Melilli had his second-best showing of the year with a measurement of 59.28m.

The women are sitting in second-place with 41 points heading into the final day of action, while the men are in seventh-place after compiling 19 points. Junior Kwaku Boah will initiate SU's efforts in the hammer throw on Sunday at 10 a.m., while the women will begin the track events in the 400-meter relay at 11 a.m.

Men's Team Standings (Through Eight Events)
1. Louisville (71)
2. Connecticut (47.50)
3. Rutgers (45)
4. Notre Dame (41)
5. Cincinnati (24)
6. DePaul (20)
7. Syracuse (19)
8. Georgetown (14)
9. Villanova (11)
10. South Florida (10.50)
11. Marquette (9)

Women's Team Standings (Through Eight Events)
1. Louisville (58)
2. Syracuse (41)
3. South Florida (40)
4. Connecticut (30)
5. Notre Dame (23.50)
6. DePaul (22)
7. Villanova (16.50)
8. West Virginia (16)
9. Marquette (15)
10. Georgetown (11)
11. Cincinnati (10)
11. Providence (10)
13. Rutgers (9)
14. Pittsburgh (6)
15. St. John's (4)