VILLANOVA, Pa. – Despite the early morning rain drops, day two of the 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor track and field championships wrapped up under sunny skies with both the men’s and women’s teams of Louisville currently in first place after eight scored events.

The Cardinal men have tallied 104 points, while Connecticut and Notre Dame are tied for second place with 37 points. For the women, the Cardinals totaled 79 points, while Notre Dame is in second place with 54 points.

Junior Uhunoma Osazuwa won the women’s heptathlon with an NCAA-provisional qualifying point total of 5,236. Osazuwa placed first in the 100-meter hurdles (13.88), high jump (1.76m), 200 meter (25.23) and the long jump (5.62m) competitions. Freshman Maddie Buttinger placed second with 5,155 points, also an NCAA-provisional qualifying mark.

In the decathlon, senior Sean Smith of Connecticut placed first with 6,946 points. Smith placed first in both the high jump (1.94m) and the 110-meter hurdles (15.44) to help earn the NCAA-provisional qualifying mark.

Senior Mary Saxer of Notre Dame had one of the day’s highlights with a championship record breaking 4.20 meter (13’-09.25”) pole vault performance. Saxer, who previously held the record of 4.00 meters (13’-01.50”) with Marissa Dudek of Pittsburgh, was one of five athletes that qualified for the NCAA Regionals.

The top-six finishers of the women’s javelin all qualified for the NCAA Regionals. Senior Amanda Martin of Connecticut led the way with the first place finish after a throw of 48.51 meters (159’-02.00”). The NCAA Regional qualifications continued with the top-three finishers in the long jump. Junior Rachel Gehret of Louisville placed first with a leap of 6.23 meters (20’-05.25”).

Louisville dominated the women’s shot put with four Cardinals placing in the top-five of the competition. Senior Jere’ Summers took first place with a throw of 15.78 meters (51’-09.25). This is the second consecutive year that Summers has captured the title. Summers, along with the top-six finishers, all qualified for the NCAA Regionals with their throws. Junior Jacyln Espinoza defeated multiple Cardinals to place first in the discus with an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 50.80 meters (166’-08.00”). The Cardinals continued to dominate the throwing competition with three UofL throwers qualifying for NCAA Regionals after taking second, third and fourth place in the discus. Sophomore D’Ana McCarty placed second with a throw of 50.07 meters (164’-03.00”). Jere’ Summers placed third with a distance of 49.12 meters (161’-02.00”), while sophomore Chinwe Okoro placed fourth with her throw of 48.77 meters (160’-00”).

Five throwers posted an NCAA Regional mark in the shot put. Senior Steven Hnat of Louisville placed first with a throw of 18.45 meters (60’-06.50”). Louisville also placed first in the long jump competition with junior Tone Belt jumping 7.63 meters (25’-00.50”). Belt also took first place in the high jump with a height of 2.16 meters (7’-01.00”). The junior’s height was also an NCAA Regional qualifying height. This is the third high jump title for Belt after taking the crown in 2006 and 2007. The top five throwers of the discus also posted an NCAA Regional qualifying mark. Sophomore Josh Greenwald of Louisville took first place with a distance of 55.38 meters (181’-08.00”).

Rutgers took the top-three spots in the men’s javelin competition. Junior Jeremy Pennino finished with a throw of 65.80 meters (215’-10.00”), while senior Brandon Burkhardt placed second with a throw of 64.74 meters (212’-05.00”). Both Scarlet Knights recorded an NCAA Regional qualifying mark.

In the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase, the top-10 runners all posted NCAA Regional qualifying times. Sophomore Sarah Morrison of Villanova led the pack with a time of 10:12.4. The NCAA Regional qualifying marks continued with the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase. The top-eight finishers all recorded NCAA-qualifying times. Senior Cory Thorne of Louisville took first place with a time of 8:43.50.

In the women’s 10,000 meter, senior Danette Doetzel of Providence finished in 33:23.22 for an NCAA Regional qualifying first place finish. The senior, who won for the second consecutive year, was the only runner to qualify for Regionals in the 10K. On the men’s side, Patrick Smyth of Notre Dame defended his title with a first place finish in 30:41.89.

The preliminaries for tomorrow’s 13 men’s and women’s track events were set today during trial runs.

Action at the 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships concludes Sunday at 11 a.m. Fans can follow all the action of the 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships live online at www.bigeast.org. 

Men’s Team Standings (through eight events)

1) Louisville             104       

2) Connecticut         37  

2) Notre Dame          37      

4) Rutgers               35  

5) Syracuse             29       

6) USF                    21  

7) Cincinnati            17       

8) Georgetown         15  

9) Pittsburgh            7      

10) Villanova            5  

11) DePaul               2      

11) Providence         2  

13) Marquette          1  

Women’s Team Standings (through eight events)

1) Louisville             79       

2) Notre Dame         54  

3) Cincinnati            34       

4) USF                    23  

5) Syracuse             21      

6) Connecticut         15  

7) Providence           13      

7) West Virginia        13  

7) Pittsburgh            13      

10) Villanova            12  

11) Rutgers             11      

12) Georgetown        9  

13) Marquette          8     

14) DePaul               7