CINCINNATI, OHIO - The final day of the 2010 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships wrapped up at rain-soaked Gettler Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati on May 2. The Notre Dame men used seven top-three finishes on the final day, including two individual event titles, to cruise to their third consecutive BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field title, while the Louisville women relied on their all-American throwing contingent to earn their third straight championship.

The Cardinals tallied 108 points to lead the women, followed by Connecticut with 101 and Georgetown with 86 to round out the top three teams. On the men's side, the Irish registered 123 points, while Louisville earned 114 points and Rutgers rounded out the top three with 112 points.

After the second day of events, the Irish men were in fourth place after tallying 41 points. Notre Dame used wins in the pole vault and 1,500 meters to push to the front of the pack. Sophomore Kevin Schipper followed in his older brother Matt's footsteps by winning the pole vault with a height of 5.25 meters. Matt Schipper won the 2009 title for the Irish with the same height. Senior Daniel Clark won the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:56.93.

After Connecticut senior Carin Knight set a BIG EAST Championship record in the women's high jump (1.84 meters), Louisville trailed the Huskies by seven points, 97-90, as the final event, the hammer throw, was taking place. Entering the championship, Cardinal throwers owned the top three distances on the BIG EAST performance list, led by senior Jere' Summers. UConn sophomore Victoria Flowers owned the fourth-longest distance on the list.

The Louisville throwers prevailed, earning the top three spots of the hammer throw to clinch the championship. Summers took the title with a throw of 61.12 meters, followed by junior D'Ana McCarty in second with a distance of 58.44 meters and senior Lindsey Cook with a third-place toss of 57.30 meters. Flowers distance of 53.42 meters took fifth place.

Summers earned her third consecutive Outstanding Field Performer award following wins in the hammer and discus and a third-place finish in the shot put. Louisville junior Matt Hughes earned the men's Outstanding Track Performer honor after winning the 5,000 meters and 3,000-meter steeplechase titles. Connecticut senior Sean Smith won his second consecutive decathlon and his first Outstanding Field Performer award.

Connecticut junior Trisha-Ann Hawthorne became the Huskies' all-time leading BIG EAST Championship title winner after earning three titles at this year's championships. Hawthorne won the 100- and 200-meter sprints for the third consecutive season, while also being a member of the 4x100-meter relay team which took first. The junior owns seven BIG EAST Outdoor Championship titles and was named Outstanding Track Performer.

Leading the Irish to their seventh BIG EAST title, the Notre Dame coaches were named Men's Coaching Staff of the Year. After earning their third straight BIG EAST championship, the Cardinal coaches were named Women's Coaching Staff of the Year.

Other Notable Performances:

• Joanna Schultz won Notre Dame's first hurdling title with a BIG EAST record-56.82 run in the 400-meter hurdles
• Louise Faye won Seton Hall's first triple jump title with a distance of 12.39 meters
• David Aristil won USF's third-straight 400-meter hurdles title with a finish of 50.42 seconds
• Syracuse's Michael LeBlanc won his second straight 100-meter dash title, as did Rutgers' Bruce Owens in the 200 meters

Final Standings and Point Totals
Men
1. Notre Dame, 123
2. Louisville, 114
3. Rutgers, 112
4. Connecticut, 100.50
5. Georgetown, 82
6. Cincinnati, 75.50
7. Syracuse, 66
8. USF, 47
9. Villanova, 44
10. DePaul, 37
11. Seton Hall, 22
12. Marquette, 13
13. Providence, 11
14. Pittsburgh, 8

Women
1. Louisville, 108
2. Connecticut, 101
3. Georgetown, 86
4. West Virginia, 68
5. Villanova, 67.50
6. Notre Dame, 62.50
7. USF, 59
8. Syracuse, 58
9. Pittsburgh, 55
10. Seton Hall, 48
11. DePaul, 36
t12. Rutgers, 31
t12. Cincinnati, 31
14. Marquette, 19
15. Providence, 14
16. St. John's, 13

Individual Champions
Men
Decathlon - Sean Smith, Connecticut, 7,370 points
100m - Michael LeBlanc, Syracuse, 10.47*
200m - Bruce Owens, Rutgers, 21.18
400m - Antoine Drakeford, Cincinnati, 46.31
800m - Brian Gagnon, Connecticut, 1:49.78
1,500m - Daniel Clark, Notre Dame, 3:56.93
5,000m - Matt Hughes, Louisville, 13:59.30
10,000m - Tito Medrano, Syracuse, 29:38.20
110m Hurdles - Jarret Eaton, Syracuse, 13.85*
400m Hurdles - David Aristil, USF, 50.42
3,000m Steeplechase - Matt Hughes, Louisville, 8:41.98
4x100 Relay - Syracuse, 40.63
4x400 Relay - Rutgers, 3:07.50
4x800 Relay - Connecticut, 7:27.13
Javelin - Brian Zimmerman, Cincinnati, 69.45m
Discus - James Plummer, Rutgers, 56.24m
Shot Put - Denes Veres, Notre Dame, 18.57m
Hammer - Brad Millar, DePaul, 64.45m
Pole Vault - Kevin Schipper, Notre Dame, 5.25m
Long Jump - Tone Belt, Louisville, 7.55m
High Jump - Adam Bergo, Rutgers, 2.16m
Triple Jump -  Andre Black, Louisville, 15.86m

Women
Heptathlon - Uhunoma Osazuwa, Syracuse, 5,549 points
100m - Trisha-Ann Hawthrone, Connecticut, 11.44*
200m - Trisha-Ann Hawthrone, Connecticut, 23.54*
400m - Mandela Graves-Fulgham, Connecticut, 53.30
800m - Sheila Reid, Villanova, 2:06.38
1,500m - Karly Hamric, West Virginia, 4:28.02
5,000m - Marie Louise Asselin, West Virginia, 16:31.04
10,000m - Clara Grandt, West Virginia, 33:31.80
100m Hurdles - Sherica Ward, Villanova, 13.55*
400m Hurdles - Joanna Schultz, Notre Dame, 56.82
3,000m Steeplechase - Shelby Greany, Providence, 10:17.55
4x100 Relay - Connecticut, 45.05
4x400 Relay - Seton Hall, 3:37.24
4x800 Relay - Georgetown, 8:41.11
Javelin - Melissa Fraser, DePaul, 47.83m
Discus - Jere' Summers, Louisville, 52.13m
Shot Put - Khadija Abdullah, Louisville, 15.91m
Hammer - Jere' Summers, Louisville, 61.12m
Pole Vault - Dana Webb, USF, 3.80m
Long Jump - Whitney Holder, Connecticut, 6.11m
High Jump - Carin Knight, Connecticut, 1.84m (meet record)
Triple Jump - Louise Faye, Seton Hall, 12.39m

*wind aided

Complete results can be found at:

Men's: http://www.bigeast.org/fls/19400/stats/otrack/2010-men-champ.htm?DB_OEM_ID=19400

Women's: http://www.bigeast.org/fls/19400/stats/otrack/2010-women-champ.htm?DB_OEM_ID=19400