Jan. 14, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky closed out competition Saturday in the Kentucky Invitational, the opening meet of the season. Held at the E.J. Nutter Field House, the Wildcats placed in the top three in six events Saturday and saw many positive results and a strong foundation for the remainder of the indoor season.
The Wildcats got strong performances from its men’s one-milers, as junior Luis Orta and sophomore Adam Kahleifeh finished second and fourth, respectively in the distance event. Orta ran a personal-best in the race, crossing the finish line in 4:09.59, beating his previous best of 4:10.49 set last year at the Rod McCravy Memorial. Kahleifeh finished in 4:12.20.
UK head coach Don Weber was pleased with the Wildcats’ performance in the season-opening meet, but believes his team can do even better if they push themselves harder and are more “daring” in their respective events.
“We have a lot of young people, but what occurred to me with a lot of people is that we need to be more daring,” Weber said. “We need to be more daring competitively and take greater risks. We can’t compete so safely and be so concerned with doing everything right. We just have to engage the other competitors more and let them bring out what we’re capable of. I think that’s partly due to youth, and partly the nature of some of our people and we have to get them to be more aggressive.”
Sophomore Chelsea Oswald finished seventh in the women’s one-mile run with a personal-best time of 4:51.23. Oswald led a group of five UK women’s one-mile runners, followed by Megan Wright, who finished in 14th with a time of 5:04.96, Megan Broderick, Hiruni Wijayaratne and Taylor Wendler.
The men had a strong showing in the 60-meter hurdles, led by sophomore Brandon Bagley and junior Darryl Bradshaw. In the preliminary round, Bagley earned a second-place time of 8.22, while Bradshaw crossed in 8.23. Bradshaw upped his time in the finals, finishing in third with an 8.18, while Bagley finished in a tie for sixth, clocking an 8.32.
Freshman Bradley Szypka finished second in the men’s shot put, throwing a 16.28m/53-05.00 in his first collegiate competition. Sophomores Isiah Kent and Andrew Evans finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
Senior Jennifer Svoboda finished third in the women’s shot put with a throw of 14.78m/48-06.00. Svoboda, a 2008 and 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional semifinalist in the shot put, missed the 2011 season due to injury.
Competing in his first-ever collegiate men’s triple jump, freshman Terence Boyd was consistent in the finals before recording his top jump of 14.63m to finish third.
The Wildcats will compete again in two weeks when they host the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet at the E.J. Nutter Field House on Jan. 27-28.
For more Kentucky track and field information, including live results of Saturday’s events, go to UKathletics.com and follow the Wildcats on Twitter at @KentuckyTrack.
Saturday’s Results
Women’s High Jump
6. Joanne Imbert – 1.71m/5-07.25
— Devinn Cartwright – NH
Women’s Triple Jump
10. Brittany Britt – 11.31m/37-01.25
Men’s Triple Jump
3. Terence Boyd – 14.63m/48-00.00
Men’s Shot Put
2. Bradley Szypka – 16.28m/53-05.00
5. Isiah Kent – 15.22m/49-11.25
8. Andrew Evans – 13.45m/44-01.50
Women’s Shot Put
3. Jennifer Svoboda – 14.78m/48-06.00
Women’s 60M Hurdles (Prelims)
4. Kayla Parker – 8.72q
5. Devinn Cartwright – 8.75q
Men’s 60M Hurdles (Prelims)
2. Brandon Bagley – 8.22q
3. Darryl Bradshaw – 8.23q
Women’s 60M Dash (Prelims)
19. Brittany Britt – 8.01
Men’s 60M Dash (Prelims)
13. Darryl Bradshaw – 7.15q
14. Brandon Bagley – 7.18q
18. Ben Mason – 7.22q
22. Todd Nibbs – 7.37
25. Daniel Buckles – 7.69
Women’s One-Mile Run
7. Chelsea Oswald – 4:51.23
14. Megan Wright – 5:04.96
22. Megan Broderick – 5:07.46
26. Hiruni Wijayaratne – 5:09.30
33. Taylor Wendler – 5:15.44
Men’s One-Mile Run
2. Luis Orta – 4:09.59
4. Adam Kahleifeh – 4:12.20
Men’s 60M Hurdles (Finals)
3. Darryl Bradshaw – 8.18
T6. Brandon Bagley – 8.32
Women’s 60M Hurdles (Finals)
8. Devinn Cartwright – 8.72
9. Kayla Parker – 8.73
Men’s 60M Dash (Finals)
14. Brandon Bagley – 7.15
15. Darryl Bradshaw – 7.18
17. Ben Mason – 7.23
Women’s 800M Run
7. Allison Peare – 2:13.04
— Shiara Robinson – DNF
Men’s 800M Run
5. Keffri Neal – 1:52.16
6. Robert Scharold – 1:53.71
8. Sean Keane – 1:54.22
12. Trent Halasek – 1:55.61
16. Miles Kilgore – 1:59.16
Men’s 200M Dash
6. Ben Mason – 22.47
16. Daniel Buckles – 24.19
Women’s 3,000M Run
27. Anna Bostrom 10:32.55
Men’s 3,000M Run
14. Stacey Eden – 8:35.61
19. Walter Luttrell – 8:37.94
Women’s 4x400M Relay
3. Kentucky (A) – 3:42.48
Keilah Tyson, Julie Nunn, Devinn Cartwright, Shiara Robinson
