Jan. 15, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. — During the two days of the annual Kentucky Invitational 17 student-athletes made their debut for the Wildcats including junior Keith Hayes, who in his first race wearing UK’s blue and white shot straight to No. 2 on the school’s all-time list with a win in the 60-meter hurdles, Saturday at Nutter Field House.
“Generally, I was very pleased,” head coach Don Weber said. “We had a lot of people across the event areas have good season-opening performances. It was a good indication of what could be a good season and for some what I hope will be the start of a great career.”
Hayes turned in the best performance of his career, collecting one of two Wildcat victories, with a time of 7.84. Hayes is in his first year at Kentucky after transferring from the University of Kansas where he finished fifth in the 60m hurdles at the 2009 Big 12 Indoor Championships, scoring four points for his team. Former UK star Mikel Thomas holds the school-record time of 7.74 in the event, set at the Iowa State Qualifier in 2009. Thomas ran in the race today as an unattached athlete and finished second with a time of 7.90. Two other Wildcats finished in the top six in the hurdles with Darryl Bradshaw finishing fourth and Brandon Bagley in sixth position. Bradshaw, a returning sophomore, set a personal best with a time of 8.07 and moved up to fifth on UK’s all-time list.
The women’s 4x400m relay won its opening event of the season with a time of 3:40.11 but needed a late charge by shorter to secure the victory by .03 seconds. After breaking the school record on multiple occasions last season the relay squad returned three pieces and added one to build on last year’s accomplishments. Jenna Martin, Brittany Cabbler and Jazmyn Shorter lead a senior driven squad and now have added freshman Julie Nunn to the mix. On the men’s side, Kadeem Kushimo, Cody Miller, Keith Hayes and Sharif Webb made up the 4x400m relay team that finished second with a time of 3:14.14.
To begin the distance events, senior Josh Nadzam outlasted three Michigan State Spartans to win the men’s one-mile run with a time of 4:09.84. Nadzam placed fifth in the event at last year’s Kentucky Invitational with a time of 4:13.47, an improvement of 3.53. The native of Monaca, Pa., was entered into the race as an unattached runner. Freshman Matt Hillenbrand finished the mile in 10th place with a time of 4:16.45 followed by senior Sharif Webb who crossed the finished line in 4:19.08. Webb did not compete in the 800m run which is the event he earned All-America honors last indoor season.
With the absence of shot put teammate Jennifer Svoboda due to injury, senior Mary Angell was the lone female thrower for the Wildcats on day two of the Kentucky Invite. Angell secured a second-place finish in the women’s shot put, sending the shot 15.33m/50-03.50 on her best attempt. Louisville’s Khadija Abdullah edged out Angell with an event-winning mark of 16.09m/52-09.50.
Senior Colin Boevers and freshman Isiah Kent made their first appearance of 2011, in the men’s shot put. Boevers completed two of his six throws successfully but only needed his opening throw to claim third place in the event with a mark of 17.12m/56-02.00. Kent made his Kentucky debut in respectable fashion finishing 11th with a long throw of 14.71m/48-03.75, barely missing out on the finals. Zach Hill, a freshman from Michigan State, had an impressive showing from the ring, winning the event with a mark of 18.24/59-10.25.
In the men’s 60m dash, Kadeem Kushimo finished second with a time of 6.81. Kushimo moved through the preliminaries and entered the final, crossing the line in 6.88 to secure a spot in the next round. Freshman Kyron Joseph had a top-10 finish of his own with a time of 6.96.
Junior Terri-Ann Grant, another new Wildcat via transfer, etched her name in the UK record books in the high jump, passing at a height of 1.71m/5-07.25 on her first attempt. Grant’s mark was good for fourth place in the event and ranked eighth on the school’s all-time list. Before she decided on moving to Kentucky, Grant spent a season at Georgia Tech where she finished fifth in the high jump at the 2009 ACC Indoor Championships passing 5-08.00. Sophomore Alexandra Morgan and junior Precious Nwokey also competed in the women’s high jump, both clearing the bar at 1.61m/5-03.25 to tie for 15th. Unattached athlete Rachel Gehret was the only participant to pass at a height of 1.79m/5-10.50, giving her the win.
Three Kentucky underclassman finished the women’s mile in the top-10 with sophomore Cally Macumber leading the way in 4:54.05 to take fifth. Freshmen Taylor Wendler and Anna Bostrom finished back-to-back in eighth and ninth position. The two rookies ran their first indoor race circling the track in 4:57.45 and 4:58.83, respectively.
Sophomore Shiara Robinson shaved almost two seconds off her previous personal best of 58.18 in the 400m dash to claim a sixth place finish. Robinson’s time of 56.32 made her the first Kentucky runner to cross the finish line in the event followed by Nwokey (56.63) and Shorter (56.81) to finish ninth and 10th, respectively.
The Cats look to build on their performances when they host the final indoor meet of the season at Nutter Field House, the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet, Jan. 28-29. For more track and field information visit Ukathletics.com.
Women’s High Jump (Auto: 4.25m)
4. Terri-Ann Grant – 1.71m/5-07.25
15. Alexandra Morgan – 1.61m/5-03.25
15. Precious Nwokey – 1.61m/5-03.25
Women’s Shot Put (Auto: 16.90m)
2. Mary Angell – 15.33m/50-03.50
Men’s Shot Put (Auto: 19.30m)
3. Colin Boevers – 17.12m/56-02.00
11. Isiah Kent – 14.71m/48-03.25
Women’s Long Jump (Auto: 6.38m)
7. Precious Nwokey – 5.68m/18-07.75
10. Kayla Parker – 5.63m/18-05.75
T-21. Ashley Newby – 5.10m/16-08.75
Men’s Long Jump (Auto: 7.90m)
8. Keenan Hall – 7.16m/23-06.00
13. Steve Crouse – 6.85m/22-05.75
Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Auto: 8.14)
8. Kayla Parker – 8.63q
24. Ashley Newby – 9.09
Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles Finals (Auto: 8.14)
9. Kayla Parker – 8.54
Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Auto: 7.70)
1. Keith Hayes – 7.89q
4. Darryl Bradshaw – 8.08q
6. Brandon Bagley – 8.19q
Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles Finals (Auto: 7.70)
1. Keith Hayes – 7.84
4. Darryl Bradshaw – 8.07
6. Brandon Bagley – 8.26
Men’s 60-Meter Dash Prelims (Auto: 6.60)
3. Kadeem Kushimo – 6.88q
12. Kyron Joseph – 6.96q
23. Steve Crouse – 7.09
Men’s 60-Meter Dash Finals (Auto: 6.60)
2. Kadeem Kushimo – 6.81
10. Kyron Joseph – 6.91
Women’s Mile Run (Auto: 4:37.00)
5. Cally Macumber – 4:54.05
8. Taylor Wendler – 4:57.45
9. Anna Bostrom – 4:58.83
23. Hiruni Wijayaratne – 5:17.30
Men’s Mile Run (Auto: 3:59.00)
1. Josh Nadzam – 4:09.84 (Unattached)
10. Matt Hillenbrand – 4:16.45
14. Sharif Webb – 4:19.08
Women’s 400-Meter Dash (Auto: 52.60)
6. Shiara Robinson – 56.32
9. Jazmyn Shorter – 56.63
10. Precious Nwokey – 56.81
Men’s 400-Meter Dash (Auto: 46.15)
15. Ben Mason – 49.44
17. Cody Miller – 49.61
18. Harris Cortlandt – 50.16
25. Robbie Graham – 50.46
Women’s 800-Meter Run (Auto: 2:05.00)
14. Allison Peare – 2:20.95
Men’s 800-Meter Run (Auto: 1:48)
8. Trent Halasek – 1:53.67
11. Adam Kahleifeh – 1:54.78
16. Matt Frawley – 1:36.82
18. Thomas Canary – 1:58.29
24. William James – 2:00.25
Women’s 200-Meter Dash (Auto: 23.20)
13. Julie Nunn – 24.92
25. Brittany Cabbler – 25.68
Men’s 3,000-Meter Run (Auto: 7:54.50)
10. Luis Orta – 8:23.33
13. Walter Luttrell – 8:28.42
36. Colin Heenan – 9:00.64
Women’s 4×400-Meter Relay (Auto: 3:34.00)
1. Kentucky A – 3:40.11
1) Jenna Martin 2) Julie Nunn
3) Brittany Cabbler 4) Jazmyn Shorter
Men’s 4×400-Meter Relay (Auto: 3:06.50)
2. Kentucky A – 3:14.14
1) Kadeem Kusimo 2) Cody Miller
3) Keith Hayes 4) Sharif Webb
9. Kentucky B – 3:21.42
1) Brandon Bagley 2) Ben Mason
3) Robbie Graham 4) Corlandt Harris
