April 23, 2009
PHILADELPHIA – Kentucky distance runner Katherine Peterson moved up the school’s all-time list in the women’s 5,000 meter run Thursday after the junior placed eighth in the Penn Relays’ Olympic Development race, crossing the finish line in 16:49.62.
Peterson’s NCAA regional-qualifying time smashed her season-best mark by 27 seconds and topped her personal-best finish by almost three seconds. She improved upon her previous personal record turned in at Stanford last season that stood 10th in the UK record books coming into the race.
On a light day of competition for the Cats, senior Ashley Trimble finished fourth overall in the women’s 400m hurdle championships. Trimble ran a season-best time of 59.38 in the morning cool of sub-50 degree temperatures. Her regional-qualifying time was just 0.05 seconds shy of her personal-best mark that ranks second all-time at UK.
Senior Bruce Hordusky made his season debut in 10,000m run. He turned in a time of 30:59.17 to finish 18th in the final event of the day, just before midnight.
Wildcat runners resume Relays competition Friday at 9:00 a.m.; live results can be found at UKathletics.com.
The prestigious Penn Relays are annually contested at the University of Pennsylvania’s historic football stadium – Franklin Field. The 115th year of the nation’s oldest relay event provides a strong field that includes athletes from 26 teams in the latest men’s and women’s United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings.
The ninth-ranked Kentucky men are one of eight top-10 squads represented in the City of Brotherly Love. The other teams include No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Florida State, No. 6 LSU, No. 8 South Carolina and No. 10 Texas. On the women’s side, the five top-10 squads competing are No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Virginia Tech, No. 7 Penn State and No. 8 Tennessee.
On the left coast, Kentucky field event specialists will take part in the University of California at San Diego’s Triton Invitational beginning competition at 1:00 p.m. Friday. Other teams represented at the Invitational include Arizona, Nebraska, Tennessee, UCLA and USC.
A recap of the Cats’ performances will be available on UKathletics.com after each day of competition.
