LEXINGTON, Ky. ? University of Kentucky track and field athlete Mikel Thomas broke his one-week old record Friday night in New York City?s eighth-annual New Balance Collegiate Invitational.

The UK junior led the finals field going into the third hurdle but two hurdlers closed hard to beat him at the line. Thomas finished third at 7.79 in the return to his hometown. Last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, he broke a 36-year old Kentucky record in the event with a 7.93 mark.

?That time should get him into the NCAA Indoor Championships,? UK assistant coach for sprints and hurdles Erin Tucker said.

The prestigious two-day Invitational at the Armory Track and Field Center continues at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday. Six women?s teams from the USTFCCCA top 25 will participate, including the Cats and No. 1 LSU. On the men?s side, eight top 25 men?s teams will compete including UK and No. 1 Tennessee. Live statistics are available at the meet official homepage (http://ny.milesplit.us/pages/2008CollegiateResults).

Other highlights of the day included sophomore Jenna Martin?s finish as the top qualifier in the women?s 400 meter dash prelims at a time of 53.57. Classmate Katherine Peterson ran a season-best time for the Cats in the women?s 3000 meters clocking in at 9:49.78 to place seventh. Running in his home state, senior Andre Silva crossed the finish in eighth with a time of 8:25.23 in the men?s 3000 meters, marking a 40-second improvement over his previous best this year.

In the 500 meter dash the Cats claimed three top-10 finishes. Junior Kleo Mack finished in ninth (1:16.04) while senior Justin Harrison (1:03.07) edged out teammate Nathan Browning (1:03.54) to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.

In the women?s 60 hurdles final, freshman Danielle Sampley finished eighth while junior Ashley Trimble placed 16th.

Junior Gordon McKenzie qualified for the men?s finals in the 60m dash after a sprint of 6.80.

Complete results and a recap of this Saturday?s action will be available at ukathletics.com.