LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Four University of Kentucky track and field athletes brought home first-place honors on the opening evening of competition in the Kentucky Invitational held at E.J. Nutter Field House Friday. Two Wildcats earned NCAA provisional marks which are used to gain at-large entry into the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.
UK freshman Grant Lindsey earned one of those marks in the men?s high jump, clearing a height of 7-00.25. Wildcat junior Rashaud Scott clinched the other provisional mark in the men?s weight throw with a toss of 64-10.75.
The junior?s win in the weight throw led a Kentucky sweep of the top three spots in the event. UK seniors Andy Fryman (62-04.50 ? 2nd) and Alek Grietens (59-06.75 ? 3rd) completed the trifecta.
?The men?s weight throw was an outstanding performance for all three guys,? said UK throws assistant coach Doug Reynolds. ?Alek Grietens? mark was a personal record and Fryman was near a personal record which happened at the end of the season last year.
?Rashaud also set a personal record only a foot off of the school record and he is just getting started. He is going to do great things for us. I think this is a wake-up call to the conference that we have three guys throwing over 18 meters and two over 19. Kentucky is building a throws program and one that?s going to be for real.?
Scott also smashed the men?s discus Nutter Field House collegiate record that departed senior Gavin Ball set in 2006 with a throw of 203-04, becoming the first Wildcat to break the 200-foot mark in the indoor event. Fryman finished second at 171-05.
On the women?s side, junior Maggie Tincher claimed a fourth title for the Cats with her victory in the pole vault. Tincher cleared a mark of 11-11.75 on her first attempt at the height earning her the win. Tincher?s clinching vault was within striking distance of the UK all-time record which she set last season at 12-00.50.
?Maggie Tincher had a really good day being less than an inch off of the school record at the first meet of the year,? said UK jumps/multi-events/pole vault assistant coach James Thomas. ?For her to win it tonight, meant a lot going against some conference foes in Alabama and Tennessee.?
Two UK freshmen made impressive debuts in the triple jump at their first collegiate meet. Ke?Undra Bishop took home second place with a jump of 40-06.75. On the men?s side, David Banks placed third measuring a distance of 49-05.00. The three athletes ranked ahead of the rookies each earned provisional marks: Sarah Nambawa of Middle Tennessee State (43-01.75) on the women?s side and Georgia Tech?s Alphonso Jordan (51-00.25) and James Lemons (50-09.50) for the men.
?Bishop set a personal record tonight, I think she is going to be a factor in the SEC,? Thomas said.
The other provisional mark handed out tonight went to Ohio State senior Veronica Jatsek in the women?s weight throw. Jatsek?s winning toss of 67-11.50 landed just short of the NCAA automatic qualifying mark. UK junior Ashley Muffet and sophomore Kristen Smith finished fourth and fifth; respectively behind Jatsek.
?On the women?s side in the weight throw Ashley Muffet came up with a nice finish and throw,? Reynolds said. ?She hasn?t trained with the weight a lot, so for her to throw a mark that could stand every year in the SEC meet is tremendous.
?Kristen Smith really has made huge strides throwing this year. A year ago she couldn?t have walked onto that stage and done that. I think she showed she?s ready to compete for us.?
The Cats garnered nine top-three finishes in six events competing for the first time this season. Kentucky?s hot start to the year made for some happy coaches at opening night?s end.
?I was really pleased with tonight,? said Reynolds. ?I don?t think we could have asked for anything more.?
Thomas concurred, ?I?m pleased with tonight.? ?We had a bunch of freshmen getting after it tonight. Grant Lindsey had a heck of a performance and Banks got an all-time personal record in his first attempt. I have high expectations for our freshmen out here.?
Competition resumes Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET. The event is free to the public and live stats will be available at UKathletics.com. This is the first of two home meets this season for the Wildcats with the Rod McCravy Memorial taking place Feb. 1-2.
Participating teams at the event include: Alabama (women only), Arkansas State, Clemson (women only), Eastern Kentucky, Furman, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Kentucky State, Marshall (women only), Michigan (women only), Middle Tennessee State, Ohio State (women only), Pittsburgh (women only), Tennessee (women only), Vanderbilt (women only), Western Kentucky, and Wright State.
Kentucky Top-Five Results on Friday at the Kentucky Invitational (January 11, 2008 ? Lexington, Ky.)
Men’s Weight Throw
1. Rashaud Scott ? 64-10.75 ? PROVISIONAL MARK/MEET CHAMPION
2. Andy Fryman ? 62-04.50
3. Alek Grietens ? 59-06.75
Men?s High Jump
1. Grant Lindsey – 7-00.25 ? PROVISIONAL MARK/MEET CHAMPION
Women?s Pole Vault
1. Maggie Tincher ? 11-11.75 – MEET CHAMPION
Men?s Discus
2. Rashaud Scott ? 203-04 ? NUTTER FIELD HOUSE COLLEGIATE RECORD
3. Andy Fryman ? 171-05
5. Colin Boevers ? 157-10
Women?s Triple Jump
2. Ke?Undra Bishop ? 40-06.75
Men’s Triple Jump
3. David Banks ? 49-05.00
Women’s Weight Throw
4. Ashley Muffet ? 59-00.25
5. Kristen Smith ? 57-02.75
