LEXINGTON, Ky. – After beginning the season with two consecutive home meets, the Kentucky Track and Field squads hit the road for the first time this season to participate in the seventh-annual New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York.
The prestigious two-day event at the Armory Track and Field Center commences at 11 a.m. EST on Friday and continues at 8:45 a.m. EST on Saturday. Nine women?s teams from the Trackwire top 25 will be participating, including No. 1 LSU. Seven top 25 men?s teams also will be competing in the event. Live statistics for all of Saturday?s action will be available at www.trackshark.com.
?This is an exciting opportunity for us to participate in one of the best indoor track meets in the country,? UK head coach Don Weber said. ?We are eager to go and, based on the previous two meets and our training, I am looking for some big performances this weekend.?
The Wildcats are coming off strong showings in a pair of home meets ? the Kentucky Invitational and the Rod McCravy Memorial ? that began the 2007 campaign. Numerous personal bests were met in UK?s last outing in E.J. Nutter Field House.
The men?s 4×400 relay ? one of the highlights of last season?s team – broke its own McCravy meet record by posting an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 3:08.99. Sophomore sprinter Gordon McKenzie (Queens, N.Y.) finished third in the 60-meter dash with a provisional-qualifying time of 6.74. The UK distance runners continued to show steady improvement as junior Stephan Smith (Tallahassee, Fla.) notched a personal-best 4:11.83 to finish second in the men?s mile. Thrower Andy Fryman (Maysville, Ky.) recorded a provisional-qualifying toss in the shot put (59-4) for the second consecutive week, while Gavin Ball (Cottage Grove, Wisc.) also was a provisional qualifier in the event with a toss of 58-8.
The women?s distance runners notched a highly-successful day as five Cats notched personal-bests in the mile, and senior Georganne Way (Lititz, Pa.) finished fifth in the race with a time of 4:52.61 to lead all Kentucky runners. Freshman sprinter Jenna Martin (Nova Scotia) continued to impress in her rookie campaign, finishing the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.71 and the 200-meter dash with a 24.51. In addition, sophomore thrower Ashley Muffet (North Canton, Ohio) notched an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark for the second consecutive week in the shot put. Muffet?s throw of 55-1.5 was just shy of her school-record toss set the previous week the Kentucky Invitational.
In the 2006 New Balance Collegiate Invitational, North Carolina claimed the women?s team title, while LSU won the men?s team championship.
Complete results and a recap of this weekend?s action will be available at ukathletics.com.
