LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky track and field squads remain at home for the second consecutive week as they prepare to play host to the Rod McCravy Memorial in E.J. Nutter Field House. Four men?s teams and three women?s teams in the Memorial field are ranked in the Trackwire Indoor Top 25 poll.
Activities in the two-day event get underway Friday at 5 p.m. EST with the majority of the field events and continue Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public with live statistics available at ukathletics.com. It marks the second of three events that the Wildcats will host this season at Nutter Field House, including the SEC Championships, Feb. 23-25.
?We are approaching this meet much like we did last week?s meet,? UK head coach Don Weber said. ?With having meets in back-to-back weeks, there is not necessarily a lot of time for our kids to make large improvements. I think some of them who may have come out tentative in the first week, will be more comfortable out there and will improve because of that.?
Teams participating in the event include: Chattanooga, Eastern Kentucky, Florida (men only), Georgia, Georgia State, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt (women only) and Virginia Tech.
The women?s side features three ranked teams in No. 4 South Carolina, No. 8 Tennessee and No. T19 Georgia, while the men?s side features four in No. 8 Florida, No. 10 Louisville, No. 11 South Carolina and No. 17 Tennessee.
Kentucky had a strong showing at the season-opening Kentucky Invitational last weekend. Sophomore thrower Ashley Muffet (North Canton, Ohio) highlighted the meet by shattering a 24-year-old school record in the women?s shot put with a mark of 55-3.05. Muffet and senior Andy Fryman (Maysville, Ky.) both notched NCAA provisional qualifying marks in their respective shot-put events. Junior mid-distance runner Lavera Morris (Orlando, Fla.) also notched a provisional qualifying mark with a time of 2:07.22 in the 800 meter run. The men?s 4×400 meter squad ? a highlight of the 2006 season – also showed promise in its opening meet of the season.
Rod McCravy (1968-87)
The Rod McCravy Memorial Track and Field meet is named in honor of McCravy, a former University of Kentucky track athlete who died in 1987 at the age of 19 while sleeping in his dorm room. Although only a sophomore, Rod had already become one of the team?s leaders. His charisma and genuine caring for others earned him the respect and admiration of all of his teammates. His personal impact on his teammates, friends and coaches went beyond athletics. A social work major, Rod is remembered as a dedicated, enthusiastic athlete who was a conscientious students and outstanding human being. A graduate of Louisville?s Trinity High School, Rod was a two-time Class 3A state champ in the 300 meter hurdles. He set the then UK freshman record in the 400 hurdles and finishes sixth at the TAC National Junior Championships. A meet named in Rod?s honor enables us to remember him, as well as provide an on-going opportunity to speak to our athletes about his impact on our program and those he surrounded.
