SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The University of Kentucky track and field teams concluded day two competition at the NCAA Championships Thursday evening at Hornet Stadium. Despite some excellent performances, no Wildcats advanced to the finals of their respective events.
You hate to use the phrase ?fell inches short?, but that was just what happened to sophomore Lavera Morris in Thursday?s 800 semifinals. Morris delivered a huge personal-best of 2:05.87 (fourth all-time at UK) and finished in a dead heat with Tennessee?s Leslie Treherne for the eighth and final qualifying spot. Due to the tie, the meet judges were forced to use each runner?s one-thousandth of a second result, which revealed Treherne finished in 2:05.862 and Morris 2:05.867. The difference of .005 kept Morris from reaching Saturday?s finals and being assured of All-America status. Despite not reaching the finals, Morris concluded and excellent sophomore campaign. The Orlando, Fla. native placed eighth at the regional championships to earn first career NCAA appearance and scored in both the 1,500 (fifth place, PR 4:26.53) and 800 (fourth) at the SEC Championships to combine for nine team points.
Freshman Ashley Muffet was the second Wildcat to fall just shy of advancing to the finals. Muffet?s throw of 51-4 in the shot put was 11 inches from putting her into the finals. Like Morris, Muffet enjoyed a breakthrough campaign for the Cats, breaking a 23-year old school record with a toss of 54-2.50. Muffet ranks first in the shot put, tied for third in the hammer throw (frosh record) and eighth in the discus all-time at UK.
On the men?s side, senior Dedrick Tillerson finished up his Wildcat career with a strong showing in the 400 hurdle prelims. Tillerson finished 22nd overall with a time of 51.56. The Henderson, Ky. native will leave Lexington owning the second fastest mark all-time at Kentucky (50.29).
Sophomore John Richardson?s dramatic run came to an end after placing sixth (3:48.46) in heat two of the 1,500 prelims. Richardson ran a tactical race, but the heat was extremely slow with a winning time of 3:48.12, compared to heat one where nine runners ran below 3:46.0. Richardson was .12 away from earning the final qualifying spot. Despite not qualifying, Richardson had plenty to do with the success of the UK men?s squad in 2006. The Ocean City, N.J. native won the 1,500 at the SEC Championships and finished second in the 800. His team-high 18 points tied him for sixth in the standings for the men?s SEC Commissioners Trophy (highest scoring individual). Richardson also placed second in the 1,500 at the Mideast Regional.
The UK men?s 4×400 picked a bad time to have its worst race of the season. The group entered the meet owning the second fastest mark in the country (3:02.97, UK school record) but finished a disappointing tenth (3:05.39). The future, however, looks bright, with freshman Jose Acevedo, sophomores Nathan Browning and Justin Harrison and junior Luis Luna all set to return for the 2007 season.
Other UK competitors included junior Andy Fryman who placed 19th in the shot put (58-4). Fryman won both the SEC and Mideast Regional titles. Freshman Gordon McKenzie competed in the 100, but missed the finals with a time of 10.74.
Looking ahead to next year, of the 12 Kentucky athletes that reached this year?s NCAA Championships, all but two (Ildiko Varga, Tillerson) are expected to return for the 2007 season. Up next, the Cats will potentially send various athletes to the United States Track and Field Championships, June 22-25, in Indianapolis, Ind.
