GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? The University of Kentucky track and field squads closed out the final day of the SEC Indoor Championships with first place finishes from the women?s distance medley relay team and Gavin Ball in the shot put.
Sophomore Lavera Morris, fresh off a third place finish in the 800, put the Cats in third after her 1,200-meter opening leg of the distance medley relay. Freshman Ashley Trimble then ran a swift 400 to help Kentucky take the lead before passing the baton to freshman Andrea Brown. Brown, who competed in the mile earlier in the meet, maintained the lead for the Cats, and gave junior Georganne Way and sizable gap for the final mile leg. Way started strong but was passed at the half mile mark by Florida?s Lindsay Sundell. The two then traded the lead multiple times in the last 800, before a determined Way pulled away with 100 to go, giving UK a heroic victory (11:34.46).
?After not having my best race in the mile, I was really eager for the DMR,? Way said following the race. ?Our squad worked extremely hard to give me the lead. I wanted to win for my teammates and the team and was fortunate enough to hang on for the title. It was a great race and a great win.?
Junior Gavin Ball won the shot put with a season-best toss of 61-2.25 (fifth-all-time UK). With the victory, Ball continues the Wildcat tradition after former UK great Jeff Chakouian won four straight SEC indoor shot put titles from 2001-04. Ball?s throw went well beyond the provisional standard and places him in good standing for an NCAA Championships berth. Ball was the Cats? top male individual scorer with 10 points.
?It feels good to come to Kentucky and make an immediate impact for the team,? said the junior transfer following his victory. ?I?ve become very comfortable with the environment at UK and have received great support from Coach Reynolds. This win meant a lot to me because of the strong shot put tradition we have here at Kentucky.?
Morris came through with a huge performance in the finals of the 800, placing third (2:08.62) and scoring six points for Kentucky. Morris? performance marked the fifth consecutive year a UK runner had finished in the top five at the conference meet (Beth Heimann, fourth 2005, 2004; fifth, 2003, 2002). Morris ran a provisional mark and personal-best earlier this season (2:07.88) at the Iowa State Classic (2/11).
Freshman Ashley Muffet placed seventh in the weight throw after finishing third in the shot put on Saturday. Muffet?s toss of 61-9 (second all-time UK) marked a personal-best and was just shy of former Wildcat Gennessa Guzman?s school record (61-9.75, Lexington, 2005). Muffet just missed the provisional standard (62-4), but owns a mark in the shot put (52-2.75). For the meet, Muffet was the Cats? top female individual scorer with eight points.
Way pick up two points for the Cats in the mile finals with a seventh place finish (4:57.98), while Brown finished ninth in a time of 4:58.64. Way owns a provisional mark in the 800 (2:06.49, second all-time UK, ninth nationally) and will more than likely receive a bid to the NCAA Championships, March 10-11, in Fayetteville, Ark.
Sophomore John Richardson finished tenth in the mile run finals after getting tripped and falling on the fifth lap on the 200-meter flat track. Arkansas? Said Ahmed repeated as SEC champ (4:01.15), edging out host Florida?s Shane Stroup (4:01.21) at the tape.
Kentucky?s male DMR (Stephan Smith, Dedrick Tillerson, Gabe McLaren and Richardson) finished fourth with a season-best time of 9:47.92 — just shy of a provisional mark (9:45.90).
The Wildcats’ 4×400 relay (Justin Harrison, Nathan Browning, Jose Acevedo, Luis Luna) closed out the meet with a strong third place finish (3:12.62). The Cats entered the meet with the ninth fastest time nationally and a provisional mark of 3:07.65.
Freshman Gordon McKenzie placed ninth in the finals of the 200 with a time of 21.71.
Freshman Lindsey Moody cleared a season-best 5-5 in the high jump.
The men?s team title went to Arkansas for the second consecutive season (141 pts.) The Razorbacks have now won 13 of the last 15 SEC indoor meets. Kentucky finished with 21 points. The women?s crown went to Georgia (101.5 pts.), who won its first-ever conference title. UK notched 26 team points to place ninth.
Next weekend, various Cats who are in search of or looking to improve on provisional marks, will travel around the country to NCAA Last Chance Qualifiers.
