By Jacob Most
April 19, 2014 –
Photos | Results (Univ.)
| Results (HS)
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky won eight Kentucky Relays events, spearheaded by Raymond Dykstra’s NCAA second-ranked javelin throw on a sunny Saturday at the UK Outdoor Track and Field Complex.
Dykstra’s stadium and school-record mark led the way for the Wildcats. The two-time All-American launched his fifth attempt 76.25 meters/250-feet, 2-inches bettering his previous personal best from the 2012 season by nearly three feet.
The mark smashed the previous stadium record by more than 12 feet, and also ranks second in the nation this year.
“Just competing at home I wanted the team to get that comfortable feeling,” head coach Edrick Floréal said. “As we prepare for the SEC Championships on this track in a month’s time we wanted the team to get a feel for competing here. Hopefully for SEC’s we get an even-more exciting environment. We really want to create a home-field advantage.
“Alisha Adair sort of jumped out from the crowd a little bit today. She’s sort of been in the background and today running 23.9 and splitting 52.7 in the 4x400m relay was a great job. Ray almost threw that thing across the track where it could have hit some of the pole vaulters. He finally has figured some things out, and he’s done a fantastic job.”
In all, the sixth-ranked Kentucky women’s team won five events, while the No. 25 men’s team won three.
The Kentucky Relays notably marked the 2014 debut of two-time SEC Champion and five-time All-American Cally Macumber. The senior returned to action by winning the mile with a time of 4:50.13. Macumber was not handed the win either, as after leading for much of the first three laps, she conceded her advantage at the bell before kicking nicely to win going away on the final straight-away.
Adair enjoyed what was likely her best-ever competition in a UK uniform. The freshman won the 200m with a personal best time 23.91 before running one of the best relay splits of her career, 52.7, as part of UK’s second-place 4x400m relay team.
2014 NCAA 200m Champion Dezerea Bryant had a solid outdoor home-opener winning the 100m dash easily with a time of 11.55.
Leah Nugent edged teammate and fellow multi-time All-American Kayla Parker to win the 100m hurdles by .03 seconds as she clocked in at 13.41 having run into a -0.7 wind.
Justin Kretchmer won the men’s high jump with his outdoor season-best clearance 2.09m/6-10.25. Ibn Short and Ryan Ratliff placed fourth and fifth respectively.
Andrew Evans capped his Senior Day with a win in the discus as he was one of three Wildcats to win at their final regular-season home meet (Macumber – mile, and Parker – 4x100m relay). The returning NCAA Discus Bronze-Medalist threw his outdoor season-best 60.87m/199-8.
Charles Moushey placed second in the pole vault with a top clearance of 5.20m/17-0.75, a mark which ranks just under an inch short of the UK Freshman Record. Notably, it was Moushey’s first time ever clearing a bar above 17-feet in competition.
Angelica Whaley also acquitted herself nicely as she lowered her personal-best 400m time to 53.84, her first time under 54 seconds.
Rebecca Famurewa placed second in the hammer throw with a PR mark of 58.41m/191-08.
The Kentucky Relays, which had not been held since the early 1990s, served as a sort of dress rehearsal for the 2014 Southeastern Conference Championships. The SEC Outdoor Meet has not been contested in Lexington since 1996, but will be hosted by UK from May 15-18.
