June 12, 2003

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – University of Kentucky senior track athlete Thomas Morgan finished 12th in the 5,000 meter preliminaries on Wednesday, June 11, to advance to the event final on Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Teammate Simidele Adeagbo tied for 10th in the triple jump Thursday evening to secure her spot in Saturday’s final as well.

Morgan crossed the line in 14:06.51, earning him a spot among the 16 finalists. Also competing on Wednesday evening was junior Olubusola Adeagbo, who made her first appearance at the national meet, taking 25th in the 400-meter hurdles prelims.

The Wildcats’ group of four remaining 800-meter runners competed in the event semifinals Thursday morning. Beth Heimann took 13th with a time of 2:05.57, while teammate Brooke Patterson was 16th after crossing the line in 2:07.78. On the men’s side, Jean Balan was 11th in semifinal action with a time of 1:48.54, while Paul Ciurlys took 16th with a finish of 1:50.46. Only the top-eight in each semifinal advanced to Saturday’s championship run.

Kentucky star Simidele Adeagbo is slated to compete in the women’s triple jump at 10:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, while Hunter Spencer and David Freeman, both returning All-Americans, will compete in the 1,500 meters at 9:25 p.m. ET. UK will have no one competing in Friday’s events, but will return to action on Saturday.