The University of Kentucky track and field team will host the 2004 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track Championships on Feb. 27-29 at the Nutter Field House. Teams from around the league will converge on Lexington for the three-day event that proves each year to be one of the most prestigious track events in the country.
The UK men?s team had eight student-athletes place in the indoor events last season, which were held at the Stephen C. O?Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. The Cats had one first-place finish, as Jeff Chakouian captured his third-consecutive and fourth overall shot put title in 2003 with a throw of 63-03.50 to earn All-SEC honors. Chakouian has already topped that mark this season with a launch of 63-10.75 at the season-opening Kentucky Invitational. In addition, the senior placed first at the highly competitive Iowa State Classic and has the best throw in the SEC and the fifth-best toss in the NCAA this season.
Joining Chakouian with All-SEC accolades in 2003 was Hunter Spencer, who finished second in the mile run at the championships last season. Although Spencer and fellow senior Thomas Morgan, the reigning SEC Cross Country Champion and place scorer in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs on the track, have run out of indoor eligibility, the Cats still have a lot to be optimistic about. David Freeman will be one of the student-athletes expected to fill their shoes, as he is looking to improve upon his third-place showing the mile last year with All-SEC hopes this season. He currently holds the second-fastest mile in the conference this season with his 4:01.47 clocking at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational. Freeman also ranks 12th in the NCAA this year in the mile and is looking to earn his third All-American honor at the NCAA Championships in March. Senior Justin Amason will be counted on to improve his seventh-place performance in the event in 2003, while Kris Landers, an 800-meter runner last season, has a time of 4:08.97 this year in the mile and should challenge to make the SEC final.
UK also looks to be strong in the 800-meter run with 2003 All-Americans James Doaty, who finished fourth at the 2003 indoor championships, and Paul Ciurlys, who came in ninth last year in the event, steadily improving during the indoor season. With the impressive accolades given to the distance runners at Kentucky over the last several years, it is no wonder the distance medley relay team came in a close second at the SEC?s last season and will be a contender this season as well, with Landers, Doaty, Ciurlys and Freeman competing.
The men?s team isn?t the only squad with high hopes for the SEC Championships, as the women want to make their mark among the best in the conference as well. Once again, the distance runners will look to lead the Cats in 2003. The women?s distance medley relay squad set the school record twice already this season, and with the No. 2 time in the league and ninth-best squad in the country this year, the team will be among the favorites over the weekend. Relay member Caitlin Phillips, who came in third in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs last year and ranked as UK?s highest point scorer at the meet, has the current 3000-meter top time in the SEC this season with an NCAA qualifying mark of 9:29.41 at the Iowa State Classic.
Brooke Patterson is ranked in the top-10 in two events this year, as the senior has the third-fastest and eighth-place times in the mile run and 800 meters, respectively, and will also compete in the distance medley. Patterson came in sixth in the mile last year at the championships and has improved her personal-best time by more than four seconds this year in the mile to a time of 4:44.48, which ranks her 16th in the country. Two-time All-American Beth Heimann, the current school-record holder in the 800-meter run, will hope to improve on her third-place showing a year ago in the event. Heimann has recorded an 800-meter time of 2:06.07 this year, a performance which has her ranked third in the conference and seventh in the NCAA.
While the women have lost the three-time SEC champion in the high jump in Janet Crawford, the Cats have an up-and-coming replacement in sophomore Rachel Kohler. Kohler placed seventh indoors and third outdoors a year ago and has even higher hopes for All-SEC honors in 2004. In the throwing events, Genessa Guzman, who just missed the 2003 SEC Championships, has set a new school record this year in the weight throw and should be a factor in the event.
Arkansas won both the men?s and women?s titles last year. The women?s pentathlon and men?s heptathlon will get underway Friday night beginning at 4:30 p.m. Field events on Saturday will begin at 10 a.m. followed by preliminary events on the track at 2:10 p.m. Tickets for the general public are sold out.
Complete results from all three days will be available at www.ukathletics.com.
