FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.-The University of Kentucky?s Michael Mason finished second at the SEC Track and Field Indoor Championships in the high jump with a leap of 7-2 ? at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The freshman earned All-SEC honors, tied his own freshman school record and remains tied for second on UK?s top times list.
?Mike is a lot further along than most freshman,? UK head coach Don Weber said. ?He is a great competitor and shines when the odds are against him.?
Qualifying for Sunday?s finals were freshman Justin Harrison, senior Beth Heimann and freshman Gabe McClaren. Harrison qualified for the men?s 400-meter final with a personal-best and NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 46.72. With that time Harrison also broke the freshman school record of 47.08 and now owns second-fastest 400-meter indoor time in Kentucky history.
?Justin has an unbelievable attitude for a freshman,? said Weber. ?He is eager to race when so many other freshman are anxious, he ran very well and had a great day.?
Senior three-time All-American Beth Heimann qualified in the women?s 800-meters with a season-best time of 2:08.53, while freshman Gabe McClaren ran a strong race in the men?s 800-meter run, recording a personal-best time of 1:51.28 to qualify for Sunday?s final.
?Beth has been hurt, but that does not hinder her races because she just races well and gets good positioning,? said Weber. ?Her best chance to qualify for nationals is tomorrow because it should be a fast race.?
Competing in the Cats only other final was sophomore Andy Fryman who recorded a ninth place finish in the weight throw with a toss of 56-10 ?.
In addition to Harrison?s qualifying time UK entered three other competitors in the men?s 400-meter dash. Dedrick Tillerson and freshmen Adam Franklin and Nathan Browning competed well for Kentucky. Tillerson ran a season-best and provisional qualifying mark of 47.24, while Franklin and Browning gained valuable post-season experience.
In the men?s 800-meter preliminary heats Nick Reeves, Stephan Smith, Dan Hutson and Kris Landers all represented UK. Reeves ran a season-best 1:54.44, while Smith finished well as a freshman for the Cats.
Also competing in the women?s 800-meter run for Kentucky were freshmen Lavera Morris and sophomores Jackie Gordon and Georganne Way. Morris recorded season-best time of 2:11.52, while Gordon ran a career-best time of 2:13.73.
Freshman Jeremy Johnson tied his season-best 29.91 in the 200-meters for UK and freshman Liliane Sparkes turned in a strong mark of 5:02.82 in her first SEC Indoor Championship competition.
Kentucky returns to the track at 9 a.m. with the women?s 20-lb. weight throw. Finals for the running events start at 12:35 p.m. with the men?s 60-meter hurdles. Live stats available at ukathletics.com.
-UK-
