TEMPE, Ariz. ? The University of Kentucky track & field Squad claimed top honors in three events Saturday at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. UK took top medalist honors in the women?s 200-meter dash, as junior Kenya Patton recorded a regional qualifying and personal-best time of 23.96. Fellow junior Ildiko Varga also took top honors in the women?s discus with a toss of 173-08, while the men?s 4×800-meter relay team claimed first with a time of 7:29.56 at the Joe Selleh Track.
Kentucky captured a total of 22 top-ten finishes, including six top-three honors. Medalist honors were awarded to junior Rachel Kohler, who took second in the women?s high jump with a leap of 5-07, while Jackie Gordon took third in the women?s 400-meter dash with a season-best time of 57.03. Also in the 400 meters on the men?s side, capturing sixth, was freshman Dan Hutson who crossed the finish line with a season-best time of 48.32.
Kentucky took home five top-ten honors in the women?s 800-meter run, led by senior Brooke Patterson?s third-place finish with a season-best time of 2:09.94. Freshman Lavera Morris continued on her first day success, crossing the finish line in fourth, also with a season-best time of 2:11.18. Sophomore Georganne Way (2:12.32), freshman Liliane Sparkes (2:15.59) and sophomore Jackie Gordon (2:15.79) finished seventh through ninth for the Cats. Sparkes? mark was a season-best time.
The men?s 800-meter run brought fourth-place honors for junior Ryan Deluca. DeLuca finished with a season-best time of 1:52.99. Deluca also competed in the men?s 4×800-meter relay as the Cats final runner. Also competing on the relay team were Dan Hutson, Nick Reeves and Gabe McLaren. Freshman Andre Silva also competed well in the men?s 800-meter run, recording a personal-best time of 1:55.36.
In men?s 100-meter dash the freshman duo of Justin Harrison and Nathan Browning claimed fourth and sixth, respectively. Harrison finished with a time of 11.09, while Browning recorded a mark of 11.22. The duo continued their success, each with personal-bests in the men?s 200-meter dash. Harrison claimed fifth with a time of 21.36, while Browning took home tenth in a time of 21.98, beating his previous personal-best by .01.
The men?s sprint squad took home fifth-place honors in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:23.30. The Cats mixed up the line-up from the indoor season, as the team was comprised of Scott Brownlee, Tom Masthay, Nick Burchfield and Jeremy Johnson.
Kentucky?s field events continued to reel in top-finishes, as Gennessa Guzman added to her honors from Friday with her second fourth-place finish. Guzman threw 166 even in the women?s discus. Andy Fryman took home fifth in the men?s discus with a toss of 163-05.
Kentucky returns to action April 2 at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga.
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