The University of Kentucky track and field team welcomes aboard 18 newcomers for the 2006 campaign head coach Don Weber announced Tuesday. The incoming class will help bolster a squad that is expected to return nine athletes who scored at last season?s outdoor SEC Championships.
On the men?s side, Jose Acevedo joins the team from Venezuela, where he is the Venezuela junior national record holder in the 400 meters. That mark broke current track team member Luis Luna?s record in the event. Acevedo has personal best times of 10.50 in the 100 meters, 20.96 in the 200 and 46.21 in the 400.
Brandon Austin is one of three Kentucky state champions joining the team. He won the 2004 Class AA State Championship in the 100 meter and the 2005 Class AA State Championship in the 200 meter.
Gavin Ball comes to the Wildcats as a junior transfer from the University of Kansas. Ball was a five-time state champion at Monona Grove High school in Cottage Grove, Wisc. In his freshman year with the Jayhawks, Ball captured three individual outdoor wins and two individual indoor wins. He took first place in the shot put at the Texas Relays with a mark of 59-2.25. Ball boasts personal bests of 60.02 in the shot put and 180.02 in the discus.
Tim Cunningham of Rutland, Mass., placed sixth at the 2005 National Scholastic Indoor Championships in the two-mile and received indoor All-America Honors. Rutland will compete on the UK cross country squad this fall.
Ryan Finn, a native of Ajax, Ontario, joins the team after placing second in the 800 meters at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships. He was a member of the 2003 Canadian World Youth Team and is a current member of UK cross country team. Finn has run personal bests of 1:51.15 in the 800 meters and 3:54.73 in the 1,500 meters.
Bruce Hordusky is a two-time all-state honoree from Erie, Pa., where he set the Linesville Invitational course record with a time of 15:54 in the 5k run.
David Jones, a member of UK?s football team, won the 2005 Class AA title in the 100 meter and joins the Wildcats from Belfry High School.
Gordon McKenzie comes to the Bluegrass from the Big Apple, where he competed for Holy Cross High School. He placed first in the AAU Junior Olympics 4 x 100 meter relay and second in the 100 meter and the 4 x 400 meter relay. McKenzie also placed second in the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in the 200 meter en route to All-America honors. McKenzie holds personal bests of 10.45 in the 100 meters and 21.12 in the 200 meters.
Alfonzo Smith, a member of the UK football team, joins the Wildcats track team after winning the Kentucky Class AAA State Championship in the 100 meter at Waggener High School. Smith has a personal best of 10.7 in the 100 meters.
On the women?s side, Shylan Brumbrey was an 800-meter indoor All-America selection as a senior in Fredericksburg, Va., where she became the first athlete in Virginia prep history to win the Virginia State title in the 800 meter four consecutive years. Brumbrey?s personal best in the 800 meters is 2:12. Brumbrey will compete for the UK cross country team this fall.
Owensboro, Ky., native Mary Chris Durham comes to the Cats from Owensboro High School where she made her mark as the Kentucky State Champion and state record holder as a pole vaulter with a personal best mark of 12?0?.
Andrea Halasek is a local product from Georgetown, Ky., where she was a three-time first team all-state cross country honoree and placed second at the state meet as a senior. She holds the Scott County High School record for the 5,000, 3,200 and 1,600 meters. Halasek will compete for the Cats cross country squad this fall.
Kleo Mack was a member of her school?s record setting 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 meter relay teams at Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio. She also was the district champion in the 400 meters. Mack is expected to compete for the UK cross country team.
Andrea Taylor Miller, a current UK cross country harrier, was a four-time city-county cross country and two-mile champion at Daviess County High School and joins the squad from Owensboro, Ky.
Laura Mitchell, a Murray, Ky., native, was a state champion in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles as a senior at Murray High School. Mitchell also will run cross country at UK.
Whitney Popp is a 2003 honorable mention all-state cross country performer from Indianapolis, who also competed in volleyball and basketball in high school. Popp?s sister, Melissa, is currently on the UK volleyball team.
Pole vaulter Maggie Tincher joins the Wildcats from Winfield High School in Scott Depot, W.Va., where she won the state pole vault championships as a senior. Her personal best mark is 11?3?.
Ashley Trimble comes to Lexington from Hamilton Township High School in Ohio, where she was a three-time state champion in the 100 meter hurdles and the 300 indoor hurdles. Overall, she was a six-time Ohio State Champion. Trimble has personal bests of 14.14 in the 100 meter high hurdles and 43.90 in the 300 meter hurdles.
