What’s Up
The University of Kentucky track and field squads host the second of two home indoor meets Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28.The meet has been designated the Rod McCravy Memorial and will be held at Nutter Field House located next to Commonwealth Football Stadium. Friday?s events will start at 6 p.m. ET and run till around 9. Saturday?s events will begin at 10:30 a.m. and conclude around 6:30 p.m. This year?s meet will feature four teams that finished in the top 25 at last season?s NCAA Indoor Championships. On the men?s side, Virginia Tech (t-16), Tennessee (t-16th) and Ole Miss (22) will be present, and for the women, Georgia Tech (21st). Fans wishing to follow the meet will be able to via live scoring on www.ukathletics.com. A live stat link on the front page of the website with be made available. Results for the meet will be available following the conclusion of the last event. Admission and parking to both days is free.
Newcomer Impact
After one meet, the UK newcomers have made their presence felt. Freshman pole vaulter Mary Durham (Ownesboro, Ky.) placed third with a jump of 11-5.75 en route to smashing the indoor freshman mark. Durham?s jump was only four inches off of the school record. Thrower Ashley Muffet (N. Canton, Ohio) also got into the mix, placing third in the shot put and fifth in the weight throw. Muffet?s efforts now rank her in the top 10 in both events among SEC athletes. Ex-gymnast Michelle Gales got into the act as well and posted UK all-time top 10 marks in the long and triple jump in her first collegiate competition. Freshman Gordon McKenzie (Queens, N.Y.) placed sixth in the 60 meters (6.82) and now sits eighth all-time at UK in that event. Junior transfer Gavin Ball (Monona Grove, Wis.) finished fifth in the shot put (54-10.25) and won an exhibition of the discus (177-0).
Other Impressive Showings
Not to be overshadowed by the newcomers, some of the returnees put up good marks as well at last weekend?s meet. Sophomore John Richardson placed third in the mile with an excellent early season time of 4:08.24. Richardson got a quick pace from former Cats and unattached milers David Freeman (first, 4:01.02) and Hunter Spencer (second, 4:03.87). Richardson placed first amongst collegiate entries. In the women?s mile run, junior Georganne Way finished third in a time of 4:56.80, eclipsing last year?s season best by exactly 10 seconds. Senior Allison Grace, sophomore Lavera Morris and freshman Andrea Brown finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. In the final event of the day, the men?s 4×400-meter relay team edged Auburn in a photo finish with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 3:10.11.
Welcome Aboard
The Cats welcome throws coach Doug Reynolds to staff this season. Reynolds comes to UK after spending the past five seasons as the throwing coach at the University of Kansas, during which time he was responsible for the program?s recruiting efforts, coaching and conditioning for KU throwers. Reynolds? throwers at Kansas set six school records, as well as three Big 12 Conference records, three national records, one collegiate record and captured seven Big 12 individual titles. During his coaching tenure, Reynolds has coached 16 All-America selections, two individual NCAA Champions and one collegiate record. Reynolds, a 1998 graduate of Arizona, earned national recognition as a Pac-10 champion in the discus throw, along with a No. 1 NCAA ranking. He competed in the NCAA championships in the shot put and discus throw. In 1996, Reynolds was the NJCAA champion in the shot put and discus. He followed that performance with a bronze medal at the 1997 World University Games in the discus. In 1999, Reynolds ranked 11th in the world and fourth in the U.S. in the discus throw.
Rod McCravy (1968-87)
The Rod McCravy Memorial Track and Field meet is named in honor of McCravy, a former University of Kentucky track athlete who died in 1987 while sleeping in his dorm room at the age of 19. Although only a sophomore, Rod had already become one of the team?s leaders. His charisma and genuine caring for others earned him the respect and admiration of all of his teammates. His personal impact on his teammates, friends and coaches went beyond athletics. A social work major, Rod is remembered as a dedicated, enthusiastic athlete who was a conscientious students and outstanding human being. A graduate of Louisville?s Trinity High School, Rod was a two-time Class 3A state champ in the 300 meter hurdles. He set the then UK freshman record in the 400 hurdles and finishes sixth at the TAC National Junior Championships. A meet named in Rod?s honor enables us to remember him, as well as provide an on-going opportunity to speak to our athletes about his impact on our program and those he surrounded.
