We take a look at some of the Kentucky highlights at last weekend?s 2006 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Up next, the Cats prepare for the Mideast Regional, May 26-27, at Knoxville, Tenn.
— John Richardson became the first UK runner since Bob Whelan in 1990 to win the 1,500 meters. Richardson?s time (3:43.90) ranks ninth all-time at UK. Richardson also placed second in the 800 meters (1:49.91). Richardson tied for sixth in the standings for the men?s SEC Commissioners Trophy (highest scoring individual) with a team-high 18 points. Richardson owns regional qualifying marks in both events.
— Andy Fryman won the shot put title (61-5.50), giving UK two SEC titles for the first time since 2002. Fryman?s performance marked the fifth consecutive year a Wildcat thrower had won either an indoor or outdoor conference title. During that span, the Cats earned 11 All-SEC awards (top three finish). Former Kentucky great Jeff Chakouian won four consecutive indoor titles from 2000-04 and won the outdoor crown in 2002. Fryman also scored points for the Cats in the hammer throw (personal-best 195-0, second all-time at UK) and discus (sixth place). Fryman tallied 17 team points for the meet. Fryman owns regional marks in all three events.
— Senior Nicole Allyn broke former UK standout Gennessa Guzman?s school record by over seven feet with a massive fourth place toss of 194-7 in the hammer throw. The Cats had three throwers – all regional qualifiers – in the top eight (Varga, sixth; Muffet, eighth).
— Gavin Ball placed second in the shot put (58-4) and seventh in the discus (166-5) for a combined nine points. Ball won the conference indoor title earlier this year. Ball has a regional mark in the shot put.
— Sophomore Lavera Morris and junior Georganne Way competed in the 1,500 and 800 finals and combined for 14 team points (Morris nine, Way five). In the 1,500, Morris placed fifth with a career-best 4:26.53 (regional mark), while Way came in right off her back with a sixth place finish (4:27.04). Less than an hour after running the 1,500, Morris passed three runners on the backstretch to place fourth (2:07.95), while Way hung on for seventh (2:09.06). The duo has regional marks in both events.
— Ashley Muffet destroyed a 23-year old Kentucky record in the shot put with a monster second place throw of 54-2.50. In only her first outdoor season, Muffet ranks first in the shot put, tied for third in the hammer throw (frosh record) and eighth in the discus all-time at UK. The frosh phenom also finished third in the shot put at the SEC Indoor Championships. The North Canton, Ohio native tallied nine team points for the meet after placing eighth in the hammer throw. Muffet is expected to throw in all three events at the regional meet.
— Ildiko Varga added eight points to the women?s team total with a second place finish in the discus (175-0). Varga, the UK school record holder (185-10), has been the model of consistency in the event over her career with a fifth place finish at last year?s SEC meet, a runner-up in 2004, and as a freshman, a sixth place triumph. Friday, Varga scored a sixth place performance in the hammer throw. The native of Heves, Hungary finished this year?s meet with 11 team points. Varga will compete in both events at the regional meet.
— The men?s 4×400 finished a close second (3:06.32) to No. 1-ranked LSU (3:05.98). With the effort, the Cats picked up eight team points. LSU and Kentucky still own the top two season-bests in the country, respectively, this season.
— Other notables included; freshman Ryan Finn running seasonal-bests in the 800 (1:52.75) and 1,500 (3:55.32). Andre Silva (3:51.62) and Jonathan Thomas (3:52.60) notched PRs in the 1,500. Luis Luna (46.53, fifth all-time UK) and Jose Acevedo (47.26, regional mark) both ran season-bests in the 400. Kathleen Biondi scored an eighth place finish in the javelin, while Ashley Trimble finished fifth in the 400 hurdles. Dedrick Tillerson finished sixth in the 400 hurdles and filled in for an injured Justin Harrison in the 4×400. The men?s 4×100 relay posted a sixth place finish (40.76), good for three team points.
— Kentucky?s 58-point output and seventh place finish on the men?s side was the highest point total and finish since 1996 when the team placed sixth with 79 points. It was also a 30-point improvement over last year?s performance. The women?s squad produced 45 points ? its highest mark since 2003 (49) ? to finish eighth. The women improved 14 points from 2005.
