LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sophomore Ashley Muffet (North Canton, Ohio) shattered a 24-year-old school record in the women?s shot put Saturday and Kentucky athletes set multiple personal-bests to highlight a successful final day of the annual Kentucky Invitational at E.J. Nutter Field House.
?Ashley Muffet is probably one of the most intense and committed athletes that we have had in our program,? UK head coach Don Weber said. ?She is sometimes hard on herself and always feels like she can do more. I am glad to see this happen for her; she deserves it.?
Muffet set the school record in the indoor women?s shot put with a winning throw of 55-3.05. She broke 24-year-old school record of 53-7.5 that was held by Cindy Crapper in 1983. Muffet captured the event by nearly two feet and became the school?s first NCAA provisional qualifier this season and just barely missed being an automatic qualifier.
?She [Muffet] has been training really well and we knew that she had the potential for that kind of throw,? UK throws coach Doug Reynolds said. ?I still think that there is a lot she can accomplish indoors. She has had a little training fatigue, so we are really happy with her throw. It is something that she can really build on.?
Sophomore Ryan Finn (Ajax, Ontario) finished second and was the top collegiate finisher in the men?s mile with a personal-best time of 4:13.46. Junior Nick Reeves (Dublin, Ohio) was seventh in the mile with a time of 4:20.13. Junior Lavera Morris (Orlando, Fla.) was third in the women?s mile with a time of 4:49.71, while senior Georganne Way (Lititz, Pa.) was ninth with a 4:55.08. Competing in her first collegiate race, freshman Katherine Peterson (Louisville, Ky.) also was impressive with a time of 5:07.73 to finish in 15th.
The Kentucky distance and mid-distance squads had a successful opening meet, setting numerous personal bests and showing great improvement all around. Sophomore Taylor Miller (Owensboro, Ky.), who had a breakout cross country season in 2006, posted a personal-best time of 9:50.07 in the women?s 3,000 meter to finish ninth, while fellow sophomore Andrea Halasek (Georgetown, Ky.) also posted a personal-best time of 10:11.
?Early in the season, we are using this meet as a simulation to get our kids to really position themselves to believe they can score in the SEC meet,? UK distance coach Pat Tyson said. ?We showed tons of improvement today and it is going to pay off down the road throughout the spring.?
The Wildcats showed promise in the women?s high jump, as sophomore Lindsey Moody (Linday, Ind.) recorded a collegiate-best mark of 5-6 to finish third, while senior Rachel Kohler (Georgetown, Ind.) was fourth also with a 5-6.
The Kentucky sprinters had a successful day winning both heats of the 4×400 meter relay with the A squad winning in a time of 3:10.63. Also notable, freshman Jenna Martin (Nova Scotia, Canada) finished ninth in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 24.58 and sophomore Brandon Austin (Paducah, Ky.) recorded a personal best in the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.91.
?We are still training heavily,? UK sprints coach Erin Tucker said. ?With that said, we came out and did a good job of defending our home turf in the relays. It was important that we won both heats of the relay.?
Senior Andy Fryman (Maysville, Ky.) captured the men?s shot put with a mark of 59-10.25.
?Like all early meets this was somewhat of a mixed bag,? Weber said. ?We had a number of people get off to really good starts this season. This is something we can build on as the season goes along.?
Kentucky returns to action next weekend, Jan. 19-20, when it plays host to the Rod McCravy Memorial in Nutter Field House. Live statistics for the event will be available at ukathletics.com.
