LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sophomore Kentucky thrower Ashley Muffet (North Canton, Ohio) has been named the Southeastern Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week, the league office in Birmingham, Ala., announced Tuesday.

Muffet notched the team?s first NCAA automatic-qualifying mark of the season at the Iowa State Classic this past weekend. She punched her ticket to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships (March 9-10 in Fayetteville, Ark.) in the shot put by besting her own personal-best and school record with a toss of 55-10.5. It was the SEC?s first automatic-qualifying mark in the women?s shot put this season.

Muffet, whose toss is the best mark in the SEC this season by more than one-and-a-half feet, currently is ranked fourth in the nation in the women?s shot put. She holds Kentucky?s school records in both the indoor and outdoor shot put.

The award is the second such honor in Muffet?s career, as she was also named Female Field Athlete of the Week on April 5, 2006. It marks the first time in school history that a UK female athlete has won the award during the indoor season.

Muffet and the Wildcats return to action Feb. 23-25, when they play host to the 2007 SEC Indoor Track Championships in Lexington?s E.J. Nutter Field House.