TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ? The Kentucky track and field squads are set to begin their competition in the 2007 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships hosted by the University of Alabama on Friday at Sam Bailey Stadium. The Wildcats spent the day preparing for the championships, which some teams began Thursday with the decathlon and heptathlon events.
Live statistics for the SEC Championships will be available at http://www.flashresults.com/2007_Meets/outdoor/sec.
Friday?s action commences at 11 a.m. EDT with the men?s and women?s hammer throw. Men?s junior Alek Grietens (Nipomo, Calif.) has been one of the Cats? most improved athletes this season, tying or besting his personal-record toss in each of his appearances this season. He has improved his personal best toss by nearly 12 feet since the beginning of the season. and ranks fourth all-time at UK. Female throwers Ashley Muffet (North Canton, Ohio) and Emily Bernhardt (Marietta, Ga.) rank third and fifth, respectively, on UK?s all-time top 10 list in the hammer throw and both have already qualified regionally in the event.
Some other expected highlights for the Wildcats include the women?s 800 and 1,000-meter runs and the men?s 200 meter run and 400 meter hurdles.
Senior Georganne Way (Lititz, Pa.) and junior Lavera Morris (Orlando, Fla.) each will be strong contenders in the women?s 800-meter run, as both were major points scorers for the Wildcats at last season?s outdoor league championships.
Sophomore Mikel Thomas (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has excelled in the men?s 400-meter hurdles this season. He ran the seventh-fastest time in school history with a regional-qualifying mark of 52.51. Thomas broke the school record in the men?s 60-meter hurdles during the indoor campaign.
Sophomore Taylor Miller (Owensboro, Ky.) will look for a strong performance in the women?s 10,000-meter run finals that take place at 9:45 p.m. EDT Friday evening. Miller ran the fifth-fastest time in UK history at the Oregon Invitational with a mark of 35:51.78.
Complete results and a recap of UK?s participation in the SEC Outdoor Championships will be available at ukathletics.com.
Kentucky Athletes Participating on Friday at the SEC Track and Field Championships
Men?s Hammer Throw ? 11 a.m. EDT
Alek Grietens*
Women?s Hammer Throw ? 1:30 p.m. EDT
Emily Bernhardt* Ashley Muffet* Kristen Smith
Men?s 800-Meter Dash Preliminaries ? 7:10 p.m. EDT
Scott Geisinger Nick Reeves John Richardson Stephan Smith
Women?s 800-Meter Dash Preliminaries ? 7:20 p.m. EDT
Jackie Gordon Lavera Morris* Georganne Way*
Men?s 200-Meter Dash Preliminaries ? 7:35 p.m. EDT
Jose Acevedo Brandon Austin Nathan Browning Gordon McKenzie Kwasi Obeng
Women?s 200-Meter Dash Preliminaries ? 7:55 p.m. EDT
Jenna Martin
Men?s 400-Meter Hurdle Preliminaries ? 8:25 p.m. EDT
Geoffrey Daley* Mikel Thomas
Women?s 400-Meter Hurdle Preliminaries ? 8:40 p.m. EDT
Ashley Trimble
Men?s 10,000-Meter Finals ? 8:55 p.m. EDT
Bruce Hordusky Chris Long John Thompson
Women?s 10,000-Meter Finals ? 9:45 p.m. EDT
Taylor Miller
