SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Five Kentucky individuals and the men?s 4×400 relay team begin their quest for the NCAA Championship on Wednesday when the four-day meet commences at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.
Live results from each day?s competition will be available at http://www.ncaasports.com/track-and-field/recaps/outdoor/di_track_results/2007 and the final day of competition will be televised live by CBS beginning at 1 p.m. EDT on Saturday. In addition, keep up with the Cats? activities through photos and the daily journal at www.ukathletics.com and a live blog will be kept on the site during each day of competition.
The action begins Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. EDT when sophomore thrower Ashley Muffet (North Canton, Ohio) begins the qualifying round of the women?s discus. Senior sprinter Luis Luna (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and freshman sprinter Jenna Martin (Nova Scotia, Canada) begin their competition in the 400 meter dashes at 9 and 9:20 p.m. EDT, respectively.
?We are excited for our athletes who advanced to the NCAAs and pleased with the way they competed on the final day of regionals,? UK head coach Don Weber said. ?Our goal is for each of them to compete to the best of their abilities and let everything else take care of itself.
The men?s 4×400 relay team, which entered the NCAA Mideast Regional ranked fourth in the nation, made a statement by knocking off No. 2 LSU for the first time in regional history. The relay team, consisting of Nathan Browning (Petersburg, Ill.) Jose Acevedo (Caracas, Venezuela), Justin Harrison (Wheaton, Ill.) and Luna, which finished second in the nation at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Meet and second at last year?s Mideast Regional, finished in a time of 3:04.49. Luna was trailing two competitors at the start of the anchor leg, but came on strong around the turn and ran a gutsy 100 meters to take the win. Prior to that feat, LSU had never lost in the 4×400 relay in the previous four years of the NCAA Mideast Regional.
Luna also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400-meter dash. After notching a collegiate-best time of 46.15 in Friday?s preliminaries, which ties for the second-fastest time in school history, Luna ran a 46.17 in the finals to qualify nationally.
Junior mid-distance runner John Richardson (Ocean City, N.J.) has claimed back-to-back Southeastern Conference 1,500-meter titles and won the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional Championship. He finished regionals in a time of 3:44.44 and captured the SEC title in a personal-best time of 3:43.02, which ranks eighth all-time at UK.
Martin, who in the preliminaries set the rookie school record in the 400 meter, returned to run a time of 53.05 in the finals and finish in fourth place to punch her ticket to Sacramento.
Muffet rebounded from a difficult first day at the NCAA Mideast Regional and came through with a decisive final throw in the discus to advance to the NCAA Championships. Her personal-best toss of 170-0 in that event placed her second all-time in school history.
Senior thrower Gavin Ball (Cottage Grove, Wisc.) rallied to record the sixth-best toss in school history in the shot put with a throw of 59-5.0 to advance to the NCAA Championships.
Kentucky’s Schedule of Events
Wednesday, June 6
7:30 p.m. EDT – Ashley Muffet – Women’s Discus Qualifying 9 p.m. EDT – Luis Luna – Men’s 400 Meter First Round 9:20 p.m. EDT – Jenna Martin – Women’s 400 Meter First Round
Thursday, June 7
8:15 p.m. EDT – Gavin Ball – Men’s Shot Put Qualifying 9:05 p.m. EDT – John Richardson – Men’s 1,500 Meter Semifinals 9:45 p.m. EDT – Men’s 4×400 Meter Relay Semifinals
Friday, June 8
6:15 p.m. EDT – Ashley Muffet – Women’s Discus Final 8:55 p.m. EDT – Luis Luis – Men’s 400 Meter Semifinals 9:05 p.m. EDT – Jenna Martin – Women’s 400 Meter Semifinals
Saturday, June 9
1 p.m. EDT – Gavin Ball – Men’s Shot Put Finals 1:37 p.m. EDT – Luis Luna – Men’s 400 Meter Finals 1:44 p.m. EDT – Jenna Martin – Women’s 400 Meter Finals 2:10 p.m. EDT – John Richardson – Men’s 1,500 Meter Finals 2:36 p.m. EDT – Men’s 4×400 Relay Final
