LEXINGTON, Ky. ? After a phenomenal weekend of competition, University of Kentucky track and field athlete Danielle Sampley was named the Southeastern Conference?s Track and Field Female Freshman of the Week, the league office in Birmingham, Ala., announced Tuesday.
The deserving rookie set three UK records and earned three NCAA qualifying marks at the University of Tennessee?s Sea Ray Relays last weekend in Knoxville, Tenn. This is Sampley?s first honor from the conference and it is the sixth weekly honor for the Wildcats on the year.
Sampley set the Kentucky varsity and freshman records for the heptathlon with a personal-best score of 5196. Her score tops the SEC, ranks third in the Mideast Region and is 13th nationally. Sampley is the top-ranked freshman in the heptathlon within the league and region and is the second-ranked rookie in the country. As a result of her performance, Sampley earned an NCAA provisional mark and a chance at an invitation to compete at the NCAA Championships in the event.
The heptathlon is contested over a two-day period with multi-talented competitors battling in seven events. Pre-determined points are designated to a competitor based on the athlete?s performance in each event; the better the performance the more points granted. On day one, women compete in the 100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and the 200 meter dash. On day two, the long jump, javelin throw and 800 meter run complete the two-day competition.
On day two at the Relays, Sampley broke the school?s freshman long jump record while competing in the heptathlon. Her personal-best jump of 20-05.00 ranks fourth all-time at UK and earned Sampley an NCAA regional-qualifying mark. The distance ranks third in the SEC and regionally and 11th nationally. As in the heptathlon, Sampley is also the top-ranked first-year in the long jump within the league and region and is the second-ranked freshman in the country.
Sampley notched another regional-qualifying mark with her 4×400 meter relay teammates Saturday. The freshman ran the third leg of the event helping the team post a time of 3:41.61.
The Maryville, Tenn., native now owns two varsity and four freshman records in her short career at Kentucky. Besides the three outdoor records set in Knoxville, Sampley is a member of the women?s indoor 4×400 meter relay team that tied the varsity record and claims the freshman indoor records for the pentathlon and 60 meter hurdles.
Sampley and the Wildcats have a week off from competition before competing in the Drake Relays and Triton Invitational in two weeks.
