DES MOINES, Iowa ? All six University of Kentucky track and field relay teams in action at the 99th annual Drake Relays turned in top-five performances, while freshman hurdler Brendan Ames improved his 110 meter hurdles freshman record mark at the Drake Stadium Track in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday.
The UK women?s 4x100m relay squad led the way with a fifth-place finish in the preliminaries. The team of freshman Jazmyn Shorter, classmate Danielle Sampley, sophomore Jenna Martin and rookie Bianca Tyson crossed the line in 45.64 to claim a regional-qualifying mark. UK qualified for Saturday?s final with the performance.
The Blue and White men?s 4x100m relay squad also advanced to the finals. The Kentucky line-up of sophomore Kwasi Obeng and juniors Jose Acevedo, Brandon Austin and Gordon McKenzie placed fourth, clocking in at 40.71.
The Wildcat 4x400m relays also turned in strong performances at the site of this year?s 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Kentucky?s 4x400m relay men?s squad of senior Nathan Browning, Obeng, junior Mikel Thomas and Acevedo finished third in the preliminary heat. With a time of 3:10.48, the Cats advance to the final Saturday evening. Martin, junior Ashley Trimble, Sampley and Shorter combined efforts to finish fifth in the women?s 4x400m relay. The Cats advance to the final after crossing the finish line in 3:42.58.
The Cats? 4x200m relay teams turned in top-three performances in the event finals.
The men?s squad of Obeng, Acevedo, Browning and McKenzie placed second at a clip of 1:25.32. Meanwhile, underclassmen Shorter, Sampley, Martin and Tyson teamed up again to finish third overall in a time of 1:37.89.
The other headline of the day was in the men?s 110m hurdles as rookie Brendan Ames improved upon his UK freshman record by 0.20 seconds, finishing seventh in 14.14. The Wildcat?s mark eclipsed the regional-qualifying standard and qualified Ames for the event final on Saturday.
Fellow hurdler Thomas also turned in a regional-qualifying time of 14.17, but just missed the cut for the upcoming final.
Austin qualified for Saturday’s men’s 100m dash final by winning his preliminary heat in 10.76.
The UK throws squad competed in Chula Vista, California, Thursday evening at the USATF Discus Development Series. While the marks do not count towards NCAA regional qualifying, they do qualify for the UK record books. Two Cats threw top-10 all-time marks.
Junior Chase Madison threw the discus an amazing 206-2, which marked just the second time in school history a Wildcat has thrown the discus over the 200-foot mark. Madison?s toss only ranks behind former-Olympian Mike Buncic?s 1986 mark of 217-4.
Freshman Jennifer Svoboda threw a personal-best mark of 154-8 to crack the all-time women?s discus list at No. 10.
The throws team continues competition at the Triton Invitational Friday and Saturday. The rest of the Wildcats conclude the Drake Relays Saturday.
A full recap from both meets will be available after competition on UKathletics.com.
