April 19, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – University of Kentucky track and field throwers won five event titles and posted nine NCAA regional-qualifying marks this weekend at Purdue’s Dave Rankin Invitational.
Senior Ashley Muffet led the way, collecting two titles and three regional-qualifying marks. She posted a personal-best discus throw for the second consecutive week, resulting in an NCAA mark. Muffet’s distance of 181-7 topped the competition and improved her mark that ranks second all-time at UK. The veteran thrower also won the shot put championship, for her second regional-qualifying mark with a measurement of 52-2. In the women’s hammer throw, Muffet notched her third NCAA mark with a second-place distance measuring 189-5.
Junior Kristin Smith edged Muffet for the hammer throw title with a regional-qualifying throw of 191-6. Classmate Heather Smith finished seventh in the event with a mark of 154-8. Fellow junior Emily Bernhardt’s throw of 150-11 was good for eighth place.
Sophomore Mary Angell posted a regional-qualifying mark in both the shot put and discus. Angell threw a personal-best mark as a Wildcat of 157-8 to place fourth in the discus. Her shot put throw of 47-5.25 ranked third overall.
Senior Emilee Strot threw a season-best distance of 171-3 to place second in the discus and earned an NCAA-qualifying mark in the event. She finished fourth in the shot put, throwing a distance of 46-10.75.
On the men’s side, senior Rashaud Scott won two titles. Scott recorded a season-best shot put mark of 59-11.75 for the championship. In the discus, he claimed first with a distance measuring 192-7 feet from the ring. Scott earned regional-qualifying marks for both winning performances.
In the men’s hammer throw, senior Alek Grietens threw a mark of 184-7 to place fourth. Grietens’ first discus competition of the year yielded an eighth-place finish with a mark of 156-2.
The UK men hold the No. 10 position in the outdoor United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll released last week.
The Kentucky track and field team continues its schedule at the Penn Relays and UCSD Invitational next weekend.
Click on UKathletics.com for the latest Kentucky track and field news.
