May 18, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. –
Kentucky senior Rashaud Scott, the defending NCAA National Champion in men’s discus, added more hardware to his collection after claiming the conference men’s discus title on the final day of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships Sunday at host University of Florida’s Percy Beard Track within James G. Pressly Stadium.
Scott’s throw of 194-4 topped the competition by over 11 feet. The conference crown is Scott’s first of his career to go along with his 2008 Outdoor NCAA and Mideast Regional discus championships. It is the second straight year that UK has won the event title. Last year Kentucky senior Chase Madison topped the competition with a throw of 198-1.
“In the men’s discus, we felt like were ready to do great things and we did great things,” UK assistant coach for throws Doug Reynolds said. “It was a tough day for everybody the conditions weren’t great because the winds were blowing at a bad angle. Rashaud got in some good throws to win it, Chase (Madison) also had a big throw on a foul that could have won the meet, and Colin (Boevers) had some huge throws too. We were really pleased to finish 1-3-4 because we stayed in and fought.”
The UK women finished sixth overall with 56 points while the Wildcat men placed seventh with 55 tallies. The men’s champion was Arkansas with 141 points, while Florida took the women’s title with a final score of 135.50.
“This season we thought the men showed great promise particularly in the throws and sprints,” UK head coach Don Weber said. “After indoors we had a rash of injuries with the sprinters and that really hurt us. But, I was pleased with how we came back. We have 10 days before the regional and we have everybody back but one. So if we can make some progress between now and the regional we’ll have two more weeks before nationals and we’ll have a shot there.
“The women’s finish was pretty respectable. It’s been a difficult year in a lot of ways with some of our losses on the women’s side. Generally, I was pleased. Certainly, the throwers did some heavy lifting for us this weekend.”
Scott was the second league champion of the meet for Kentucky after fellow senior thrower Ashley Muffet won the women’s discus title on day three.
Muffet continued her dominating weekend performance, this time, in the shot put. After her first throw of the final measured 52-3.75, she moved from seventh place into fourth where she remained through the rest of the event. Her finish marks the third top-four placement in a throwing event after winning the discus and placing third in the hammer. With the five points from the shot put, the North Canton, Ohio, native notched 21 of Kentucky’s 56 points this weekend.
As a result of her stellar weekend, Muffet won the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy for the second time in three years as the highest individual scorer on the women’s side. This year, she claimed the trophy outright with 21 points after sharing the trophy in 2007 as a sophomore with Auburn’s Kerron Stewart at 22 points.
“Obviously, her performances this weekend spoke for themselves,” Reynolds said. “It speaks to her competitiveness, work ethic and dedication to be able to pull that feat off twice in three years as the top individual scorer. Now we’re looking forward to the regional and doing something at the national level.”
“The great thing about Ashley is that she is very talented and she likes to compete in a lot of things,” Weber added. “She’s not a specialist in any event, so she is a great person to have on your team to score points.”
Two other Wildcat women advanced to the shot put final. Sophomore Mary Angell threw a personal-best mark of 48-8 on her third attempt to claim seventh place and pick up a pair of points for UK. Classmate Jennifer Svoboda placed ninth overall with a top mark of 47-5.25.
This year, Madison placed third in the men’s discus with a top mark of 181-3 on his final attempt, vaulting him up two spots in the final standings. Sophomore Colin Boevers started flight two of the competition with a personal-best throw of 176-8 that placed him third going into the final. He maintained that position until the last round when Madison’s throw bumped him to fourth overall. Altogether, the three Wildcats collected 21 points.
On the track, senior Jose Acevedo topped his personal-best time set a day ago with a sixth-place finish of 46.17. His improvement of 0.45 moves him from ninth to fourth all-time at UK. Acevedo collected three points for the Cats.
Fellow senior Stephan Smith also ran a personal-best mark for the second time in three days to place seventh in the 800m run, crossing the line in 1:49.46.
Senior Mikel Thomas ran two races on the final day, just his third and fourth of the outdoor season. In the 400m hurdles, Thomas finished just 0.01 seconds shy of his personal-best mark set last summer in his native Trinidad and Tobago. He clocked in at 51.41 to place eighth and posted a point for the Cats. In his other race, Thomas placed seventh in the 110m hurdles crossing the finish in 13.97 in wet conditions following a 90-minute weather delay. His finish added two points to the Kentucky total.
Sophomore Ke’Undra Bishop tied her personal-best triple jump mark set at last year’s SEC Outdoor Championships. Her leap of 40-09.75 was good for fifth place overall and four points for the Wildcats. Bishop’s 2009 measurement replaces her sixth-place mark all-time at UK.
The 4x400m relays took center stage at the end of the evening. The men’s team of junior Kwasi Obeng, Smith, senior Brandon Austin and Acevedo placed fourth overall crossing the finish in 3:07.45 for five UK points.
The women’s team of senior Ashley Trimble, sophomore Jazmyn Shorter, sophomore Brittany Cabbler and freshman Precious Nwokey placed sixth overall at 3:43.27 to collect three Kentucky points.
In the men’s triple jump, sophomore David Banks scored for the first time in the conference outdoor meet. Banks placed eighth overall with a leap of 49-3.50 to collect a point for the Cats.
Sprinter Rondel Sorrillo ran two finals on the fourth day, finishing eighth in both. In the men’s 200m dash Sorrillo ran 21.16 to pick up a point for UK. He added another point in the men’s 100m dash with a time of 10.36.
In the women’s 400m hurdles, Trimble finished seventh overall with a finish of 59.53, picking up two points for UK.
The women’s 4x100m relay team of Shorter, Nwokey, Trimble and sophomore Danielle Sampley teamed up to place eighth with a time of 45.87 in UK’s first 400m relay race of the season.
Video coverage of the Championships will be aired on a tape-delayed basis by FSN South on Sat. May 23 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Wildcats with NCAA regional-qualifying marks will compete in two weeks at the NCAA Mideast Regional in Louisville, Ky., hosted by the University of Louisville May 29-30.
Wildcat Scorers by Event – SEC Outdoor Championships
WOMEN (points earned) – 56
Shot Put
4. Ashley Muffet – 52-3.75 (5)
7. Mary Angell – 48-8 (2)
Triple Jump
5. Ke’Undra Bishop – 40-09.75 (4)
4×400 Meter Relay
6. Ashley Trimble / Jazmyn Shorter / Brittany Cabbler / Precious Nwokey – 3:43.27 (3)
400 Meter Hurdles
7. Ashley Trimble – 59.53 (2)
4×100 Meter Relay
8. Jazmyn Shorter / Precious Nwokey / Ashley Trimble / Danielle Sampley – 45.87 (1)
Discus
1. Ashley Muffet – 182-0 (10)
SEC CHAMPION
3. Emilee Strot – 166-2 (6)
5. Mary Angell – 157-6 (4)
Long Jump
4. Danielle Sampley – 19-11.75 (5)
Hammer
3. Ashley Muffet – 192-01 (6)
8. Kristin Smith – 168-11 (1)
Heptathlon
3. Ashley Trimble – 5530 (6)
8. Precious Nwokey – 4833 (1)
MEN (points earned) – 55
Discus
1. Rashaud Scott – 194-04 (10)
SEC CHAMPION
3. Chase Madison – 181-03 (6)
4. Colin Boevers – 176-08 (5)
4×400 Meter Relay
4. Kwasi Obeng / Stephan Smith / Brandon Austin / Jose Acevedo – 3:07.45 (5)
400 Meter Dash
6. Jose Acevedo – 46.17 (3)
800 Meter Run
7. Stephan Smith – 1:49.46 (2)
110 Meter Hurdles
7. Mikel Thomas – 13.97 (2)
400 Meter Hurdles
8. Mikel Thomas – 51.41 (1)
100 Meter Dash
8. Rondel Sorrillo – 13.97 (1)
200 Meter Dash
8. Rondel Sorrillo – 21.16 (1)
Triple Jump
8. David Banks – 49-3.50 (1)
Steeplechase
2. Luis Orta – 8:52.39 (8)
Shot Put
2. Rashaud Scott – 62-02.25 (8)
8. Chase Madison – 56-08.75 (1)
Decathlon
8. Kevin Carney – 6066 (1)
FINAL WOMEN’S TEAM STANDINGS
1) Florida 135.50
2) LSU 113
3) Tennessee 106
4) Arkansas 96.50
5) Auburn 76
6) KENTUCKY 56
7) Alabama 52.50
8) South Carolina 51
9) Georgia 45.50
10) Ole Miss 44
11) Mississippi State 42
FINAL MEN’S TEAM STANDINGS
1) Arkansas 141
2) Florida 129
3) LSU 98.50
4) South Carolina 88
T5) Auburn 72
T5) Georgia 72
7) KENTUCKY 55
8) Tennessee 53
9) Mississippi State 44.50
10) Alabama 33.50
11) Ole Miss 32.50
