March 12, 2010
Fayetteville, Ark. – On the first day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Kentucky had one athlete make the podium and another advance to the finals at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The track center housed a crowd of 3,233 on day one where the Wildcats had three athletes compete in four events.
In the final indoor meet of her UK career, senior Kristin Smith (Marietta, Ga.) was the first athlete to get on the scoreboard for the Wildcats. Smith scored one point with her throw of 19.86m (65 feet, 2 inches), which earned her eighth-place overall.
Throwers coach Doug Reynolds says he’s extremely proud of Kristin’s performance.
“I am especially proud of what she’s done in the last two weeks,” Reynolds said. “She went into the meet ranked and came out an All-American. It’s great to be the first competitor in a meet for your team and be able to put points on the board. Hopefully, it will fire the rest of the women’s team up.”
Her top eight finish wins her an All-America distinction for the first time in her collegiate career. Smith’s season best throw of 20.57 (67 feet, 6 inches) ranked her eighth nationally coming into this weekends meet and engraved her name in the UK school record book’s first place slot.
Sprinter Rondel Sorrillo (Vessigny, Trinidad and Tobago) ran a preliminary time of 6.66 in the men’s 60-meter dash. His time placed him sixth overall in the two-heat race and qualification into tomorrow’s finals. Sorrillo barely missed qualifying for the finals in the 200m dash by one-hundredth of a second, by finishing with a time of 20.98 putting him in ninth.
Middle distance runner Sharif Webb (Paramus, N.J.) also ended with a heartbreaking finish by missing finals qualification by five-hundredths of a second. His time of 1:49.78 in the 800m run landed him just out of the finals next to the eighth place competitor who qualified with a 1:49.73.
The Wildcats will continue competition tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. CT when sophomore Precious Nwokey (Houston, Texas) competes in the women’s pentathlon. Nwokey is currently ranked 16th in the country in the pentathlon event.
Thrower Ashley Muffet (N. Canton, Oh.) will compete in the women’s shot put at 4:30 p.m. CT. Muffet, a senior, comes into the event ranked second nationally.
The women’s 4x400m relay will conclude competition for the Wildcats Saturday night. The women’s 4×400 meter relay team comprised of Jenna Martin (Nova Scotia), Precious Nwokey (Houston, Texas), Jazmyn Shorter (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Brittany Cabbler (Roanoke, Va.) are the first women’s 4x400m relay team in school history to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
To follow all championship meet results go to www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com or www.NCAA.com for live results and heat sheets.
For all of your Kentucky Track and Field information visit www.UKathletics.com to find all of the latest news.
Friday’s Results:
Women’s Weight Throw – 12 p.m. CST (AUTO: 21.00; PROV: 18.75) 8. Kristin Smith – 19.86m (1 point)
Men’s 60m Dash Prelims – 6:25 p.m. CST (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71) 6. Rondel Sorrillo – 6.66q
Men’s 800m Run Prelims – 6:55 p.m. CST (AUTO: 1:48.00; PROV: 1:50.50) 9. Sharif Webb – 1:49.78
Men’s 200m Dash Finals – 7.25 p.m. CST (AUTO: 20.83; PROV: 21.23) 9. Rondel Sorrillo – 20.98
