March 13, 2010
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – The University of Kentucky Track and Field team concludes NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship competition earning three All-America titles in front of a crowd of 5,475 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
The men and women’s track and field team had a total of eight athlete’s travel to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to represent the University of Kentucky in national competition.
“It is a huge accomplishment for all of the athletes to qualify for the championship meet,” Coach Don Weber said.
Senior thrower Ashley Muffet (N. Canton, Oh.) won the second All-America honor of her career and the second of the meet for the Wildcats with a second-place finish in the women’s shot put. Muffet tossed her winning mark of 17.31m (56 feet, 9.5 inches) on her final attempt in the preliminary round. Scoring the largest amount of points for the women, Muffet earned eight with her second-place mark.
“I am very happy for Ashley Muffet,” Weber said. “She has struggled this season and it wasn’t until the qualifying meets and the championships that she’s finally performed to the best of her abilities.”
Muffet’s second-place finish and eight-point contribution moved the women’s team, which was in 39th place at the time, into a much higher 12th place. Muffet finished second only to the national leader, Mariam Kevkhishviilli from the University of Florida.
Honored with the All-American title for the sixth time in his UK career, senior Rondel Sorrillo (Vessigny, Trinidad and Tobago) took fifth place in the men’s 60m dash. Running a time of 6.66, Sorrillo put the UK men’s team on the scoreboard with four points, which put the Cats into 37th place at that time. He is also ranked fifth nationally in the men’s 200m dash but just missed qualifying for the finals by one-hundredth of a second with a ninth-place time of 20.98.
“Rondel has been battling a leg injury and for him to come through in this meet is big for him and big for us as a team,” Weber said.
Multi-event athlete Precious Nwokey (Houston, Texas) was the Cats first competitor on Saturday competition with the women’s pentathlon, in which she set a new personal record of 3,985 points. Nwokey missed point contention and a spot on the podium by a small margin of 70 points, finishing in ninth place.
In each of her meets this season, Nwokey has set a new personal best, consistently increasing her point total while remaining nationally ranked. She ranked 16th nationally coming into this weekends championship meet.
The school record holding women’s 4x400m relay team of Jenna Martin (Nova Scotia), Precious Nwokey (Houston, Texas), Jazmyn Shorter (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Brittany Cabbler (Roanoke, Va.) ran in the NCAA Indoor Championships as the first qualifying 1600-meter relay team in school history.
The women finished three-tenths of a second off of their best time with a sprint of 3.38.15. Their time gave them a meet finish of 10th placeoverall.
Senior thrower Kristin Smith (Marietta, Ga.) made her point contribution during Friday’s competition in the women’s weight throw where she finished in eighth place. Earning one point for the Wildcats with a throw of 19.86m (65 feet, 2 inches), Smith was named top honor of All-America for the first time in her career.
Men’s 800-meter runner, Sharif Webb (Paramus, N.J.) also competed for the Wildcats on Friday. The junior barely missed the 800 final by five-hundredths of a second during the preliminary race. His time of 1:49.78 put him just slightly behind the eighth-place finisher’s qualifying time of 1:49.73.
The UK Women’s team scored a total of nine points, giving the Cats a 26th-place team finish in the meet. The men’s team finished the championships in 40th place with a point total of four.
To view all NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship final results go to www.NCAA.com.
The Wildcats open the 2010 outdoor track and field season next weekend at the Black and Gold Challenge, March 19-20 in Orlando, Fla.
Stay up to date on all of your latest Kentucky Track and Field information at www.UKathletics.com.
Final Kentucky Team Standings:
26. Kentucky Women (9 points) 40. Kentucky Men (4 Points)
Saturday Results:
Women’s Pentathlon – 11:30 a.m. CST (AUTO: 4,075; PROV: 3,725)
9. Precious Nwokey – Final: 3,985
Women’s 60m Hurdles – (AUTO: 8.14; PROV: 8.43)s 10. Time: 8. 64; Points: 987
Women’s High Jump – (AUTO: 1.85m; PROV: 1.78m) 13. Jump: 1.62m; Points: 759
Women’s Shot Put – (AUTO: 16.90m; PROV: 15.20m) 12. Throw: 10.93m; Points: 591
Women’s Long Jump – (AUTO: 6.38m; PROV: 6.13m) 10. Jump: 5.83m; Points: 798
Women’s 800 Meters – (AUTO: 2:05.00; PROV: 2:09.00) 4. Time: 2:18.09; Points: 850
Women’s Shot Put – 4:30 p.m. CST (AUTO: 16.90m; PROV: 15.20m)
2. Ashley Muffet – 17.31m (56-09.50)
Men’s 60m Dash Final – 7:15 p.m. CST (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
5. Rondel Sorrillo – 6.66
Women’s 1,600-Meter Relay – 8:40 p.m. CST (AUTO: 3:33.00; PROV: 3:40.00)
10. Kentucky A – 3:38.15
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
