Muffet, Boevers Earn All-America Honors

June 10, 2010

Eugene, Ore. –

The University of Kentucky track and field team put together a solid day one at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships as they added two All-Americans, Sorrillo moved into the finals of the 100-meter dash and the men’s 4x100m set a season-best time on their way to the finals in Eugene, Ore., Wednesday.

Weather conditions played a major part on day one with a seemingly constant drizzle, heavy rain at times, temperatures in the low 50’s and most importantly for throwers a tailwind when a headwind is preferred. Through the elements two Wildcat throwers, Ashley Muffet and Colin Boevers, managed to etch their names in the record books claiming All-America honors in the discus throw by finishing in the top-eight American finishers.

For Ashley Muffet the saying “third time’s the charm” means more now than ever because after three consecutive trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the discus she made it to the finals and more than that put Kentucky on the board. Muffet’s first throw of 171-10/52.39m put her atop the field after round one and slid just one spot to second place heading into the finals with the second flight still to throw. After fouling on her final two attempts the senior finished in eighth place never surpassing her initial mark. The senior earned her first outdoor All-America honor of her career and has a chance to add another in the shot put Friday at 4:45 p.m. PT.

Colin Boevers earned his All-America honor for a ninth place finish in the discus with a throw of 180-01/54.88m. Boevers shared more than just All-America honors with Ashley Muffet, they went through competition in a similar fashion, each had their best attempt on their first throw and battled uneasy weather conditions. The junior, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, finished six spots above his 14th seed and had a great season adding this accomplish to his 2010 SEC Discus Championship.

After having a hand in 15 points scored by the Wildcats at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Rondel Sorrillo has put himself in great position to repeat that kind of performance after claiming the top time in the 100m dash semifinal on day one of this year’s national competition. With a time of 10.14, the senior narrowed out Southeastern Conference counterparts Jeffrey Demps of Florida (10.15) and Marcus Rowland of Auburn (10.18) to take the top position into the finals that will be held at 5:25 p.m. PT, Thursday. Sorrillo finished in fifth position last year in this event and second in the 200m dash which he will compete in Thursday at 4:15 p.m. PT.

The men’s 4x100m relay team put together a season best mark for the second competition in a row with a time of 39.62, shaving one one-hundreths of a second off their East preliminary mark. The team, which consists of Alex Williams, Rondel Sorrillo, Kwasi Obeng and Sean Lange, finished third in their heat and were the first timed qualifier to make the finals, after the top two of each heat qualify automatically. They will have to wait two days before they get the chance to take the track again with the finals taking place Saturday at 10:11 a.m. PT.

Multi-event athlete Precious Nwokey completed four events on day one collecting 3305 points in total to sit in ninth position. The 100m hurdles was the first event for Nwokey and the first of the championships. With a time of 13.99 the sophomore finished the first event in 10th place and gained 980 points with the high jump to follow. In the high jump, Nwokey moved up the leader board with a solid mark of 5-07.75/1.72m to finish tied for fourth just shy of her personal best and gained an important 879 points heading into the shot put, one of her weaker events. A shot put mark of 32-05.75/9.90m was on the lower half of the results and added 469 points to her total score. The 200m dash was the final event of the heptathlon and turned out to be a boost of 923 points with a time of 24.61. The final three events are scheduled as follows, long jump at 1:45 p.m. PT, javelin at 3:00 p.m. PT, and the shot put at 5:15 p.m. PT to conclude the heptathlon.

David Banks closed out day one competition in the triple jump with a 17th place finish, seven places better than his 24th seed coming into the championships. The junior moved up the results list with a long mark of 50-05.25/15.37m. Banks is the current Kentucky record holder in the triple jump at 51-05.50/15.68m.

Action picks back up tomorrow at 1:45 p.m. PT with the first event in the heptathlon. Find the full schedule and live results at NCAA.com under the Track and Field page. Saturday’s coverage will air live on CBS from 1-3 p.m. ET.

Women’s Heptathlon

9. Precious Nwokey – 3305 pts

100m Hurdles – 13.99 (980 pts)

High Jump – 5-07.75/1.72m (879 pts)

Shot Put – 32-05.75/9.90m (469 pts)

200m Dash – 24.61 (+2.6) (923 pts)

Men’s Discus Trials and Finals

9. Colin Boevers – 180-01/54.88m

Men’s 4x100m Relay Semifinal

7. Kentucky – 39.62

Alex Williams

Rondel Sorrillo