Feb. 24, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky track and field team is set to compete at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships, Feb. 25-27 in Fayetteville, Ark. The meet begins Friday at 12 p.m. ET with Precious Nwokey and Ashley Newby in the pentathlon.
Nwokey currently holds the top league score in the pentathlon after breaking Kentucky’s school record at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet earlier this season with 4,024 points. The junior became the first Wildcat to surpass 4,000 points on her way to eclipsing former UK star Ashley Trimble’s total of 3,997, set in 2009. In addition to being the conference’s leader, Nwokey ranks sixth nationally in the event.
Nwokey, a native of Houston, finished third at last year’s SEC indoor competitions, posting a provisional-qualifying mark of 3,967 points. Multi-event teammate Newby finished eighth at the event with a personal-best score of 3,600, adding one point to the team’s total.
The majority of events will begin Saturday including the 800-m run with senior Sharif Webb, who captured the Wildcats’ lone NCAA automatic qualifying mark of the season at the Husky Classic, with a time of 1:47.91. The senior finished third in the 800m at least year’s conference meet, collecting six points for the men with a time of 1:49.84.
Junior Keith Hayes, the only upper-class sprinter, leads a young group of sprinters that will travel to the Randal Tyson Track Center. Hayes, a transfer from Kansas, currently holds the second-fastest 60-meter hurdles time in the SEC at 7.80, set at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet. The senior’s fastest time of 7.80 is a career-best and ranks second on UK’s all-time 60m hurdles list.
Senior Josh Nadzam captured his first career victory earlier in the season at the Kentucky Invitational. The senior holds a career-best time of 4:06.04, which he set at the Husky Classic on Feb. 12. Juniors Luis Orta and Walter Luttrell compliment Nadzam in the distance core. Luttrell claimed his second-consecutive victory at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet in the 5,000m run with a personal-best time of 14:29.50.
On the women’s side, sophomore Cally Macumber clinched her first career victory in the women’s one-mile run with a personal-best time of 4:48.70. Macumber returns to Fayetteville after earning All-SEC freshman honors in 3,000m run a year ago. The sophomore improved her 3,000m from last season with a personal-best time of 9:24.92.
See links at the top of the page for more information about the 2011 SEC Indoor Championships.
For continuous updates follow the UK track and field team on twitter @KentuckyTrack, and at Ukathletics.com.
