May 14, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. – Kentucky track and field senior Mary Angell and junior Luis Orta were the highlight of day three’s action for the Wildcats, both grabbing runner-up performances and eight points for their respective squads, Saturday at the Spec Towns Track in Athens, Ga.
Angell produced a second-place performance in the discus throw, adding eight points for the women’s team, which brought their total to 16 points heading into final day of competition. Angell wasted no time using her opening throw to set a career-best mark of 177-07/54.14m, putting her in first place overall all the way through the competition until the final round. Tennessee’s Annie Alexander claimed the discus title on her final throw at 184-05/56.22m.
Orta equaled Angell’s finish in the Wildcats last event of the day, finishing second in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 8:53.00. The junior narrowly missed out on his career-best time of 8:52.39 set in 2009, which is currently the Kentucky freshman record in the event. The native of Caracus, Venezuela is currently the men’s points leader for the Wildcats.
“I have been having good workouts and most importantly have been healthy and mentally ready the last four weeks,” Luis Orta said. “I have been having a good season to this point and knew I was capable of running a good race. The coaches have been very helpful so I wanted to do this not only for me but more for UK because they have given me so much and I wanted to give something back. I love UK and being a Wildcat so I wanted to do it for my school.”
Other scorers on the women’s side included junior Terri-Ann Grant, who finished sixth in the high jump with a personal-best clearance of 5-08.75/1.75m. Grant, in her first year at Kentucky, came into the SEC meet with a career-best mark of 5-07.00/1.70m and was tied for 10th on UK’s all-time high jump list. With her new career high, the junior sits tied for fifth overall with former Wildcats Heather Hutchings (1996) and Edyth Childress (1981).
Sophomore Shelby Kennard also put points on the board with a seventh-place finish in the women’s pole vault competition, collecting two points for the team. Like each of her female point-scoring teammates, she used a career-best performance to claim her finish, clearing a height of 12-08.00/3.86m. Kennard’s new career-best mark was also a new Kentucky outdoor school record in the event. Even more unique is that teammate Samantha Stenzel cleared the same height in the event and finished in 10th place overall because of more misses prior to that clearance. So, Kennard and Stenzel currently share the Kentucky school record in the women’s pole vault at a height of 12-08.00/3.86m.
In his final SEC championships, senior Colin Boevers scored three points in the men’s shot put for a sixth-place finish. The senior used a long toss of 55-11.25/17.05m to secure his sixth-place result, which was the same place as his seed coming into the championships. Boevers has a career-best in the shot put of 56-03.75/17.14m, which he set at the Billy Hayes Invitational on May 6. Boevers will be back in action Sunday to defend is SEC discus title and also extend the streak of UK athletes winning the event to four straight.
In addition to scoring, UK had five athletes qualify for the finals of their respective events on Saturday, including Darryl Bradshaw and Keith Hayes in the 110m hurdles, Matt Hillenbrand in the men’s 1,500m run, Cally Macumber in the women’s 1,500m run and Jenna Martin in the women’s 400m dash.
Hayes with Bradshaw right behind, finished one, two in the 110m hurdles to qualify for the finals, which begin at 2:45 p.m. Hayes ran 13.99 while Bradshaw set a personal-best of 14.22 to advance. Hayes a junior from Wichita, Kan., will also compete in the 400m hurdles on Sunday, an event which he ranks second after the preliminary round.
A pair of young 1,500m runners, Hillenbrand and Macumber will race in the finals of their respective events after placing fifth and 10th, respectively. Macumber, a sophomore and four-time All-SEC performer, will also compete in the 5,000m run Sunday at 4:50 p.m. ET.
Martin, the school-record holder in the 400m dash with a time of 51.91, will also move on to the finals after winning heat two of the 400m dash with a time of 52.93. The senior currently sits third overall in the event which will take place Sunday at 3:15 p.m.
Kentucky will begin the final day of competition at 12:00 p.m. ET with David Banks, Steve Crouse and Keenan Hall in the triple jump. Running events will start at 2:00 p.m. ET with the 400m relay. Sunday’s action, beginning at 2 p.m. ET, will be available live on ESPN3.com.
Kentucky Point Scorers
Men
Luis Orta – 8 points (3,000m Steeplechase)
Colin Boevers – 3 Points (Shot Put)
Women
Mary Angell – 8 points (Discus)
Precious Nwokey – 5 points (Heptathlon)
Heather Smith – 3 points (Hammer)
Terri-Ann Grant – 3 points (High Jump)
Shelby Kennard – 2 points (Pole Vault)
Finals Qualifiers
Men
Matt Hillenbrand – 1,500m Run (Final: Sunday at 2:20 p.m. ET)
Darryl Bradshaw – 11m Hurdles (Final: Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET)
Sharif Webb – 800m Run (Final: Sunday at 3:35 p.m. ET)
Keith Hayes – 400m Hurdles (Final: Sunday at 3:55 p.m. ET) /110m Hurdles (Final: Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET)
Women
Cally Macumber – 1,500m Run (Final: Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET)
Jenna Martin – 400m Dash (Final: Sunday at 3:15 p.m. ET)
Saturday, May 13th Results
Men’s Long Jump – 12:00 p.m.
11. Keenan Hall – 23-11.50/7.30m
Women’s High Jump – 12:00 p.m.
6. Terri-Ann Grant – 5-08.75/1.75m (3 points)
Men’s Shot Put – 1:30 p.m.
6. Colin Boevers – 55-11.25/17.05m (3 points)
11. Isiah Kent – 49-05.50/15.07m
Women’s Pole Vault – 2:30 p.m.
7. Shelby Kennard – 12-08.00/3.86m (2 points)
T10. Samantha Stenzel – 12-08.00/3.86m
Women’s Discus Throw – 3:30 p.m.
2. Mary Angell – 177-07/54.14m (8 points)
Men’s 1,500m Run Prelims – 4:00 p.m.
5. Matt Hillenbrand – 3:52.23q
15. Adam Kahleifeh – 3:56.91
21. Robert Scharold – 4:07.61
Women’s 1,500m Run Prelims – 4:15 p.m.
10. Cally Macumber – 4:26.84Q
24. Anna Bostrom – 4:39.15
33. Taylor Wendler – 4:46.03
37. Megan Wright – 4:56.20
Men’s 110m Hurdles Prelims – 4:30 p.m.
3. Keith Hayes – 13.99Q
5. Darryl Bradshaw – 14.22Q
Women’s 100m Hurdles Prelims – 4:45 p.m.
9. Precious Nwokey – 13.77
17. Kayla Parker – 14.14
Men’s 400m Dash Prelims – 5:00 p.m.
25. Ben Mason – 49.22
24. Cody Miller – 49.22
Women’s 400m Dash Prelims – 5:15 p.m.
3. Jenna Martin – 52.93Q
24. Brittany Cabbler – 57.37
27. Julie Nunn – 58.25
Men’s 100m Dash Prelims – 5:30 p.m.
17. Kyron Joseph – 10.66
Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase – 6:05 p.m.
2. Luis Orta – 8:53.00 (8 points)
Sunday, May 15th Schedule
Men’s Triple Jump – 12:00 p.m.
Keenan Hall
David Banks
Steve Crouse
Women’s Shot Put – 2:00 p.m.
Mary Angell
Women’s 4x100m Relay – 2:10 p.m.
Jenna Martin, Jazmyn Shorter, Shiara Robinson, Kayla Parker
Women’s Triple Jump – 2:15 p.m.
Ke’Undra Bishop
Men’s Discus Throw – 3:00 p.m.
Colin Boevers
Isiah Kent
Men’s 5,000m Run – 4:30 p.m.
Luis Orta
Stacey Eden
Matt Hillenbrand
Women’s 5,000m Run – 4:50 p.m.
Cally Macumber
Hiruni Wijayaratne
Men’s 4x400m Relay – 5:15 p.m.
Keith Hayes, Sharif Webb, Cody Miller, Kyron Joseph
Women’s 4x400m Relay – 5:35 p.m.
Jenna Martin, Brittany Cabbler, Shiara Robinson, Jazmyn Shorter
