May 25, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky track and field will send 18 student-athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Bloomington, Ind., for a three-day event beginning on Thursday. These athletes will be qualifying for the chance to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8 to June 11.
The meet will feature the top 48 competitors in each individual event from the East region, in which the top-12 spots advance to the NCAA Championships. Live streaming of the meet in addition to live results can be found on IUHoosiers.com.
Kentucky has 24 entries in the meet that includes 18 student-athletes shooting for the top-12 positions in each event. Coming into the meet, UK sits 12th or higher in nine events with four on the women’s side and five on the men’s.
Senior Colin Boevers, the Southeastern Conference Champion in the men’s discus throw, is the highest ranked Wildcat in any event, ranking second in the discus behind James Plummer from Rutgers. Boevers, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, set his season-best mark of 196-00/59.74m in his successful defense of the SEC discus title. The All-SEC first team selection, ranks fifth on UK’s all-time discus throw list.
Next for the men, ranking third in the 800m run, is senior Sharif Webb who looks to build on his fifth-place finish at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Webb set the UK school record in the outdoor 800m run with a time of 1:47.19 at the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla., on April 1.
Junior Keith Hayes qualified in two events, the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles, which he ranks in the top 10 of each. Hayes ranks seventh in the 110m hurdles after setting his career-best time 13.70 at the SEC Outdoor Championships. The junior ranks 10th in the 400m hurdles, also with a career-best time at the most recent SEC Championships at 50.96. Hayes ranks second on UK’s all-time 110m hurdles list and third on the 400m hurdles chart. A native of Wichita, Kan., Hayes was the only Kentucky athlete to score at the NCAA Indoor Championships, finishing seventh in the 110m hurdles.
The school-record holder in the men’s triple jump, senior Keenan Hall, ranks 12th in the East region with his career-best mark of 52-00.50/15.86m. Hall has continued to improve throughout the year and finished fifth in the triple jump at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
On the women’s side, senior Jenna Martin is the highest ranked athlete, coming in at fourth in the 400m dash with a season-best time of 52.37. Martin holds the school record in the 400m dash with a time of 51.91, set during her freshman year.
Senior Mary Angell was Kentucky’s top point scorer at the SEC Championships with 14 points, finishing second in the discus and third in the shot put. Angell ranks eighth in the East region in the discus throw with a career-best mark of 177-07/54.14m. Also qualifying in the shot put, Angell used a career day at SEC’s and now ranks 12th in the East region with a long toss of 53-06.25/16.31m. The senior holds third place positions in both events on UK’s all-time rankings.
The women’s 4x400m relay team set a season-best time at the SEC Championships to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Round. The 4x400m relay team that consists of Jenna Martin, Jazmyn Shorter, Shiara Robinson and Precious Nwokey ran 3:36.90 at SEC’s, which is the third-fastest women’s 4x400m relay time in school history.
A full list of times and events for Kentucky’s athletes is listed below. Action will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday with junior Precious Nwokey in the women’s long jump. Running events will start at 4:00 p.m. ET with Hayes in the men’s 400m hurdles.
For continuous updates, follow us on Twitter @Kentuckytrack and on UKathletics.com.
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary Round
Thursday, May 26
Field Events
1:00 p.m. – W Long Jump – Precious Nwokey
6:00 p.m. – M Long Jump – Keenan Hall
6:00 p.m. – W Pole Vault – Samantha Stenzel, Shelby Kennard
Track Events
4:00 p.m. – M 400m Hurdles First Round – Keith Hayes
6:30 p.m. – W 400m Dash First Round – Jenna Martin
7:30 p.m. – W 800m Run First Round – Allison Peare
8:00 p.m. – M 800m Run First Round – Sharif Webb
Friday, May 27
Field Events
1:00 p.m. – W Shot Put – Mary Angell
1:00 p.m. – W High Jump – Precious Nwokey, Terri-Ann Grant
6:00 p.m. – M Triple Jump – Keenan Hall, Steve Crouse, David Banks
Track Events
4:30 p.m. – W 100m Hurdles First Round – Precious Nwokey
5:00 p.m. – M 110m Hurdles First Round – Keith Hayes, Darryl Bradshaw
5:30 p.m. – W 400m Dash Quarterfinal – Jenna Martin
6:30 p.m. – W 800m Run Quarterfinal – Allison Peare
6:45 p.m. – M 800m Run Quarterfinal – Sharif Webb
7:15 p.m. – M 400m Hurdles Quarterfinal – Keith Hayes
7:30 p.m. – W 200m Dash First Round – Jazmyn Shorter
9:10 p.m. – M 3,000m Steeplechase Quarterfinal – Luis Orta
Saturday, May 28
Field Events
11:00 a.m. – W Discus – Mary Angell
5:00 p.m. – M Discus – Colin Boevers
Track Events
7:05 p.m. – W 100m Hurdles Quarterfinal – Precious Nwokey
7:20 p.m. – M 110m Hurdles Quarterfinal – Keith Hayes
7:35 p.m. – W 200m Dash Quarterfinal – Jazmyn Shorter
8:05 p.m. – W 5,000m Run Semifinal– Cally Macumber
9:25 p.m. – W 4x400m Relay Quarterfinal