March 17, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s and women’s track and field teams were led Friday by strong performances from the UK men’s throws unit and sophomore Kayla Parker in their outdoor season-opening meet at the Bulls Invitational.
Held at the USF Track and Field Stadium in Tampa, Fla., the men’s throws unit won a pair of events Friday, as sophomore Andrew Evans won the men’s discus and freshman Raymond Dykstra won the men’s javelin. Evans recorded the seventh best mark in program history in the discus, defeating all other competitors in the event by over 11 feet with a throw of 56.42m/185-01. Evans also finished 14th in the men’s hammer throw, recording the seventh best mark in school history at 47.66m/156-04. Meanwhile, Dykstra dominated the men’s javelin with a school-record mark of 69.09m/226-08. The freshman from Grimsby, Ontario defeated all other competitors by over 22 feet.
Parker began her day with a career-best mark in the long jump, leaping 5.61m/18-05.00. Parker’s previous career best was 18-04.75 set last year at the Sea Ray Relays. Parker wasn’t done yet, as she won the women’s 100-meter hurdles in the afternoon with a career-best time of 13.76. Parker bested her previous career-best time of 14.03 set at last year’s Southeastern Conference Championships, and now has the seventh fastest time in UK history.
The UK men and women both competed very well in the 1,500m run Friday. Sophomore Allison Peare led the women’s team with a first-place finish and career-best time of 4:28.97. Junior Megan Wright also ran a career-best time en route to finishing sixth. Sophomore Chelsea Oswald finished 17th and junior Hiruni Wijayaratne finished 22nd while running a career-best race.
Freshman Keffri Neal, an indoor All-SEC Freshman Team selection in the 800m, led UK with a second-place finish in the men’s 1,500m. Neal ran a 3:52.45, followed by senior Josh Nadzam who finished fourth with a time of 3:53.56. Sophomore Robert Scharold finished 10th in the race, bettering his previous career-best time by nearly 10 seconds.
Senior Trent Halasek and junior Ben Mason also ran career-best times at the Bulls Invitational. Halasek finished fifth in the men’s 800m run, clocking in at 1:53.67. Mason finished 10th in the men’s 400m dash, finishing in 49.18.
The Kentucky Wildcats will take one week off before splitting into two squads for the Texas Relays in Austin Texas, and the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta. The Texas Relays will run from March 29-31, and the Yellow Jacket Invitational will go from March 30-31.
For all news and information on the Kentucky track and field teams, follow the Wildcats on Twitter at “KentuckyTrack” and go to UKathletics.com.
Bulls Invitational
USF Track & Field Stadium – Tampa, Fla.
March 15-16, 2012
Thursday’s Results
Women’s Hammer Throw
17. Jennifer Svoboda – 41.48m/136-01
Men’s Hammer Throw
14. Andrew Evans – 47.66m/156-04
21. Bradley Szypka – 43.92m-144-01
23. Isiah Kent – 41.39m/135-09
Friday’s Results
Men’s Javelin Throw
1. Raymond Dykstra – 69.09m/226-08
Women’s Long Jump
7. Kayla Parker – 5.61m/18-05.00
Men’s Long Jump
9. Terence Boyd – 7.04m/23-01.25
Men’s Triple Jump
— Terence Boyd – Foul
Women’s Pole Vault
6. Samantha Stenzel – 3.60m/11-09.75
— Shelby Kennard – NH
Men’s Shot Put
9. Isiah Kent – 14.86m/48-09.00
— Bradley Szypka – Foul
Women’s Discus Throw
9. Jennifer Svoboda – 41.60m/136-06
Women’s High Jump
T4. Terri-Ann Grant – 1.68m/5-06.00
Men’s High Jump
9. Terence Boyd – 1.95m/6-04.75
— Todd Nibbs – NH
15. Ryan Ratliff – 1.90m/6-02.75
Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay
1. Kentucky ‘A’ – 45.84
6. Kentucky ‘B’ – 47.59
Women’s 1,500-Meter Run
1. Allison Peare – 4:28.97
6. Megan Wright – 4:36.13
17. Chelsea Oswald – 4:44.81
22. Hiruni Wijayaratne – 4:46.93
27. Anna Bostrom – 4:49.73
32. Katy Achtien – 4:52.01
33. Taylor Wendler – 4:52.77
Men’s 1,500-Meter Run
2. Keffri Neal – 3:52.45
4. Josh Nadzam – 3:53.56
10. Robert Scharold – 3:57.99
14. Jared Phillips – 4:01.56
16. Jake Wildenmann – 4:02.17
37. William James – 4:12.99
Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles
1. Kayla Parker – 13.76
Men’s 400-Meter Dash
10. Ben Mason – 49.18
26. Sean Keane – 50.84
Women’s 800-Meter Run
3. Julie Nunn – 2:15.08
Men’s 800-Meter Run
5. Trent Halasek – 1:53.67
Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles
3. Shiara Robinson – 1:01.04
Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles
8. Brandon Bagley – 54.98
Men’s Discus Throw
1. Andrew Evans – 56.42m/185-01
4. Isiah Kent – 49.53m/162-06
13. Bradley Szypka – 42.53m/139-06
Women’s Shot Put
5. Jennifer Svoboda – 14.65m/48-00.75
