May 11, 2012
BATON ROUGE, La. – Junior distance runner Walter Luttrell and sophomore middle distance runner Allison Peare led the Kentucky men’s and women’s track and field teams Friday on day two of the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. On an overcast day at Bernie Moore Stadium on the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge, La., Luttrell earned the Kentucky men’s team five points with his fourth-place finish in the men’s 10,000-meter finals, and Peare qualified for the women’s 800m finals with her seventh-place time. The Kentucky men now sit in fifth in the team standings after Luttrell’s performance.
Luttrell remained in the top 10 for the vast majority of the exhausting race that stretches over six miles in length. The Dayton, Ohio, native gave all his energy in the final laps, and got help from teammate Stacey Eden in the final two laps, to finish with a career-best time of 30:08.86, the ninth-fastest 10K run in Kentucky history. Friday’s 10K was the first of Luttrell’s collegiate career.
“It was really tough because that was my first-ever 10K on the track,” said Luttrell, who also competes on the Kentucky cross country team. “It started to get very stressful mentally with about 10 laps left because I was on my own, but there was a pack of four guys behind me so I knew they were trying to chase me down. But thankfully I was able to hold on to my position and hold my position and hang onto fourth.”
Peare got things started for Kentucky at the SEC Championships with a career-best time in the women’s 800m run, and the fifth-fastest 800m in school history. Peare, who hails from North Canton, Ohio, finished third in her heat, and seventh overall, with a PR time of 2:06.03. The top two runners in each of the event’s three heats qualify for Sunday’s finals, along with the next three fastest times overall. While Peare finished third in her heat, she had the fastest time among all runners who did not finish in the top two of their respective heat. Peare will race in the finals on Sunday at 5:40 p.m. ET.
Sophomore thrower Andrew Evans finished ninth in the finals of the men’s hammer throw with a career-best mark of 176-04/53.76m. Evans saved his best for last, throwing the 176-04 on his final throw. Evans’ hammer mark is the sixth-best in school history, bettering his previous career-best by a foot.
Freshman women’s sprinter Keilah Tyson finished 11th in the women’s 200m, missing out on the finals by a mere 0.03 seconds. Tyson, who holds the Kentucky freshman record in the 200m and the third fastest time in school history, finished with a time of 23.97. Tyson’s time was the fastest among all freshmen in the race.
Senior middle distance runner Trent Halasek finished 11th in the men’s 800m with a time of 1:51.45. Halasek, missed out on the finals of the event by 0.46 seconds.
The Wildcats begin at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday with the women’s long jump. Kentucky will close out the championships Sunday, beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET with the men’s javelin. Kentucky will compete in five different events Saturday with its student-athletes entering the event ranking in the top five in the conference.
Senior thrower Jennifer Svoboda has the fifth-best mark in the women’s shot put this year. Svoboda threw the shot put 50-10 at the Penn Relays on April 26. The women’s shot put begins at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Senior Josh Nadzam ran the third-fastest 1,500m time in the SEC this year at the Payton Jordan Invitational on April 29. Nadzam won his heat in that race with a career-best time of 3:45.10. The 1,500m will begin at 5:45 p.m. ET.
Evans has the second-best mark in the men’s discus after throwing for a season-best 188-10 at the Texas Relays. Evans will be looking to defend Kentucky’s crown in the event. The Wildcats have won four consecutive SEC Outdoor titles in the men’s discus, with Chase Madison winning in 2008, Rashaud Scott in 2009 and Colin Boevers winning in 2010 and 2011. The men’s discus begins at 6 p.m. ET.
Fellow senior Terri-Ann Grant leads the Wildcats in the high jump. Grant recorded a season-best mark of 5-11.25 at the Clyde Littfield Texas Relays on March 28. The Kingston, Jamaica native’s mark is the fourth best in the SEC so far this season. Grant will go in the women’s high jump at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Junior distance runner Luis Orta, the 2012 SEC Men’s Indoor Runner of the Year, currently has the second-fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase in the SEC. Orta ran a career-best steeplechase time of 8:47.52 at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., the second-fastest steeplechase in Kentucky history. The 3,000m steeplechase will begin at 8:05 p.m. ET. Orta also has the fourth-fastest 5,000m time in the conference. The Caracas, Venezuela, native will compete in the 5K at 7:00 p.m. ET Sunday. Orta ran a season-best time in the 5,000m at the Pepsi Florida Relays with a time of 14:09.47.
Tyson isn’t in the top five of the 100m, but does have the top time among SEC freshmen in the event. Tyson has the eighth-fastest 100m time in the SEC, running 11.48 at the Penn Relays. The Norfolk, Va., native’s 100m time is a Kentucky freshman record. The race will begin Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET.
The SEC Championships mark the pinnacle of all conference championship meets. In the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association top-25 poll, a dozen SEC teams were featured, including seven from the men’s side and five on the women’s side. The seven ranked men’s teams are the most in the country, and include five of the top 11 teams. Among the five ranked teams on the women’s side, two are ranked in the top five.
Live coverage of the meet will air on ESPN3.com on Saturday and Sunday. That coverage will air from 5:30-8:15 p.m. ET Saturday and from 4-8 p.m. ET on Sunday. Dwight Stones, Larry Rawson and Lewis Johnson will have the call. Live results of the meet can be found at UKathletics.com.
All-sessions tickets are available at $20 for adults and $10 for youth, and provide admission for each day of the championships from May 11-13. Individual tickets can also be purchased for each day of the meet for $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Fans can purchase their tickets for the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships by logging on to the website for the LSU Ticket Office at www.LSUsports.net.
A complete list of when and what events Kentucky student-athletes are scheduled to compete in is listed below, as well as results from Kentucky’s student-athletes. All times listed are eastern. All student-athletes, events and times of events are subject to change.
For all Kentucky track and field news and information, including daily recaps and results from the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, follow the Wildcats on Twitter at “KentuckyTrack” and go to UKathletics.com.
2012 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Bernie Moore Stadium – Baton Rouge, La.
May 10-13, 2012
Women’s Team Standings (Through Day Two) – Three Events Scored
1. Georgia – 26 points
2. Arkansas – 18 points
3. LSU – 17 points
4. Florida – 15 points
5. Mississippi State – 11 points
6. Alabama – 9 points
7. Mississippi – 8 points
8. Tennessee – 7 points
9. Auburn – 6 points
Men’s Team Standings (Through Day Two) – Three Events Scored
1. Arkansas – 49 points
2. Florida – 23 points
3. Georgia – 21 points
4. LSU – 11 points
5. Kentucky – 5 points
6. Auburn – 3 points
6. Tennessee – 3 points
8. South Carolina – 1 point
8. Mississippi State – 1 point
Kentucky Men’s Point Scorers
Walter Luttrell – 5 points (4th – 10,000-meter run)
Friday’s Individual Results
Women’s 800-Meter (Prelims)
7. Allison Peare – 2:06:03q
Men’s 800-Meter (Prelims)
11. Trent Halasek – 1:51.45
16. Keffri Neal – 1:52.66
17. Matt Hillenbrand – 1:52.68
18. Robert Scharold – 1:52.97
Women’s 200-Meter (Prelims)
11. Keilah Tyson – 23.97
19. Tamyah Pipkin – 24.53
22. Julie Nunn – 25.10
Men’s 200-Meter (Prelims)
22. Ben Mason – 21.97
Men’s Hammer Throw (Prelims & Finals)
9. Andrew Evans – 176-04/53.76m
Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
15. Shiara Robinson – 1:01.95
18. Devinn Cartwright – 1:03.19
Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
15. Brandon Bagley – 53.71
Men’s 10,000-Meter (Finals)
4. Walter Luttrell – 30:08.86
21. Stacey Eden – 33:35.41
Saturday’s Individual Lineup
Women’s Long Jump (Prelims & Finals) – 3:30 p.m.
Kayla Parker
Men’s Long Jump (Prelims & Finals) – 3:45 p.m.
Terence Boyd
Women’s Shot Put (Prelims & Finals) – 4:00 p.m.
Jennifer Svoboda
ESPN3.com Live Video Feed Begins – 5:30 p.m.
Women’s 1,500-Meter (Prelims) – 5:30 p.m.
Katy Achtien
Megan Broderick
Allison Peare
Hiruni Wijayaratne
Megan Wright
Men’s 1,500-Meter (Prelims) – 5:45 p.m.
Trent Halasek
Matt Hillenbrand
Adam Kahleifeh
Josh Nadzam
Keffri Neal
Robert Scharold
Women’s Pole Vault (Finals) – 6:00 p.m.
Shelby Kennard
Samantha Stenzel
Men’s Discus (Prelims & Finals) – 6:00 p.m.
Andrew Evans
Isiah Kent
Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) – 6:00 p.m.
Kayla Parker
Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) – 6:20 p.m.
Brandon Bagley
Women’s High Jump (Finals) – 6:30 p.m.
Terri-Ann Grant
Joanne Imbert
Women’s 400-Meter (Prelims) – 6:35 p.m.
Julie Nunn
Angelica Whaley
Women’s 100-Meter (Prelims) – 7:15 p.m.
Tamyah Pipkin
Keilah Tyson
Men’s 100-Meter (Prelims) – 7:30 p.m.
Ben Mason
Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Finals) – 8:05 p.m.
Luis Orta
Sunday’s Individual Lineup
Men’s Javelin (Prelims & Finals) – 2:00 p.m.
Raymond Dykstra
Men’s Triple Jump (Finals) – 2:45 p.m.
Terence Boyd
Men’s Shot Put (Prelims & Finals) – 3:00 p.m.
Isiah Kent
Bradley Szypka
ESPN3.com Live Video Feed Begins – 4:00 p.m.
Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay (Finals) – 4:00 p.m.
Kentucky
Women’s 1,500-Meter (Finals) – 4:20 p.m.
*Katy Achtien
*Megan Broderick
*Allison Peare
*Hiruni Wijayaratne
*Megan Wright
Men’s 1,500-Meter (Finals) – 4:30 p.m.
*Trent Halasek
*Matt Hillenbrand
*Adam Kahleifeh
*Josh Nadzam
*Keffri Neal
Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 4:40 p.m.
*Kayla Parker
Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 4:50 p.m.
*Brandon Bagley
Women’s Discus (Prelims & Finals) – 5:00 p.m.
Jennifer Svoboda
Women’s 400-Meter (Finals) – 5:00 p.m.
*Julie Nunn
*Angelica Whaley
Women’s 100-Meter (Finals) – 5:20 p.m.
*Tamyah Pipkin
*Keilah Tyson
Men’s 100-Meter (Finals) – 5:30 p.m.
*Ben Mason
Women’s 800-Meter (Finals) – 5:40 p.m.
Allison Peare
Women’s 5,000-Meter (Finals) – 6:40 p.m.
Hiruni Wijayaratne
Men’s 5,000-Meter (Finals) – 7:00 p.m.
Stacey Eden
Matt Hillenbrand
Adam Kahleifeh
Walter Luttrell
Josh Nadzam
Luis Orta
Women’s 4×400-Meter Relay (Finals) – 7:25 p.m.
Kentucky
Men’s 4×400-Meter Relay (Finals) – 7:35 p.m.
Kentucky
* = Pending qualification for finals
