May 18, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Andrew Evans, Luis Orta, Raymond Dykstra and Keilah Tyson were each honored by the Southeastern Conference on Friday for their performances at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships from May 10-13 in Baton Rouge, La.
Evans was named First Team All-SEC in the discus, Orta was named Second Team All-SEC in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Dykstra was named Second Team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Freshman Team in the javelin. On the women’s side, Tyson was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in the 100m dash and the 200m dash.
Evans was named to the first team after winning the men’s discus title on the third day of the championships meet with a mark of 181-09/55.40m. Evans’ SEC discus title was Kentucky’s fifth-straight first-place finish in the event. Evans enters the NCAA East Preliminary from May 24-26 with the fifth-best mark in the region, throwing a season-best 188-10/57.56m at the Texas Relays.
Orta was named Second Team All-SEC after finishing second in the 3,000m steeplechase with a career-best time of 8:45.77. Orta’s time in the race was the second fastest steeplechase run in UK history. He will enter the NCAA East Preliminary with the ninth-fastest time in the region.
Dkystra was named both a Second Team All-SEC performer and an SEC All-Freshman Team performer in the javelin. The rookie from Grimsby, Ontario, finished second in the javelin with a mark of 241-07/73.64m, the best among all freshman in the event. Dykstra has the third-best mark in the east region heading into the NCAA East Preliminary, throwing 247-05/75.41m at the Texas Relays in late March.
Tyson earned SEC All-Freshman Team distinctions in both the 100m dash and the 200m dash. The Norfolk, Va., native finished sixth in the preliminaries of the 100m dash with a career-best time of 11.47, and she finished ninth in the finals. In the 200m, Tyson finished 11th in the preliminaries, just 0.03 seconds away from the finals. She will compete in both events at the NCAA East Preliminary, ranking No. 20 in the 100m and No. 27 in the 200m.
The Kentucky men’s team finished eighth at the SEC Championships with 43 total points, while the women’s team finished 12th with 10.50 points.
Kentucky will compete next in the NCAA East Preliminary round from May 24-26 in Jacksonville, Fla., in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Nationals Championships, which is held this year in Des Moines, Iowa, from June 6-9.
For all Kentucky track and field news and information, follow the team on Twitter at “KentuckyTrack” and go to UKathletics.com.
Men’s First Team All-SEC
Andrew Evans – Discus
Men’s Second Team All-SEC
Raymond Dykstra – Javelin
Luis Orta – 3,000-meter steeplechase
Men’s SEC All-Freshman Team
Raymond Dykstra – Javelin
Women’s SEC All-Freshman Team
Keilah Tyson – 100-meter dash
Keilah Tyson – 200-meter dash
