Chelsea Oswald Completes SEC Distance Double
By Jacob Most
May 12, 2013 –
Results
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Chelsea Oswald completed the distance double at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships winning the 5,000 meters title on Sunday after she won the 10K earlier in the week.
Oswald ran a time of 16:01.50, less than 2 seconds off former Kentucky All-American Valarie McGovern’s SEC record. The 2013 indoor All-American is the first Wildcat to win the SEC 5K since McGovern won it in 1990.
Oswald became the first ever Wildcat to win at both 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the same SEC Championships. McGovern and Kristi Orre won the 5K and 10K respectively in 1989.
Oswald also became the first competitor to win both distances at the same SEC Meet since Tennessee’s Liz Costello accomplished the feat in 2011.
Cally Macumber finished third in the 5K with a time of 16:11.77 to secure six more points, giving UK 16 points from that one race.
“I went into the 5K with the goal of getting as many points for the team as I could,” Oswald said. “I think Cally and I accomplished that. It’s a lot easier to race when you have a bigger reason to race than just yourself. I wanted to do it for my teammates who gave it their all in each of their events.
“They have been so supportive this weekend. They are like family to me.
Both the UK men’s and women’s teams finished seventh overall with 46 points each. The women’s team earned its highest finish and point total since 2009 (6th & 56). The Wildcat men’s team had its highest finish and point total since 2011 (7th & 54).
Kentucky finished the 2013 SEC Championships with eight medals, two gold, three silver and three bronze.
“We had a number of near-misses and letdowns, but we still managed a strong team finish,” head coach Edrick Floreal said. “We will draw from performances like the one Chelsea produced this meet to build from as we continue to grow as a team.”
Andrew Evans and Isiah Kent combined to notch 12 points for Kentucky in the discus. Evans, a 2012 All-American in the event, finished as runner up with a top throw of 59.25 meters / 194 feet 4 inches.
Kent finished fifth to score four points with a best toss that went 54.77m/ 179′ 8″. He wrapped up the meet having scored 5 points total after he finished eighth for a point in the shot put on Saturday.
LSU’s Rodney Brown won the event with a throw of 61.91m/203’1″.
Allison Peare ran a personal best time of 4:18.88 to finish fifth & score four points in the 1,500-meter final. She picked off eight runners, all on the bell lap, as she made her move from dead last with 400 meters remaining.
Peare then concluded a great individual effort running 2:11.02 for eighth and point in the 800M final, picking up five total points for Kentucky on the day.
Kentucky scored 14 points in the men’s 1,500M final, as Matt Hillenbrand & Keffri Neal went two-three with respective times of 3:50.78 & 3:51.06.
Hillenbrand ran a race similar to the one he executed perfectly in the SEC Indoor Mile final. He stayed at the front of the pack with Arkansas’ Patrick Rono amongst others for most of the race. As the two began to string out the lead pack over the final 400 meters Rono was able to match Hillenbrand’s acceleration, unlike the way he succumbed to Hillenbrand’s move in February.
Rono won with a time of 3:50.22.
Adam Kahleifeh just missed a scoring spot with a ninth place time of 3:54.49.
Keffri Neal also wrapped up a great day as he picked up a point, finishing the 800M final eighth in 1:56.18.
Kayla Parker was fourth in the 100-meter hurdles final with a PR 13.19, to notch five points. Parker solidified her hold on the No. 2 spot within the all-time UK performance list a mere .03 seconds off the school record.
Luis Orta picked up two points in the 5K with a season best time 14:18.51. Orta finished the meet having scored six total points as he notched four in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday. Matt Hillenbrand finished ninth, just outside scoring position, with a big PR time 14:18.51.
The women’s 4×400-meter relay team of Angelica Whaley, Shiara Robinson, Morganne Phillips and Danielle Sampley finished seventh with a time of 3:40.17 in the final event of the meet.
The UK men’s 4×100-meter relay team of Brandon Bagley, Kadeem Kushimo, Ben Mason and Terence Boyd ran 40.96, only .02 seconds off the Wildcats’ season best. They finished 11th.
Boyd had a season-best triple jump 14.96m/49’8.25″ into a -1.4 wind. He finished 13th.
The SEC Championships will air as part of a 90-minute show on ESPNU on Thursday, May 23 beginning at 8 p.m.
Raymond Dykstra was runner up in the men’s javelin throw and Rebecca Famurewa finished third in the discus on Saturday.
Oswald concluded the meet having accrued 20 points total, behind only LSU’s Kimberlyn Duncan in the Commisioner’s Trophy standings, awarded to the competitor with the most points at the meet. Duncan finished with 22 points, having won the 100 and 200 meters, and competed in the 4×100-meter relay on the second-place team.
Kentucky will host the 2014 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The Wildcats will next compete at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds May 23-25 at Greensboro, N.C. The top 48 declared times/marks in the East Region qualify for that meet.
Kayla Parker was 4th in the #SECTF13 100H final w/ a PR 13.19, 5 points & .03 secs off the #UKTF record #WeAreUK #BBN twitter.com/KentuckyTrack/…
— UK Track and Field (@KentuckyTrack) May 12, 2013
