Track and Field to Begin Indoor Season at Hoosier Open
Dec. 12, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A select group of Kentucky track and field Wildcats will see their first action of the indoor season at the Hoosier Open on Friday at Indiana’s Gladstein Fieldhouse.
The meet will feature open competition on Friday and men’s and women’s multi events on Saturday. The Hoosier Open will get underway on Friday at 5:00 p.m. ET with the 60m preliminary rounds. Field events will begin at 5:15 with the women’s weight throw.
The meet will serve as an opening salvo for UK, giving coaches and athletes a benchmark to measure against when the Wildcats return to campus in the new year.
Kentucky returns three Wildcats who earned All-America status last indoor season to its 2013-14 indoor squad: Morganne Phillips, Chelsea Oswald and Allison Peare (Distance Medley Relay).
Additionally, six more Wildcats earned All-America honors during the outdoor season.
UK has also been bolstered by the nation’s fifth-ranked women’s recruiting class (Track & Field News) as well as a strong group of newcomer men.
Headlining that group are transfers Dezerea Bryant , KendrA Harrison and Leah Nugent, who have earned a combined 17 USTFCCCA All-America honors between them in addition to 16 individual college conference titles.
What to Watch
Events to watch include the women’s 60-meter hurdles (5:25 p.m.), which features Kayla Parker, who won the event at the same meet last season and emerged for UK during the 2013 outdoor season earning All-America status in the 100m hurdles, Harrison – who was an All-American in the event the past two seasons – as well as Leah Nugent, an All-ACC honoree last season in the 400m hurdles, freshman Johna’ Whitaker and Joanne Imbert.
The women’s 60 meters (5:00 p.m.) field also consists of a wealth of talented Wildcats. Bryant, — a first-team All-American and ACC Champion in the event the past two seasons – headlines, being joined by Harrison, Phillips, Angelica Whaley, freshman Alisha Adair, Sha’Keela Saunders and Whitaker, while transfer Dominique Booker will compete unattached.
The men’s shot put will begin at 8:30 p.m. with Bradley Szypka in the field. Szypka was an All-America honoree in the event outdoors last year. Isiah Kent, himself a NCAA East Regional qualifier and SEC scorer in the event is also slated to throw. Andrew Evans and Raymond Dykstra – both two-time All-Americans in the discus and javelin respectively – are also listed in the field.
Phillips, who won the same event last season setting a facility record in the process, will look to defend her title in the 300m with all the Wildcats from the 60m scheduled to take lanes when the gun goes off at 7:45 p.m.
Rebecca Famurewa is scheduled to compete in the weight throw, an event in which she was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team last season. She will be joined by freshman Madison Jacobs.
Michelle Canterna, a 2013 NCAA East Preliminary Outdoor Championship qualifier will compete in the pole vault at 6 p.m.
Five Wildcats have been given lane assignments in the men’s 300m (8:10 p.m.): Kadeem Kushimo (an NCAA East Regional qualifier at 200m outdoors), Brandon Bagley as well as freshmen Clyde Gross, Dyarius Tucker and Nicholas Anderson.
Imbert, who reached the 2013 NCAA East Regional outdoors in the high jump, will compete in her signature event at 8:30 p.m.
Terence Boyd, Daniel Buckles and freshman Corey Williams will represent UK in the men’s long jump (6:20 p.m.), while Cassidy Shippy will make her collegiate debut in the women’s long jump at 5:20 p.m.
