Ten Wildcats Qualify for NCAA Indoor Championships
By Jacob Most
March 5, 2014 –
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky track and field teams will have 10 entries, eight on the women’s side and two on the men’s side, at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships, the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee announced.
Kentucky qualified it’s most competitors to the NCAA Indoor Championships since eight made it in 2010.
The championships will be held March 14-15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
ESPN3 will stream the meet live on March 14 starting at 7:55 p.m. Eastern and March 15 starting at 7:50 p.m. Eastern. A tape delay of the championship will air Saturday, March 22 starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU.
Bradley Szypka (Photo by Mohammad Khursheed, TFV Media)
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Both Dezerea Bryant and Kendra Harrison lead the way for UK as each qualified for the National Championship meet in three events (two individual and a relay). Both Bryant and Harrison won Southeastern Conference Championships last weekend.
Bryant, the SEC Champion at 60 meters and runner-up at 200m, will compete in both events. She owns the nation’s fastest 60m dash time this season, 7.16 seconds, and ranks second in the world at 200m in 2014 (22.75).
Harrison is coming off a SEC-record performance as she won the conference 60m hurdles championship in 7.94, a nation-leading time, which shattered the previous record of 8.0. She placed seventh in the 60m dash at SECs less than 15 minutes after winning in the hurdles. Should she make the final in both events at NCAAs, Harrison would have closer to 40 minutes of recovery time between the 60H and 60m.
Kentucky will be well-represented in the 60m hurdles as three of the 16 entries are Wildcats. UK scored 21 points in the event at the SEC Championships as Kayla Parker was third in the event with a PR time of 8.16, and Leah Nugent placed fourth (8.20).
Allison Peare has been steadily improving throughout the season, having lowered her school mile-record to 4:35.18 in a bronze-medal performance at the SEC Championships. She scored in both the mile and 800m at SECs, but will be able to focus exclusively on the mile at NCAAs.
UK will have a pool of six to choose from for the women’s 4x400m relay, an event in which it ranks seventh with a top 200m-track time of 3:34.31. UK’s available runners are Bryant, Harrison, Morganne Phillips, Sha’Keela Saunders, Kenyattia Hackworth and Leah Nugent.
On the men’s side Kentucky will be represented by a pair of 2014 SEC Champions.
Matt Hillenbrand, who was high-point scorer at the Conference Championships, having won both the mile and 3,000 meters, will only compete in the mile.
He ranks fourth nationally in the event with a school-record time 3:57.0.
Brad Szypka is also coming off a SEC Championship, as his top mark 19.48 meters/63-feet-11-inches ranks 11th nationally.
The complete list of participants is available here.
Women
Event |
Athlete |
Top Mark |
Event Rank |
60 |
7.16 |
1 |
|
60 |
7.31 |
16 |
|
200 |
22.75 |
2 |
|
Mile |
4:35.14 |
5 |
|
60 Hurdles |
7.94 |
1 |
|
60 Hurdles |
8.16 |
11 |
|
60 Hurdles |
8.20 |
14 |
|
4×400 |
Phillips, |
3:33.35 |
7 |
Men
Event |
Athlete |
Top Mark |
Event Rank |
Mile |
3:57.0 |
4 |
|
Shot Put |
19.48m |
11 |