Track & Field to Begin Outdoor Season in Arizona

March 20, 2014
Heat Sheets

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Kentucky Track and Field teams will spend Spring Break in an ideal setting. Fresh off one of the best indoor seasons in school history, UK will begin the outdoor track and field season on Friday at the Baldy Castillo Invite in Arizona State’s Sun Angel Stadium.

“This weekend will be one of many steps we must take on our march toward NCAA outdoor track and field relevance,” head coach Edrick Floréal said. “Our purpose going into this trip is twofold. No. 1 we want to set some early NCAA East Preliminary Championship qualifying marks. No. 2 we need to reacquaint ourselves with outdoor track and field while we build and strengthen our team under some much-needed sun rays.”

Kentucky will compete against Arizona State, Air Force, Georgia, Iowa State, Kennesaw State, Long Beach State, Minnesota (Men), North Dakota State, and Oklahoma.

The meet will begin a 4 p.m. ET on Friday with the men’s hammer throw followed by the women’s hammer and the only track event of the night will be the men’s and women’s 1,500 meters, beginning at 10:30 p.m.

Brandi Walker and Rebecca Famurewa will be in the women’s hammer throw of Friday.

2014 SEC Mile and 3,000-Meter Champion Matt Hillenbrand, SEC Indoor 800m Champion Keffri Neal and SEC 3k runner-up Adam Kahleifeh will all be in the women’s 1,500m field. 2014 SEC Mile Bronze-Medalist Allison Peare will be in the women’s 1,500m.

On Saturday, field events will start at 1 p.m. ET and the running events will begin at 4 p.m.
The weekend will mark the much-anticipated 2014 debut for UK’s elite long-throwers amongst others.

Andrew Evans will compete in the discus throw for the first time in 2014, as the senior was NCAA Bronze Medalist a year ago.

Raymond Dykstra will also throw the javelin for the first time this year as he was the NCAA fifth-place finisher last year and placed sixth in 2012.

Kentucky returns eight Outdoor All-Americans’ from last year while nine Wildcats recently earned All-Americans during the indoor season and Cally Macumber was a 2013 indoor track as well as cross country All-American.

Kentucky will host the nation’s top conference meet: the SEC Championships in May. UK will host the SEC Outdoor Championships for the first time since 1996.