McLaughlin, JCQ, Thomson Lead UKTF Sunday at SEC Indoors

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Sydney McLaughlin set many manner of records en route to winning the 400 meters, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won a fourth-straight conference short hurdles crown and Jacob Thomson returned to the top of the conference podium, highlighting Kentucky’s 2018 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Sunday at Gilliam Indoor Stadium.

The Kentucky women’s team finished third in the team standings at the SEC Indoor Championships for the second year in a row. Including Outdoor SEC Championships, the UK women’s team has placed third at the SEC Track and Field Championships four times in a row (dating to the 2016 outdoor championships).

The Kentucky men’s team improved by a place and a point from the year prior, finishing sixth overall with 45 points.

 
Sunday winners
Freshman Phenom Sydney McLaughlin and fellow first-year sensation Lynna Irby of Georgia put on a show in the women’s 400m with the Olympian edging the World Under-20 Champion.

McLaughlin ran 50.52, the world junior record, collegiate freshman record and the SEC record. She also moved to No. 2 on the all-time collegiate list.
 
McLaughlin got out well, and held off a surging Irby down the home stretch by .1 seconds.

“I think I got out well, I think just my last 50 meters needs some work,” McLaughlin said. “Other than that I’m happy. It’s crazy, I’ve watched (the SEC Championships) on TV for so long, and now to be able to be here and be able to score points for my team is amazing.”

Both McLaughlin and Irby bettered 2016 Olympic gold medalist Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s previous collegiate freshman record of 50.88.
 

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn began the day by defending her SEC title in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.98, .03 off the nation-leading personal best she recorded two weeks ago.

Dating to the 2016 outdoor season, the junior has won four-straight SEC short hurdles titles indoors and outdoors. Stretched to Kendra Harrison’s arrival at UK before the 2013-14 season, Wildcats have won eight of the last nine SEC short hurdles titles (indoors and outdoors), with the 2016 indoor 60m hurdles gold Camacho-Quinn’s freshman year the only one to elude a Wildcat’s grasp.

“I wasn’t too focused on the time this race I just wanted to win,” Camacho-Quinn said. “I’ll take it, but I just wanted to get my title. That man, (Kentucky head coach Edrick Floréal) he’s the greatest when it comes down to the hurdles. I just listen to everything he says and then do what I do.”

Thomson who came agonizingly close to the podium on Saturday night in the 3k, earned plenty of redemption Sunday in the 5k.

“I’ve been in the SEC for three years,” Thomson said. “it’s always super competitive. Made really bad tactical errors last night that cost me. I ended up getting fourth behind a couple of them so I didn’t want to let that happen again. Just waited till the right moment, tried to be way more patient and it worked out perfectly.”

He won going away with a time of 13:49.50. He is now a three-time SEC Champion having won a 5k-10k double outdoors in 2016.

Sunday medalists
Katy Kunc completed a 14-point meet with a silver in the 5k having to run alone for much of the race to finish in 16:20.70. She ran a 3k PR for bronze in the 3k on Saturday.

Kayelle Clarke took bronze in the 200m with an indoor and outdoor personal best 22.83. It was her first SEC medal. Camacho-Quinn added two points to UK’s tally with a seventh-place time of 23.29.

Marie-Josée Ebwea-Bile improved her school record to 45’7.75″/13.91m to claim bronze in the triple jump. The gold and silver and bronze medal marks rank 1-2-3 in the NCAA this year. It was Ebwea-Bile’s first SEC medal.

Faith Ross, Camacho-Quinn, McLaughlin and Clarke combined to take bronze in the 4x400m relay, winning their heat in 3:31.96.

Sunday scorers
Benjamin Young scored his first SEC points and finished a spot off the podium running 4:08.35 in the mile for fourth place.
 
Timothy Duckworth finished the meet with nine points scored, as he added three on Sunday with a sixth-place pole vault clearance 16’8.75″/5.10m. He took bronze in the long jump on Saturday to score six.
 
Daniel Roberts scored his first three indoor points for Kentucky, placing sixth in the men’s 60m hurdles with a time of 7.88.

Nikolas Huffman and Noah Castle combined to score five points for Kentucky in the men’s shot put. Huffman tossed a season best 61’3.5″/18.68m to score three points in sixth place, while Castle was a centimeter off his PB with a seventh-place 60’11.5″/18.58m for silver.
 
Ellen Ekholm cleared 5’10.75″/1.80m to place sixth and score three points in the women’s high jump.
 
Michelle McKinney finished seventh in the women’s mile with a time of 4:50.03 to tally two points.
 
Saturday medalists
Tim Duckworth, the NCAA leader in the heptathlon this year, picked up his first SEC medal, a bronze in the open long jump. He leapt to a season-best 25’6.75″/7.79m.
 
The senior elected to enter just the long jump and pole vault this weekend, and having scored six points in his first event finds himself in good position to score in double figures. Ten would be the maximum he could score in the heptathlon, to say nothing of the physical and mental expenditure required to do seven events in two days now fewer than two weeks from the NCAA Championships.
 
Katy Kunc, reigning SEC 3k Steeplechase Champion and cross country bronze medalist the last two seasons, claimed her first indoor conference medal, a bronze in the 3k. She ran nearly an eight-second personal best 9:17.60, moving to No. 6 on the UK all-time list. She’s now a four-time SEC medalist, and is entered in the 5k Sunday.
 
Saturday scorers
After making the pace in the early part of the race before losing his lead and momentum, Jacob Thomson fought back into podium position on the bell lap, but was edged at the line, finishing fourth in the men’s 3k with a time of 7:55.80 to score five points.
 
Sophomore Nicole Fautsch scored the first four SEC points of her career in the shot put, recording a fifth-place mark of 50’10″/15.49m.
 
Seniors David Cline (sixth for three points, 67’8″/20.62m) and Logan Bryer (eighth for a point, 66’8.75″/20.34m) combined to put four points on the scoreboard for Kentucky in the weight throw.
 
Marie-Josée Ebwea-Bile scored a point in the women’s long jump placing eighth with a mark of 20’4.5″/6.21m.
 
UKTF SEC Precedent

• The UK women’s team was third with 72 points last season at SEC Indoors.
• The UK men’s team was seventh with 44 points last season at SEC Indoors.
• The UK women’s team’s best SEC Indoor Championships finish was third, last year, and in 1989. UK’s record score at SECs was 92 in 1989
• The UK men’s team’s best SEC Indoor Championships finish was a win in 1960. UK’s SEC Indoor high score was 85 in in 1996

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