Two Alumni, Senior Thomson Finish Top-10 Sunday at USAs

DES MOINES, Iowa – Kentucky alumnus Andrew Evans took fourth in the discus, Class of 2017 alumna Kiah Seymour finished sixth in the 400-meter hurdles and senior Jacob Thomson placed 10th in his last race in a Wildcat uniform to conclude the USATF Outdoor Championships Sunday at Drake Stadium.

In Trinidad and Tobago, just graduated senior Kayelle Clarke ran a personal best 22.74 to repeat as silver medalist at her national championship.
 
UK Class of 2014 Andrew Evans had a bit of hard luck in finishing fourth in the discus with a pretty good mark of 212’2″/64.66m.
 
The top three all threw beyond 66 meters (216’6″). Evans’ season best is 216’8″/66.04.
 
The last time three Americans passed the 66m threshold was 2000. Reggie Jagers won with a mark of 225’1″/68.61m, the best throw by an American since 2011 (notes by Jon Mulkeen of IAAF).

UK Class of 2017 Kiah Seymour – who was 2016 NCAA silver medalist – placed sixth in her first USATF 400m hurdles final, running 57.70.

Thomson finished 10th, passing three competitors on the bell lap and holding them off down the stretch to post a time of 13:45.03.

“Wanted to come out and compete,” Thomson said. “Get in the top group and see what I could do the last mile. I came away with a top-10 finish. I was hoping for a little more, but not too disappointed.”

UK Class of 2014 Cally Macumber led the women’s 5k for the first five-plus laps, eventually finishing 16th in 16:17.08.

Sophomore Daniel Roberts (13.75, -0.1) and Class of 2017 alumnus Nicholas Anderson (13.81, -1.7) placed 11th and 12th respectively in the men’s 110m hurdles semifinals.
 
Kentucky alumni Keni Harrison (100-meter hurdles) and Sha’Keela Saunders (long jump) won USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, UK senior Katy Kunc executed an audacious race plan, taking a huge lead in the first few laps of her first U.S. 3k steeplechase final to earn a top-10 finish, ninth place in 10:01.83.

Whereas the other three years of every four-year Olympic cycle, the U.S. Championships serve as a qualifying meet for Americans seeking to compete at major championships, the IAAF World Championships occurring one year before, and one year after each quadrennial Summer Olympic Games, this year National Championships represent in some measure the most prestigious competition available to many athletes.

That said, for athletes who compete for European nations – notably NCAA heptathlon and decathlon champion Tim Duckworth, who represents Great Britain, and NCAA triple jump bronze medalist Marie-Josee Ebwea-Bile, who represents France, the biennial European Championships in athletics are likely the top target for this summer. The European Championships will be August 7-12 in Berlin’s OlympiaStadion.

The British Championships will be June 30-July 1, and the French Championships are July 5-8 in Albi Municipal Stadium.

For North America and Caribbean athletes the NACAC Championships – the track and field equivalent to soccer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup – will also be contested this summer.

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