UKTF Takes Two Medals On Day Two Of SEC Outdoor Championships

BATON ROUGE, La. – Kentucky track & field completed day two of the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships at Louisiana State University at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The day featured the first two medals won by the Wildcats as well as three more qualifiers from today’s track events.

Friday’s Finals

Josh Sobota won bronze in the shot put with a school record throw of 67’0”/20.42 meters to earn the team six points. Sobota broke the record held for 19 years by Jeff Chakouian of 66’3.00”/20.19 set in Baton Rouge in 2004. The bronze is the third medal of Sobota’s career.

Jordan Turner placed fifth in the men’s long jump for four points. Turner earned the spot with a jump of 25’6.75”/7.79 meters on his third attempt in flight two. He passed on his final three attempts.

Both Jackson Watts and Alex Alston scored points in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase. Watts placed fifth with a time of 9:04.97 for four points while Alston was seventh with a personal best time of 9:09.95 for two points.

Sydney Steely earned three points for the women in the same event placing sixth with a time of 10:32.88.

Track Prelims

The Wildcats earned three qualifiers in today’s events. The three qualifiers add to the five qualifiers they collected from Thursday’s competitions for a total of eight student-athletes advancing to tomorrow’s finals.

Anthaya Charlton had a monstrous day on the track and in the field. In both the women’s 100 meter dash prelims and long jump, Charlton improved the UK freshman records she set earlier this season and moved up in the UK all-time performers list.

Charlton won silver in the long jump with a record jump of 22’1.50”/6.74 meters (0.1) on her final jump of the evening. It’s the first outdoor medal of her career and second overall after she took bronze in the long jump at the SEC Indoor Championships in February.

In addition to her medal, Charlton set the fifth quickest time in UK history in the 100 meter dash prelims. Her time of 11.11 (0.4) not only was a personal best but it was good enough for second overall in the prelims and an automatic birth to tomorrow’s final.

Masai Russell won her heat in the women’s 100-meter hurdles to earn the automatic qualification. Her time of 12.47 (2.2) saw her place second overall in the prelims.

Phoebe McCowan took fifth place overall in the women’s 1500 meter prelims. Her time of 4:23.02 and a top-three finish in her heat earned her an automatic qualifier for tomorrow.

At the end of day two, the men’s team sits tied for 8th place with 17 points while the women sit tied for 10th with 11 points.

The final day of the SEC outdoor championships will continue tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT from Bernie Moore Track Stadium.

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