Wildcats Earn Three Medals to Open SEC Indoor Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Three senior Wildcats earned medals in field events this evening as the University of Kentucky track and field program concluded day one of the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Arkansas.

Charity Hufnagel and Dennis Ohene-Adu earned their first SEC medals of their careers while Keaton Daniel won his fifth consecutive SEC pole vault gold medal in his back-to-back defense of his indoor title. The meet also saw three additional records broken with two being freshman records and one a school record.

Hufnagel, who’s no stranger to being on top of the podium in championship meets, earned the Wildcats their first medal of the championships after battling her way through the women’s pentathlon. A grueling five-event affair that started in the early afternoon and finished in the late evening, Hufnagel managed to fight her way to the top of the mountain winning the event with 4,098 points. She is the second consecutive Wildcat to win the women’s indoor pentathlon at the SEC indoor championship after Annika Williams did it last year.

Hufnagel’s best event came in the second event of the day, the high jump, where she won with a mark of 5’10.75”/1.80 meters to earn 978 points. She went on to finish in the top five in the remaining four events to earn her first SEC championship title in her SEC championship debut.

Daniel vaulted his way to another SEC championship title after clearing 18’5.25”/5.62 meters. It marks his second consecutive indoor conference title and his fifth consecutive conference gold medal. That now makes two indoor and three outdoor titles for Daniel as he continues to lead the country in the men’s pole vault after joining the 19’ club earlier this year.

Ohene-Adu also earned his first SEC medal this evening after becoming the first man in program history to throw over 70’ in the indoor weight throw. His mark of 73’6”/22.40 meters easily shattered his previous school record from earlier this season and earned him his first-ever SEC bronze medal and his team six points.

The Wildcats wrap up the first day of competition with the women’s team tied for fourth in the standings with 26.5 points while the men also sit fourth with 22.5 points. The Wildcats will conclude the SEC Championships tomorrow.

PRELIMS RECAP

SPRINTS & HURDLES

60-METER HURDLES

WOMEN – Junior Alexis Glasco finished fifth overall in the prelim and advanced to tomorrow’s final on time after running a time of 8.17 that ranks tied for 6th on the UK all-time performers list.

200M

MEN – Graduate student Kennedy Lightner ran the third fastest time in the prelims at 20.54 to advance on time to tomorrow’s final.

FINALS RECAP

PENTATHLON

WOMEN – Senior Charity Hufnagel won the event with 4,098 points in her SEC championship debut. Her best mark came in the high jump where she won with a mark of 5’10.75”/1.80 meters to earn 978 points. She went on to finish in the top five in the remaining four events to earn her first SEC championship title and 10 points for the team.

DISTANCE

5000M

MEN – Freshman Ed Bird placed 10th but did set a freshman record with a time of 14:07.69 in his event and SEC championship debut. His time ranks seventh on the UK all-time performers list.

JUMPS & THROWS

POLE VAULT

WOMEN – Junior Payton Phillips tied for sixth with a clearance of 13’6.25”/4.12 meters earning the team 1.5 points.

MEN – Senior Keaton Daniel vaulted his way to another SEC championship title after clearing 18’5.25”/5.62 meters. It marks his second consecutive indoor conference title and his fifth consecutive conference gold medal. That now makes two indoor and three outdoor titles for Daniel as he continues to lead the country in the men’s pole vault after joining the 19’ club earlier this year.

WEIGHT THROW

WOMEN – Senior Simisola Akinrinsola placed fourth becoming only the second woman in UKTF history to throw over 70’ in the indoor weight throw. Her personal best mark of 70’1.50”/21.37 meters ranks 2nd on the UK all-time performers list and earned the team five points.

Freshman Kate Powers also improved her freshman record with a personal best throw of 68’3”/20.80 meters to rank fifth on the UK all-time performers list. She earned four points with her fifth-place finish.

MEN – Senior Dennis Ohene-Adu earned his first SEC medal this evening after becoming the first man in program history to throw over 70’ in the indoor weight throw. His mark of 73’6”/22.40 meters easily shattered his previous school record from earlier this season and earned him his first-ever SEC bronze medal and his team six points.

Junior Logan Coles placed seventh with a personal best mark of 69’7”/21.21 meters that ranks second on UK all-time performers list and earned the team two points.

LONG JUMP

WOMEN – Freshman Morgan Davis placed sixth in her SEC championship debut with a personal best mark of 20’5.75”/6.24 meters that ranks seventh on the UK all-time performers list and earned three points for the team.

RELAYS

DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY

WOMEN – Kentucky’s “A” team consisting of seniors Sydney Steely, Jania Martin, Jenna Schwinghamer, and sophomore Ally Kruger placed sixth with a time of 11:19.49 earning three points.

MEN – Kentucky’s “A” team consisting of junior Alex Justus, sophomore Brandon Nyandoro, and seniors Justin Swann, and Jake Allen placed seventh and ran a season-best 9:47.50 to earn two points.

Event Results

Event Lineup (all info tentative and subject to change before the meet)

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