AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn track and field is set to compete in the 2025 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, May 15-17, at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Facility in Lexington, Kentucky. Action begins Thursday at 10:30 a.m. CT with the decathlon’s 100m.
Both the men’s and women’s squads enter the weekend ranked in the most recent USTFCCCA poll with the men at No. 10 and the women at No. 24.
Led by third-year head coach Leroy Burrell, the Tigers will face off against some of the nation’s best programs this week. The men will compete against 11 nationally ranked SEC teams including No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 5 Georgia, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 12 Alabama, No. 14 Florida, No. 15 LSU, No. 17 Texas, No. 20 Oklahoma, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 23 Mississippi State, while the women compete against No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 6 South Carolina, No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 13 Texas, No. 19 LSU, No. 23 Alabama and No. 25 Tennessee.
"Things are really exciting for us right now,” Burrell said. “We have a lot of things that are working for us, and we’re ranked high nationally and in the conference.”
Auburn plans to utilize 21 men and 21 women at this year’s championships, including 15 men and 14 women who have previously competed at the conference outdoor meet.
“Given out results from the indoor and cross country season, we can finish in the upper half of the conference,” Burrell said. “We could get as high as fourth or fifth on the men’s side and fifth or sixth on the women’s side, which would be really outstanding for us.”
Included in that group of women is senior Maura Huwalt, who claimed gold in the women’s discus throw with a mark of 54.35m as a sophomore in 2022. Huwalt has scored 21 points at SEC outdoors over her Auburn career.
At last year’s conference championship, the Tigers had four podium-worthy performances. Ja’Kobe Tharp brought home a SEC title in the men’s 110m hurdles, breaking American Renaldo Nehemiah’s 46-year-old American Junior (U20) record with a time of 13.18.
Current Tigers Kayinsola Ajayi, Azeem Fahmi and Makanakaishe Charamba were part of the men’s 4x100m relay that took silver, crossing in 38.55. Max Hardin also had a silver medal performance in the 1500m.
For the men, the sprints are crucial, and the team is looking toward the jumpers to deliver a solid conference meet as well.
Sophomores Jay Avery and Aaron Davis II have delivered performances that have put the duo in the top 10 of the conference. Avery’s personal best mark is 7.80m is the third furthest and Davis's is tenth.
Senior Charamba and freshman Israel Okon have the SEC leading times in the 200m (19.99) and the 100m (9.91), respectively, while Ajayi holds the second fastest 100m time in the SEC (9.96).
On the women’s side, it’s been the sprinters delivering solid outings. All-American Vimbayi Maisvorewa holds the second fastest 400m time in the nation (50.25). Senior Ashantae Harvey continues to be a threat for the Tigers as she delivered the fifth fastest 400m hurdles time in program history (56.59). Harvey’s time is sixth fastest in the conference.
Maisvorewa, sophomore Zuriel Reed, Harvey, and sophomore Deborah Oke ran a stellar race in the 4x400m relay at the Pepsi Florida Relays earlier this season. The quartet’s time of 3:27.92 is the fourth fastest in the SEC.
Freshman distance runner Brenda Jepchirchir has broken two freshman outdoor records this season. Racing in the 10,000m at the Wake Forest Invitational, Jepchirchir broke the facility record and beat her closest competitor by 52 seconds (32:42.28). With a time of 4:17.59, she broke the 1500m freshman record.
The men’s and women’s throw units have also been consistent over the season. Senior Kyle Brown has finished first in hammer throw in three meets this outdoor season, including a massive personal best of 68.76m to take gold at the Tiger Track Classic. His mark is No. 16 in the nation.
Junior Seth Allen finished second in his last outing with a mark of 59.71m in discus throw, the sixth-best mark in the SEC.
For the women in discus, Adrienne Adams’ season best mark of 56.20m places her at No. 5 in the conference.
At the 2024 SEC Outdoor Championships, the men finished ninth with 47 points and the women took 12th with 24 points. Arkansas is the reigning SEC outdoor champion on the men’s side and LSU on the women’s side.
“At SECs, this is a lot of the same competition that you will see at the national level, most finals will be dominated by athletes from this conference, and this is a foreshadowing of what you’ll see at the national level,” Burrell said.
Live results for the meet will be available at pttiming.com and will air on SECN+ and SECN throughout the week. To view Auburn’s Meet Notes, visit here.