Cory Martin And Jovanee Jarrett Win Titles At SEC Indoor Track And Field Championships

Feb. 25, 2006

Results

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams had one individual champion each while advancing several athletes to the finals during the second day of the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by the University of Florida. Junior Cory Martin repeated as the SEC indoor champion in the weight throw, while senior Jovanee Jarrett won the long jump for Auburn. With just five events completed, the Auburn women are in fourth place with 20 points, while the men's squad, with four events completed, is in sixth place with 12 points. The bulk of the finals will be held during the third and final day Sunday.

"Our kids are performing well," said head coach Ralph Spry. "We knew our women's team had depth and balance. Today gave us a chance to be in a position to win tomorrow. We've just got to do what we've been doing from day one, and we'll be right there. Coming in, we knew our men's team wasn't deep, but there were several areas we were able to do well in today."

Jarrett won her second career SEC title, claiming the long jump title with a leap of 6.31m (20-8.5). Jarrett, who previously won the 2005 SEC Indoor title in the triple jump, became the seventh Tiger since 1989 to win the SEC Indoor long jump title.

"It feels awesome," said Jarrett. "I came out determined to win and I did. I actually thought I had finished second, then I found out that I won and tears came to my eyes. I am really glad, knowing that this is my last indoor season and I went out a winner.

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Cory Martin won his second-straight SEC indoor title in the weight throw.

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Martin broke his own school record in the weight throw, repeating as SEC indoor champion, with an automatic qualifying mark of 22.24m (72-11.75), which is the fourth-best mark in the NCAA this season. Martin eclipsed his previous school record of 72-8.5 set last year. Unfortunately, junior Jacob Dunkleberger, who entered the meet ranked second in the league in the weight throw, fouled on all of his attempts, failing to record a mark.

"It's a great feeling to win this event at SECs twice," said Martin. "Any time you can double your titles in this league, it's a pretty special accomplishment. I'm happy with my performance."

Senior Angela Homan, a two-time SEC outdoor champion in the 10,000m, ran the 3,000m for the first time since the 2004 SEC Indoor Championships, and finished third with a time of 9:35.04, which was a personal best and ranks fourth in Auburn indoor history.

Sophomore Jordan Davis earned two points for the men's team with a seventh-place performance in the men's 3,000m, with an indoor personal-best time of 8:06.52. Davis' time, also a personal best, just missed the provisional qualifying mark of 8:06.30.

In the women's shot put, Auburn had two point-scorers. Freshman Katalin Mate placed fifth with a mark of 14.78m (48-6), which ranks second in Auburn indoor history, while senior Ronda Gullatte placed eighth with a throw of 14.17m (46-6).

Several athletes qualified for Sunday's finals, led by junior Kerron Stewart, who advanced to the finals of the both the women's 55m and the women's 200m. Stewart cruised to a time of 23.33 in the 200m, easing up down the stretch after taking a big lead in her heat, but still posting the second-best mark in the prelims. She finished second in her heat of the 55m with a time of 6.84 seconds, improving her provisional qualifying time by .01 seconds.

Senior Markita James cruised into the finals of the women's 400m, winning her heat with a time of 53.48 seconds, which ranked second best among the eight qualifiers for Saturday's final.

Senior Josanne Lucas advanced to the finals of the women's 55m hurdles by placing second in her heat with a personal-best time of 7.64 seconds, which moved her up one spot to third on Auburn's all-time indoor list in that event.

In the men's 55m hurdles, freshman Tavaris Washington and sophomore Ty Akins both advanced to Sunday's final. Washington finished second in his heat and second overall in the prelims, and met the provisional qualifying standard with a time of 7.32 seconds, which ranks him tied for eighth in school history. Akins was second in his heat as well, clocking a time of 7.40 seconds, which was a personal best.

Washington also won his heat of the 200m with a time of 21.89 seconds, but it was not good enough to qualify for the finals.

Sophomore Reuben McCoy qualified for the finals of the men's 400m, posting the sixth-best time in the prelims of 47.66 seconds, which is an indoor best for him.

Arkansas leads the men's competition with 40 points, followed by South Carolina (27), Tennessee (23), Florida (22), LSU (13), Auburn (12), Mississippi (11) and Alabama (8). On the women's side, Georgia leads with 36 points, followed by Arkansas (29.5), Alabama (24), Auburn (20), South Carolina (19.5), LSU (15), Tennessee (13.5), Mississippi (13), Florida (12.5), Kentucky (6), Mississippi State (4) and Vanderbilt (2).

Sunday's final day of competition at the SEC Indoor Championships will begin with the women's weight throw at 10:00 a.m. (ET), and continue through the final event - the men's 4x400m relay, which begins at 4:30 p.m.