Feb. 28, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams stand in fourth and ninth place, respectively, after Saturday's competition at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships. The men have scored 25 points, while the women have three points. However, most of the finals will be contested Sunday, as only five men's and five women's of the 34 combined events have been completed.
Saturday's competition included finals in six field events, two distance races and the men's heptathlon. The Tigers had seven competitors that scored points in those events.
Three Tigers placed among the top seven of the men's 3,000 meters, as junior Jean-Pierre Weerts was fourth in 7:58.26, junior Elkanah Kibet was fifth in 7:59.97, and freshman Girma Mecheso finished seventh in 8:04.04. Weerts' time ranks second best in Auburn indoor history, while he and Kibet became the fourth and fifth Tigers ever to go under eight minutes in the 3,000 indoors. Scott Novack was also 12th for Auburn in 8:28.56.
Freshman Ryan Fleck finished second in the men's high jump, clearing a season-best 2.15 meters (7-0.5), which ranks sixth in Auburn indoor history. Fleck matched Tennessee's Brenard Wilson, who also finished with a top clearance of 2.15m, but Wilson was awarded first based on fewer misses.
Junior Eric Werskey placed fourth in the men's shot put, posting a mark of 18.12 meters (59-5.5). He just missed third place by three centimeters.
Junior Valentina Srsa placed sixth in the women's weight throw with a season-best throw of 16.09 meters (52-9.5), coming on her sixth and final attempt.
Junior Jager Livingston capped off the day by finishing eighth in the men's heptathlon with a personal best 5,004 points. He entered the day in 12th place, but closed strong by placing second in the final event - the 1,000 meters - to move up to eighth. Earlier he had a personal-best mark of 4.25 meters (13-11.25) in the pole vault, putting him in 10th place and in position to move up further on the final event.
Auburn just missed scoring in one more final Saturday, as in the women's 3,000 meters, sophomore Amber Riley placed ninth in 9:51.11.
"In the events with finals today we scored about what we thought we would score," said Auburn head coach Ralph Spry. "This meet never changes - it's a tough, tough meet. We knew coming in it was going to be a dog fight. But we did have some good performances, and we put ourselves in a position to be a factor tomorrow. We need to come back tomorrow and reload and make some things happen."
There were prelims only for 12 of the 14 track events contested Saturday, and two Tigers advanced to Sunday finals in two separate races.
Sophomore Joanna Atkins reached the finals of both the 60 meters and the 400 meters. She ran the 60 meters first, racing to a personal-best time of 7.32 seconds that was sixth best in the prelims and ranks her sixth in Auburn indoor history. She then posted the second-best mark in the women's 400 meters, clocking a time of 53.42 seconds. She entered the meet ranked No. 1 in the conference with a season-best time of 53.22.
Freshman Marcus Rowland qualified for the finals in two events, advancing in the men's 60-meter dash and the 200 meters. He clocked a time of 6.68 seconds in the 60 meters that won his heat and tied for third best overall. He then posted the second-best mark in the 200 meters, winning his heat in 20.96 seconds.
Sophomore Michael DeHaven pulled off the biggest stunner of the day for Auburn, topping his season best in the 200 meters by nearly six tenths of a second to finish fourth in the prelims in 20.98 seconds. He entered the meet ranked 16th in the SEC in the 200 meters, but raced to the fourth-best time in Auburn indoor history and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Freshman CeCe Williams will join Atkins in the finals of the women's 400 meters, after clocking a time of 55.00 seconds in her first race in that event this year, which ranks her seventh in Auburn indoor history.
The Tigers placed two women in the finals of the 200 meters, as sophomore Cache Armbrister clocked the fifth-best time of 23.94 seconds, while freshman Nivea Smith was one spot behind with a time of 23.98.
In the prelims of the men's mile, junior Felix Kiboiywo cruised into the finals, winning his heat in 4:09.07. He opened a sizeable lead on the final lap before slowing down over the last 80 meters with a spot in the finals easily in reach. Freshman Jeff Sanders also reached the finals by finishing with the 10th-best time of 4:12.43.
Junior Danielle Gilchrist qualified for the finals of the women's 60-meter hurdles, posting a season-best time of 8.39 seconds that provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time this season. Her time ranked sixth best in the prelims. Sophomore Latoya Parkinson was 13th in a season-best 8.71 seconds.
Auburn had two women that missed making finals by just one spot. In the 60 meters, Shaquela Williams finished 10th in the prelims in 4.49 seconds. Sabrina Fischer was 10th in the 800 meters with a personal-best time of 2:11.08 that moves her up to seventh in school indoor history.
Arkansas leads the men's team standings with 37 points, followed by Florida (33), Tennessee (32), Auburn (25), South Carolina (19), Alabama (14), Ole Miss (12), Georgia (11) and Kentucky and LSU (6 each).
In the women's standings, Arkansas leads with 45 points, followed by LSU (32), Kentucky (28), Tennessee (25), Mississippi State (19), Florida (18), Alabama (10.5), Ole Miss (10), Auburn (3), South Carolina (2.5) and Georgia (2), while Vanderbilt has not yet scored.
The SEC Indoor Championships conclude on Sunday, with field events beginning at 11 a.m. ET and running events starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.