March 1, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Auburn men's track and field team finished tied for fourth with 65 points and the women sixth with 54 points while crowning two individual champions Sunday as the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships came to a close. Joanna Atkins and Raevan Harris won the 400 meters and high jump, respectively, during Sunday's competition.
The young Tiger squads showed marked improvement from last year's SEC indoor meet, when both teams finished eighth, with the men scoring 37 points and the women 27. Of the 119 combined points scored by Auburn's men and women this year, only Harris' 10 points from the high jump were scored by seniors.
"Overall I'm really pleased," said head coach Ralph Spry. "There's no doubt this is the toughest conference meet in the country. I'm really pleased with how some of our freshmen stepped up. I have two really young teams and with a couple more breaks we could have been in the top three. I feel really good about where we are and now we can head to nationals with a little bit of momentum."
Harris, celebrating her 22nd birthday on Sunday, won her second career SEC Championship and first SEC indoor title, clearing 1.85 meters (6-0.75). She missed just once during the competition up to that point, and with the victory already in hand, moved the bar up to 1.89 meters in an attempt to break the SEC Indoor record, but was unable to do so. She became just the second Auburn woman to win the high jump at the SEC Indoor Championships, and first since Sissy Costner in 1988.
"It feels good and it feels even better because it's my birthday, and I gave myself a little birthday present," said Harris. "I just try to do my best every time. There's not much pressure being the favorite - not to me. I don't get very nervous."
Also in the high jump, freshman Chelsey Thomas finished fifth in her first high jump competition of the year with a mark of 1.66 meters (5-5.25), while freshman Monica Carney was 14th (1.61 meters, 5-3.25).
Sophomore Joanna Atkins had a stellar meet, winning the 400 meters, placing fourth in the 60 meters and helping the women's 4x400-meter relay team take third.
Atkins became the first woman in Auburn history to win the 400 meters at the SEC Indoor Championships, clocking a personal-best time of 52.61 seconds, which is just .05 seconds off the school indoor record. Only three other women in the NCAA had run below 53 seconds entering the weekend. Also in the 400, freshman CeCe Williams finished sixth with a time of 54.52, which ranks her sixth in school indoor history.
"It's very exciting," said Atkins following her victory. "I made it through another race injury free. It's a dream come true. I've always wanted to be an SEC champion."
Atkins started her day placing fourth in the women's 60 meters, clocking a personal-best time of 7.28. She now ranks fifth in Auburn indoor history in that event, and her time, which just missed the automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships by .02 seconds, should still place her comfortably in the field in that event.
She closed the day by running the anchor leg on Auburn's 4x400-meter relay team that was third in 3:35.50, which is the third-best time in school indoor history. She teamed with Williams, sophomore Cache Armbrister and junior Danielle Gilchrist.
Freshman Marcus Rowland had a pair of top-four finishes for the men, placing third in the 60 meters and fourth in the 200 meters. In the 60-meter dash, he had a personal-best time of 6.65 seconds in the finals. He missed an NCAA automatic time by just .02 seconds, but entered the meet ranked tied for eighth in the NCAA with a season best of 6.66, and improved on that time. It marked the first time all season that he had been beaten in an individual event, as LSU's Trindon Holliday won with a time of 6.58 seconds.
In the 200 meters, Rowland raced to a time of 20.97 seconds, but actually finished one spot behind teammate Michael DeHaven, who set a personal best for the second time in as many days with a time of 20.92 that matched Rowland's season best and tied for third in school indoor history.
The Tigers had two of the top four finishers in the men's 5,000 meters, as junior Elkanah Kibet took third and freshman Girma Mecheso placed fourth. Both runners posted personal-best times and improved their NCAA provisional qualifying times, with Kibet finishing in 13:49.44 and Mecheso posting a time of 14:00.66.
In the men's mile, junior Felix Kiboiywo finished third with a time of 4:03.11, just slightly off his season best of 4:01.42. Kiboiywo hung with the leaders and was in second place with about 200 meters left, but could not keep up with Arkansas' Dorian Ulrey, who won in 3:59.77.
Kiboiywo also helped the men's distance medley relay team take third, teaming with junior Scott Novack, sophomore Bernard Spivey and junior Jean-Pierre Weerts to finish in 9:49.34.
The Tigers had two women place in the 200 meters, with freshman Nivea Smith finishing fifth in 23.92 seconds, and Armbrister just .01 seconds behind to place sixth.
Junior Laurel Pritchard placed fifth in the women's 5,000 meters, and her time of 16:47.82 ranks her sixth in school indoor history.
Gilchrist placed seventh in the women's 60-meter hurdles, posting a time of 8.52 seconds, which was slightly off her prelims time of 8.39.
Freshman Wesley Wright placed 12th in the men's weight throw with a season-best throw of 17.97 meters (58-11.5), and sophomore Erika Akins was 14th in the women's triple jump with a leap of 11.05 meters (36-3).
Arkansas won the men's team title with 130 points, followed by Florida (102), Tennessee (78), Auburn and South Carolina (65), LSU (64), Kentucky (48), Georgia (47), Alabama (35) and Ole Miss (29).
Tennessee claimed the women's team title with 111 points, followed by LSU (105), Arkansas (97), Florida (84), South Carolina (57), Auburn (54), Kentucky (49.5), Ole Miss (32), Mississippi State (28), Alabama (26.5), Georgia (14) and Vanderbilt (5).
Selected Auburn athletes may compete next weekend at last chance qualifiers in various locations around the country in an attempt to join Tigers who have already qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, and those who do make the cut will travel to College Station, Texas, March 13-14.