May 14, 2010
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Sophomore Ben Cheruiyot led a dominating performance by the Auburn distance runners, winning the men's 10,000 meters to help vault the Auburn men into first place after two days of competition at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Tiger men took three of the top five spots in the 10k, including the top two places, while the women had two of the top four finishers to move into a tie for third place.
The Auburn men have 28 points, scoring 22 in the night's final event, to lead LSU and Georgia, who are tied for second with 20 points. The women have 13 points, trailing Georgia (29) and Kentucky (26). However, only three men's and three women's finals have been contested so far.
During an evening that was interrupted by a one-hour weather delay, it was the Tiger distance runners that stole the show. Cheruiyot became the first Auburn man to win the 10,000 meters at the SEC Championships, finishing with a time of 29:31.82 that ranks seventh in school history. In a tactical race that featured several lead changes, Cheruiyot made his final move on the backstretch, racing past Ole Miss' Barnabas Kirui and into a lead he would not relinquish.
"It feels great," said Cheruiyot. "I know Barnabas - I've raced him in cross country and he beat me, but I was ready today. I was actually ready to move before a mile to go but I felt like I just needed to get an NCAA regional time so I waited."
Meanwhile, senior Jean-Pierre Weerts, who was fourth at last year's SEC meet, used a strong kick to also catch and pass Kirui down the stretch, finishing second in 29:36.66. Senior Elkanah Kibet completed the Auburn scoring, placing fifth in 29:47.99.
In the women's 10,000 meters, sophomore Holly Knight placed second with a time of 35:19.30 and senior Laurel Pritchard finished fourth in 36:05.65. Both runners surpassed their best previous finishes at SEC meets, as Knight was third in the 5,000 and fourth in the 10,000 as a freshman in 2008 before redshirting last season, and Pritchard was eighth in last year's 10,000-meter race.
Senior Jager Livingston scored Auburn's other points on Friday by finishing third in the decathlon with a personal best 7,160 points, which ranks sixth best in Auburn history. He smashed his previous best of 6,628 points by setting or tying personal bests in eight of the 10 events. He once again charged from well back in the standings after finishing the first day in eighth place, as most of his strongest events came during the second day of competition.
Livingston rallied back Friday thanks to a performance that included personal bests in the discus (117-10), javelin (177-0) and 1500 meters (4:21.73) and tying his personal best in the pole vault (14-7.25).
"We had a really big night," said head coach Ralph Spry. "The men's 10,000 really capped it off for us and it was an impressive run by all three of those guys. Jager Livingston got us going with a big PR in the decathlon and we got most of our key people through in the preliminaries. We're off to a great start and have a lot of momentum, but we have to keep our foot on the gas pedal."
The rest of the competition on Friday consisted of preliminary rounds in the 200 meters, 800 meters and 400-meter hurdles.
NCAA Indoor 200-meter champion Sheniqua Ferguson and runner-up Nivea Smith both advanced to the finals of the women's 200 meters. Ferguson cruised to a time of 23.08 seconds, which led the field and matched Smith's time from earlier this season for the No. 5 spot in school outdoor history. Smith's time of 23.41 seconds ranked fifth.
In the men's 200 meters, sophomore Marcus Rowland reached Sunday's final by winning his heat with a time of 20.91 into a headwind in the rain. Junior Michael DeHaven just missed a spot in the final, finishing second in his heat in 21.04 seconds, just .02 seconds away from winning his heat and .05 seconds behind the final at-large qualifier.
In the women's 400-meter hurdles, seniors Amelia Anderson and Danielle Gilchrist and junior Latoya Parkinson all reached the finals. Anderson and Gilchrist ran in the same heat with Anderson winning the heat in 58.03 seconds, which was the fastest time in any heat, while Gilchrist, in her first race of the outdoor season after battling back from injury, was second in 59.79 seconds to earn the final qualifying spot. Parkinson was second in the final heat in 59.28 seconds, which ranked sixth overall.
Competition at the SEC Championships will continue on Saturday. Nine finals will be contested, including seven in field events, while the rest of the competition will include preliminary rounds.