May 15, 2010
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Freshman Maya Pressley's victory in the women's high jump highlighted a successful third day for the Auburn men's and women's track and field teams at the 2010 SEC Outdoor Championships, which was marred by a weather delay that lasted more than four hours Saturday night.
Entering the final day of competition, the Auburn men are in third place with 40 points with seven of 21 events having been completed, trailing both Georgia and LSU by just five points. The Auburn women are sixth with 28 points after eight of 21 events, but continued to place themselves in contention for a high finish by advancing two qualifiers into the finals in each of the 100 meters, 400 meters and 100-meter hurdles on Saturday.
"We just continued where we left off Friday and I'm very impressed with our performance," said head coach Ralph Spry. "A lot of kids stepped up today, and we gave ourselves a chance to be a factor at the end. Our kids did a really good job of staying focused and not letting the long delay affect them. We have a lot of people in the finals and we have to be ready to go tomorrow."
After waiting out the lengthy delay, Pressley won the high jump title by clearing a season-best 1.80 meters (5-10.75), which is tied for seventh best in Auburn outdoor history. Two other competitors cleared the same height, but Pressley was the only one that was perfect up to that point, giving her the title on fewest misses.
"The delay wasn't that bad," said Pressley. "I tried not to complain a lot because I'm used to the rain, coming from Florida. Nothing could break my concentration. I was kind of in the zone today. It was great competition and I'm just happy to score points for my team.
Pressley's victory marked the third straight season that an Auburn woman has won the high jump. Raevan Harris won the title in both 2008 and 2009.
The Tiger women also scored points in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as senior Stephanie Barnes, in her first time competing in the event, finished fourth in 10:44.00, which is the third-best time in school history.
Senior Scott Novack nearly pulled a major upset in the men's steeplechase, challenging for the victory with 200 meters left before eventually finishing third with a time of 8:51.68, which ranks ninth in Auburn history and is the best time by a Tiger since 1994.
Senior Eric Werskey also collected six points for the Tiger men with a third-place finish in the shot put. Werskey, battling an injury to his throwing hand, still managed a mark of 17.13 meters (56-2.5) on his fourth attempt to place third.
Other than the steeplechase races, the rest of the running events consisted of preliminary heats, with the Auburn women's sprinters excelling throughout the night.
In the 400 meters, defending NCAA champion Joanna Atkins posted the top time in the field with a season-best of 52.03 seconds, which ranks No. 2 in the NCAA this year. Sophomore CeCe Williams will join her in the finals after clocking a time of 53.71 that was seventh best in the prelims.
Junior Sheniqua Ferguson and sophomore Nivea Smith, who both qualified for the final of the 200 meters on Friday, replicated that feat in the 100 meters on Saturday. Ferguson won her heat and had the No. 2 time in the field with a mark of 11.47 seconds, while Smith was seventh overall with a time of 11.78.
In the 100-meter hurdles, junior Krystal Bodie won her heat and tied for the fastest time in the prelims, posting a time of 13.48 seconds. Senior Amelia Anderson, who qualified for the finals of the 400-meter hurdles on Friday, clocked the fourth-fastest time with a 13.53 to also advance.
The men's prelims included a strong showing by senior Felix Kiboiywo, the NCAA leader in the 1500 meters this year who cruised into the finals of that event, posting the top time in the field of 3:48.11. He will be looking for his second career SEC title on Sunday, having won the 2008 SEC title in the 1500.
In the prelims of the men's 100 meters, sophomore Marcus Rowland clocked the second-best time in the field with a mark of 10.20 seconds, easily winning his heat and finishing just .02 seconds behind Florida's Jeff Demps for the best time of the night. Junior Michael DeHaven missed a spot in the finals by just .03 seconds after posting a time of 10.50, while redshirt freshman Harry Adams was 13th in 10.59 seconds.
Sunday's final day of competition begins with field events starting at 2:30 p.m. ET, while the running events start at 5 p.m. ET.