Feb. 27, 2011
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Auburn women's team finished fourth and the men placed sixth as the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships came to a close Sunday. The Tigers finished the three-day competition with one individual champion, five runner-up finishes, two new NCAA automatic qualifiers and one new school record.
It marked the best finish for the Auburn women at the SEC indoor championships since 2006, when the Tigers finished second before going on to win the NCAA Outdoor Championship.
"We didn't bring a big group in, but those that we brought fought really hard," said head coach Ralph Spry. "I'm pleased with some of the young athletes that stepped up this weekend including a few freshmen that scored and did very well.
"It's been one of those years that we've been hit with the injury bug, and the coaches and I have to do a better job of getting everybody lined up and ready to go. But I'm pleased with the effort. I would have liked to have done a little better in this competition, but I'm happy with how we competed."
Junior Ben Cheruiyot earned Auburn's lone victory on Sunday, pulling away down the stretch to win the 5,000 meters in 13:58.46. Cheruiyot was content to stay just behind the leaders most of the way, until pulling up to second with 400 meters left and making his final charge with 120 meters remaining.
"The race was good. It went the way I wanted," said Cheruiyot. "I wanted to sit in position two or three until about 1,000 to go. The pace was good - it was a moderate pace and I was comfortable with it and I knew that I would have a good kick because I've been racing those guys for a long time and I know them, so I was ready for it. I tried last night and it didn't work, but I tried again today and was sure that it would work. My goal was to get an SEC title and I'm happy to get it."
Cheruiyot, who was second in the 3,000 meters on Saturday night, earned his third career SEC title. He won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the SEC outdoor meet last May. He became Auburn's first-ever winner in the men's 5,000 meters at the SEC Indoor Championships, although Chris Fox won the three-mile race in 1980.
Seniors Joanna Atkins and Sheniqua Ferguson both had a pair of top-five finishes for the Auburn women on Sunday. In the 60 meters, Ferguson finished third in 7.29 seconds, and Atkins was fifth in 7.33 seconds, accounting for 10 total points for the Tigers. Both runners posted the exact same times as they had during Saturday's preliminaries.
Meanwhile in the 400 meters, Atkins broke her own indoor school record with a time of 52.24 seconds, but was edged at the line by Arkansas' Shelise Williams, who won in 52.20 seconds, while finishing second. Atkins broke her old record of 52.43 set last season, and her time ranks fourth in the NCAA this year.
Ferguson was third in the 200 meters with a time of 23.12 seconds that automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Indoor Championships, and is just off her personal best of 23.09 that ranks third in school indoor history. Sophomore Kai Selvon finished seventh in 23.72 seconds, making her eighth on Auburn's all-time list, while junior Nivea Smith was disqualified after appearing to finish third overall, just ahead of Ferguson.
Sophomore Harry Adams finished second in the men's 60 meters, improving his personal best to 6.63 seconds, which ranks 10th in the NCAA this year and fourth in Auburn history. Freshman Keenan Brock took eighth place with a time of 6.79 seconds.
Seniors Holly Knight and Stephanie Barnes finished second and fifth, respectively, in the women's 5,000 meters, collecting 12 points for the Tigers. Knight, who was fifth in the 3,000 meters Saturday, posted a time of 16:33.69 to finish just behind Tennessee's Liz Costello, who pulled away over the final lap. Barnes clocked an indoor personal best time of 16:54.88, which ranks ninth in school indoor history.
Auburn closed the meet with a third-place finish in the women's 4x400-meter relay, as the team of junior CeCe Williams, Atkins, senior Cache Armbrister and Selvon clocked a time of 3:35.67 that ranks them fourth in school indoor history and 11th in the NCAA this year.
Freshman DJ Smith placed fifth in the men's high jump for Auburn, clearing 2.11 meters (6-11). It wasn't the best performance for Smith, who entered the meet ranked second in the league with a season best of 7-1, but good enough to earn four points.
Freshman Niklas Buhner earned a point for Auburn by finishing eighth in the men's mile. Buhner, who was second out of three freshmen in the field, had a time of 4:19.16, and was just half a second out of fifth place.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team of freshman Clay Porter, junior Neil Danville, freshman Kelly Cutrell and freshman Matt Cooper placed eighth in 3:18.82.
Senior Michael DeHaven ran in the finals of the men's 200 meters, but was unable to finish due to injury.
Redshirt freshman Stephen Saenz led the Auburn contestants in the men's weight throw, placing 12th with a mark of 16.23 meters (53-3). Senior Erika Akins was the top competitor in the women's triple jump, finishing 14th with a mark of 11.73 meters (38-6).
Florida won the men's title to snap Arkansas' streak of six straight team titles. The Gators had 148 points, followed by Arkansas (136.5), LSU (98), Alabama (65.5), Georgia (55.33), Auburn (47.33), Tennessee (46.33), South Carolina (26), Kentucky (20) and Ole Miss (19).
LSU won the women's crown, scoring 135 points to top Arkansas, which was second with 118 points. Tennessee was third with 78 points, followed by Auburn (57), Florida (55), Georgia (54), South Carolina (51), Kentucky (38), Alabama (33), Ole Miss (24), Vanderbilt (10) and Mississippi State (9).
Cheruiyot finished third among all men in the meet by accounting for 18 points, while Atkins accounted for 13.5 points during the meet, which was tied for fourth best among the women.
Selected members of the Auburn track and field teams will compete at Last Chance Qualifier meets next weekend, with one final shot of qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Those who qualify will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships March 11-12 in College Station, Texas.