May 12, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. - The 2011 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships began Thursday in Athens, Ga., with the opening day of the men's hammer throw, the decathlon and the heptathlon. The Auburn track and field teams had two competitors, with redshirt freshman Stephen Saenz and freshman Marcus Popenfoose both participating in the men's hammer throw.
"I think the two people we had competing today were ranked eighth and ninth coming in," head coach Ralph Spry said. "We finished in seventh and ninth place so anytime we score points that we were not expecting to get is a real bonus for us. We got two out there and we were only supposed to get one."
Saenz finished the opening day in seventh place with a throw of 49.95m (163-10).
"Stephen Saenz is a really fierce competitor, and I think this is really going to get his juices flowing," Spry said. "His best events are the shot put and discus so I feel pretty good about where we are. We are off to a good start. We just have to keep things going good from here."
Popenfoose ended the competition in ninth place with a throw of 55.90m (183-05). The throw was a season best for Popenfoose.
Saenz and Popenfoose will compete on Saturday in the shot put and Sunday in the discus throw.
Competition at the SEC Championships continues through Sunday. Friday's competition will include the conclusion of the decathlon and heptathlon, finals in three additional events and preliminary rounds in six others.
Complete information on the meet can be found by visiting Georgia's athletics website at www.georgiadogs.com.
The SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be featured exclusively on ESPN3.com, ESPN's broadband network for live sports programming. More than six hours of coverage of the four-day event begins Saturday, May 14, at 4:00 pm EDT and concludes Sunday, May 15, starting at 2:00 pm EDT.