BATON ROUGE, Louisiana—Auburn senior All-American Dontavious Hill finished second in the men's high jump and the Tigers' 100m sprinters and multi-event athletes had lifetime-best performances to highlight the second day of the 2023 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday at Bernie Moore Track in Baton Rouge.
Hill claimed the silver medal for the second consecutive year, clearing 2.18m/7-1.75 as he made clean passes on his first four heights before missing at 2.21m and twice at 2.24m. The Mobile, Alabama native became the first Tiger to finish second or better in the event in consecutive years at SECs since DJ Smith won and was second in 2013 and 2014.
Sophomore transfer Favour Ashe, the SEC's gold medalist in the 100m dash a year ago while at Tennessee, posted the fastest preliminary time in the event, crossing in 10.06. The Ughelli, Nigeria, native's 10.06 was the fastest at SECs for an Auburn male since Harry Adams ran 10.05 in 2013. Freshman Azeem Fahmi ran a collegiate-best 10.11 to finish fifth overall to join Ashe with a qualifying spot into Saturday's finals.
In the women's 100m dash, sophomore Chante Clinkscale earned a bid to the finals on Saturday after crossing in 11.36 with the ninth-best time.
Freshman Paula Grauvogel crushed the Auburn women's freshman school record in the heptathlon as she finished sixth with 5,262 points, 670 ahead of Angela Ward's previous score of 5,262 set in 1989. Grauvogel, competing in her first SEC championship also posted the best finish at the conference meet by a Tiger rookie in the heptathlon.
Junior John Murray and freshman Michael May both notched lifetime bests in the men's decathlon as Murray was fourth with 7,760 points and May was sixth with 7,280. May's total was the most points ever by an Auburn male in the event at the conference meet and placed him fourth on the Tigers performance list. May meanwhile was 21 points shy of setting the school freshman record and established outdoor PRs in all ten events. May was the competition's top finisher final event of the 10 disciplines, taking the 1500m in 4:26.98.
The SEC discus champion a year ago, junior Maura Huwalt finished seventh in the women's shot put with a mark of 16.69m/54-9.25. A three-time conference outdoor scorer, Huwalt will look to defend her title Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT.
Ryan Kinnane automatically qualified for Saturday's finals of the men's 1500m after finishing second in his heat, crossing in 3:44.09. The junior from Andover, Kansas, was sixth in the event in 2022.
With eight of 21 events completed, the Auburn men are fifth with 28 points, while on the women's side, the Tigers are ninth with 15 points.
The third and final day of competition will start Saturday at 2 p.m. CT with the men's discus throw. Running events will begin at 5 p.m. with the 4x100m relay.
Live results can be found at Deltatiming.com. The SEC Network will televise the meet live on Saturday from 5-9 p.m. CT.
SEC OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
BERNIE MOORE TRACK
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
Friday, May 12
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Women's Heptathlon
6. Paula Grauvogel 5262 pts*
Long Jump 5.66m/18-7.0*
Javelin Throw 42.70m/140-1*
800m 2:34.38*
Women's 1500m
18. Gene Coetzee 4:28.54
Women's 400m
20. Amirah Sharpe 53.44
24. Ashantae Harvey 53.87
29. Arianna Sharpe 54.89
Women's 100m
9. Chante Clinkscale 11.36 (q)
T22. Niya Benton-Andrews 11.58*
Women's Pole Vault
T9. Alyssa Quinones-Mixon 3.95m/12-11.5
17. Rhiannon Held 3.80m/12-5.5
Lexie Leinneweber NH
Women's Long Jump
12. Amy Warren 5.98m/19-7.5
14. Chantoba Bright 5.84m/19-2
Women's Shot Put
7. Maura Huwalt 16.69m/54-9.25
15. Megan Hague 14.66m/48-1.25
17. Louisa Bohner 14.10m/46-3.25
MEN'S RESULTS
Men's 1500m
5. Ryan Kinnane 3:44.09 (Q)
18. Dustyn Lewis 3:49.63
Men's 100m
1. Favour Ashe 10.06 (Q)
5. Azeem Fahmi 10.11 (q)*
21. Charlie Sexton 10.47*
Men's High Jump
2. Dontavious Hill 2.18m/7-1.75
10. T.J. Funches 1.99m/6-6.25
Men's Long Jump
Jeremy Zammit 7.44m/24-9.25
Men's Decathlon
4. John Murray 7760 pts*
110m Hurdles 15.04
Discus Throw 40.84m/134-0
Pole Vault 4.30m/14-1.25
Javelin Throw 63.63m/208-9
1500m 5:01.30*
6. Michael May 7280 pts*
110m Hurdles 14.58*
Discus Throw 33.81m/110-11*
Pole Vault 4.20m/13-9.25*
Javelin Throw 48.30m/158-5*
1500m 4:26.98*
* - personal best
