Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

Lexington Legends
vs. Kannapolis Intimidators

What: Four-game series

When: Monday through Thursday (7:05 each night)

Where: Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium (Kannapolis, N.C.)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Monday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (7-11, 3.90) vs. RH Nevin Griffith (2-4, 4.24); Tuesday, RH Jordan Lyles (6-10, 3.27) vs. LH Joey Serafin (1-1, 2.70); Wednesday, LH Brad Dydalewicz (7-5, 3.91) vs. RH Stephen Sauer (6-5, 3.27); Thursday, RH Robert Bono (8-8, 3.39) vs. LH Charlie Leesman (12-4, 2.97).

Jared Mitchell

Intimidator to watch: CF Jared Mitchell (6-foot, 195 pounds, from New Iberia, La.) was a first-round draft pick (23rd overall) of the Chicago White Sox in the June draft. In 24 games with the Intimidators (through Saturday), he is 24-for-78 (.308), with nine doubles, two triples, six RBI, eight runs scored, four stolen bases and a .443 on-base percentage. Mitchell hit .327, with 11 homers, 50 RBI, 64 runs and 35 stolen bases this year to help LSU win its sixth NCAA title. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. Mitchell led the Tigers in steals, walks and on-base percentage. Baseball America tabbed him as Best Athlete and Fastest Runner among draft-eligible collegiate players. Mitchell also played on LSU’s national championship football team (2007). Over three seasons at wide receiver, he caught 24 passes for 274 yards.

Patrick Urckfitz

Legend to watch: LHP Patrick Urckfitz (6-3, 190 pounds, from Rochester, N.Y.) has developed into a dominant closer. Over 48 1/3 innings and 41 games, he is 4-0, with 13 saves and a 2.61 ERA. He has struck out 40 and walked 13. At the all-star break, he was 3-0, seven saves, 3.00 ERA. Since then, he is 1-0, six save, 1.96 ERA. Signed with the Houston Astros as non-drafted free agent out of Monroe (N.Y.) Community College on June 29, 2008. Worked 15 games in relief for Greeneville last year, going 1-0 with one save and a 1.40 ERA. Had 23 strikeouts and nine walks over 19 1/3 innings.   

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

Rondel Sorrillo

Kentucky junior Rondel Sorrillo finished a strong second place in Saturday’s 200-meter dash for men at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Sorrillo came up big after UK discus throwers Rashaud Scott and Chase Madison failed to score at Fayetteville, Ark.

Texas A&M, under Coach Pat Henry, swept the men’s and women’s team championships. LSU, then coached by Henry, is the only other school to sweep the men’s and women’s crowns, in 1989 and 1990.

Sorrillo, a junior who competed for Trinidad and Tobago at last year’s Beijing Olympics, finished in 20.70 seconds. Florida State junior Charles Clark won in 20.55.

Sorrillo’s eight points pushed the Wildcats’ total to 15, moving the team from 30th place to 15th. Sorrillo was involved in all 15 points, placing fifth in Friday’s 100-meter dash and anchoring UK’s 4-by-100-meter relay to a sixth-place finish.

Gavin Smellie

In the 200, after Sorrillo came Auburn freshman Marcus Rowland in 20.82, Texas A&M’s Gerald Phiri in 20.83 and Western Kentucky senior Gavin Smellie in 20.96. Smellie’s four points put the Hilltoppers in a tie for 46th place with Louisville, 4-4.

In the discus, seniors Scott and Madison both have career bests of more than 200 feet. They didn’t come close to that distance at the University of Arkansas’ John McDonnell Field.

Chase Madison

Martin Maric, a senior from Cal, came through on the final throw of the competion – 196 feet, 3 inches — to nip Arizona State’s Ryan Whiting by an inch.

Scott, the defending champion, was coming off a school-record and NCAA-leading 216-2 regional victory. He was eliminated after three attempts Saturday. After opening at 179-3, Scott fouled his last two tries to wind up in 10th.

Rashaud Scott

Madison made it in on his third throw overall, 182-0, but was unable to improve. He fouled on four of his six attempts and finished ninth.

Louisville’s Andrew Hackney came in 12th at 177-2.

U of L’s Jere’ Summers, who qualified first in the women’s discus with a mark of 183-2, fouled on all three attempts in Saturday’s finals. That left her 12th overall. D’Andra Carter of Texas Tech won wth a throw of 182-6.

Texas A&M secured the men’s team title by placing second to Florida State in the final event, the 4-by-400 relay. The Aggies wound up with 48 points. Florida State, Florida and Oregon tied for second place with 46 each.

Southeastern Conference teams bagged eight of the top 17 spots. In addition to Florida’s second-place tie, the SEC had LSU in fifth, South Carolina sixth, Arkansas ninth, Georgia 11th, Auburn 12, UK 15th and Mississippi State 17th.

A&M’s women totaled 50 points. Second-ranked Oregon edged Arizona State for second place, 43-41. Western Kentucky tied for 52nd place with four points.

The SEC had three teams in the women’s top 10: No. 6 LSU, No. 9 Florida and No. 10 Tennessee.

Rondel Sorrillo was Kentucky’s top performer Friday, the rain-delayed third day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Fayetteville, Ark.

Sorrillo ran the third-fastest 100 meters in UK history to place fifth in the country, timed in 10.22 seconds. LSU’s Trindon Holliday won in 10.00.

Sorrillo, a junior who competed for Trinidad and Tobago in the 200-meter dash at last summer’s Beijing Olympics, also anchored the Wildcats’ 4-by-100 relay Friday.

Rondel Sorrillo

The foursome of Gordon McKenzie, Jose Acevedo, Kwasi Obeng and Sorrillo clocked 39.27, good for sixth place. The time ranks fourth-best in school history.

Sorrillo is set to run the 200-meter finals Saturday, to be televised live by CBS. Also in the finals is Gavin Smellie of Western Kentucky.

The Southeastern Conference dominated the relay, placing 1-2-4-5-6-7. Clemson, from the Atlantic Coast Conference, broke up the pack by finishing third.

Florida won in 38.58. Holliday anchored LSU to second place in 38.67. After Clemson came Mississippi State, South Carolina, UK and Auburn.

Corey Thorne

Tone Belt

Louisville had two finalists Friday, both placing seventh.

Tone Belt cleared 7-1 1/2 in the high jump. Scott Sellers of Kansas State won at 7-5.

Cardinals steeplechaser Corey Thorne finished the 3,000-meter event in 8:45.86. Kyle Perry of Brigham Young took top honors in 8:29.24.

Janet Jesang

In women’s action, Western Kentucky’s Janet Jesang, a junior from Uganda, placed fifth in 16:32.59. Illinois junior Angela Bizzarri snared first place in 16:17.94. Runner-up Nicole Blood of Oregon was more than 8 1/2 seconds back in 16:26.58.

UK heptathlete Ashley Trimble began Friday in 19th place. She rallied to finish 14th with 5,459 points. Oregon’s Brianne Theisen was the only competitor to break 6,000 points, scoring 6,086.

Ashley Trimble

Trimble scored 680 points in the long jump (17-9 3/4), then finished with career bests in the final two events. Her javelin throw of 118-8 was worth 594 points, and her 800-meter time of 2:11.32 scored 945 more.

U of L’s Seidre Forde fell 8 1/4 inches shy of qualifying for finals of the women’s triple jump. Needing a top-12 finish, she finished 21st at 41-10.

The University of Kentucky men’s team jumped from 20th to No. 11 in the final U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll of the season. The NCAA Outdoor Championships open Wednesday at the University of Arkansas and continue through Saturday.

Texas A&M moved from No. 2 to No. 1 in the final poll. Oregon also moved up a spot to No. 2, followed by four Southeastern Conference squads — previously top-ranked Florida, Arkansas (up from 6), LSU (up from 8th) and South Carolina. In all, the SEC has eight of the top 20 teams. 

Texas A&M also moved from No. 2 to No. 1 in the women’s poll, switching places with Oregon. Third is LSU, which leads five SEC teams in the top 20.

UK has the top-ranked women’s team from the state, improving from No. 34 to 32.

The UK men are led by Rashaud Scott, the Field Athlete of the Year in the Southeast Region (see below). He is coming off a sweep of regional shot put and discus titles and is defending NCAA champion in the latter event. He is ranked No. 1 in the discus and No. 8 in the shot. Teammate Chase Madison is No. 7 in the discus.

In addition, the Wildcats qualified in both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 relays, ranking sixth and 12th, respectively.

Rondel Sorrillo, who anchors the 4-by-100 unit, also made it in the 100 (ranked No. 22) and 200 (No. 5).

Louisville’s men improved from 37th to 29th in the team rankings. The Cardinals are led by a pair of top 10-ranked athletes — Corey Thorne, No. 2 in the steeplecase, and Tone Belt, No. 6 in the high jump.

Western Kentucky jumped 14 spots to No. 37. The Hilltoppers are led by Gavin Smellie, ranked No. 2 in the 200, and Mandhla Mgijima, No. 7 in the long jump.

Eastern Kentucky moved from No. 163 to 137. The Colonels’ lone NCAA qualifier is 5,000-meter runner Joseph Maina (No. 27).

UK’s women have four NCAA qualifiers, all ranked 17th or better: Ashley Muffet (No. 4, discus), Kristin Smith (No. 7, hammer throw), Ashley Trimble (No. 11, heptathlon) and Emilee Strot (No. 17, discus).

Louisville is ranked No. 35, an improvement of 14 spots. The Cards are led by Jere’ Summers, who ranks sixth in the discus and 10th in the shot.

Western Kentucky jumped 19 spots to No. 53. Janet Jesang, No. 5 at 5,000 meters, leads the Hilltoppers.

The final team rankings:

WOMEN

1. Texas A&M

2. Oregon

3. LSU

4. Arizona State

5. Tennessee

6. Florida State; 7. Southern Cal; 8. Penn State; 9. Baylor; 10. Texas.

11. Michigan; 12. UCLA; 13. Miami (Fla.); 14. Florida; 15. Washington.

16. UTEP; 17. Oklahoma; 18. Arkansas; 19. Nebraska; 20. Auburn.

21. Illinois; 22. Virginia Tech; 23. Indiana; 24. BYU; 25. Stanford.

MEN

1. Texas A&M

2. Oregon

3. Florida

4. Arkansas

5. LSU

6. South Carolina; 7. So. Cal; 8. Stanford; 9. Nebraska; 10. Ariz. State.

11. KENTUCKY; 12. Fla. State; 13. Miss. State; 14. Texas; 15. Auburn.

16. Minnesota; 17. Kansas State; 18. Texas; 19. Baylor; 20. Georgia.

21. Wash.; 22. Arizona; 23. Cal; 24. Boise State; 25. Wash. State.

Division I regional athletes and coaches of the year

Rashaud Scott

Erik Jenkins

Kentucky shot put/discus ace Rashaud Scott has been named by the USTFCCCA as men’s Field Athlete of the Year in the Southeast Region.

Western Kentucky’s Erik Jenkins was named Women’s Head Coach of the Year in the Southeast Region.

The full list of award winners follows.

Name (school) region

Tiffany Ofili

Women’s track — Tiffany Ofili (Michigan) Great Lakes; Clara Grandt (West Virginia) Mid-Atlantic; Angela Bizzari (Illinois) Midwest; Jenny Barringer (Colorado) Mountain; Danette Doetzel (Providence) Northeast; Murielle Ahoure (Miami, Fla.) South; Porscha Lucas (Texas A&M) South Central; Francena McCorory (Hampton) Southeast; Charonda Williams (Arizona State) West.

Destinee Hooker

Women’s field — Kara Patterson (Purdue) Great Lakes; Gayle Hunter (Penn State) Mid-Atlantic; Liz Roehrig (Minnesota) Midwest; Blessing Okagbare (UTEP) Mountain; Tahari James (Boston U.) Northeast; Kim Williams (Florida State) South; Destinee Hooker (Texas) South Central; Dorotea Habazin (Virginia Tech); Southeast; Sarah Stevens (Arizona State) West.

Trindon Holliday

Men’s track — Adam Harris (Michigan) Great Lakes; Sean Tully (Villanova) Mid-Atlantic; German Fernandez (Oklahoma State) Midwest; Gil Roberts (Texas Tech) Mountain; Kyle Heath (Syracuse) Northeast; Calvin Smith (Florida) South; Trindon Holliday (LSU) South Central; Sam Chelanga (Liberty) Southeast; Galen Rupp (Oregon) West.

Aston Eaton

Men’s field — Derek Drouin (Indiana) Great Lakes; Clarence Smith (Penn State) Mid-Atlantic; Will Claye (Oklahoma) Midwest; Dimitrios Fylladitakis (UTEP) Mountain; Nico Weiler (Harvard) Northeast; Chris Hill (Georgia) South; Jason Colwick (Rice) South Central; RASHAUD SCOTT (KENTUCKY) Southeast; Ashton Eaton (Oregon) West.

T. Buford-Bailey

Women’s head coach — James Henry (Michigan) Great Lakes; Beth Alford-Sullivan (Penn State) Mid-Atlantic; Tonja Buford-Bailey (Illinois) Midwest; Wes Kittley (Texas Tech) Mountain; Bill Morgan (Connecticut) Northeast; Caryl Smith Gilbert (Central Florida) South; Jim Bevan (Rice) South Central; ERIC JENKINS (WESTERN KENTUCKY) Southeast; Dan Steele (Oregon) West.

Brian Forrester

Women’s assistant — Brian Forrester (Akron) Great Lakes; Chris Miltenberg (Georgetown U.) Mid-Atlantic; Marc Burns (Wichita State) Midwest; Scott Irving (U.S. Air Force Academy) Mountain; Clive Terrelong (Connecticut) Northeast; Karen Harvey (Florida State) South; Vince Anderson (Texas A&M) South Central; Carrie Lane (Virginia) Southeast; Robert Johnson (Oregon) West.

Chris Bucknam

Men’s head coach  – Dennis Mitchell (Akron) Great Lakes; Joe Compagni (Monmouth) Mid-Atlantic; Gary Pepin (Nebraska) Midwest; Mark Robison (Brigham Young) Mountain; Nathan Taylor (Cornell) Northeast; Michael Holloway (Florida) South; Tie: Chris Bucknam (Arkansas) and Sean Brady (Southeastern Louisiana) South Central; Jason Vigilante (Virginia) Southeast; Ron Allice (Southern California) West. 

Don Babbitt

Men’s assistant – Rodney Zuyderwyk (Purdue) Great Lakes; Sheila Burrell (Georgetown U.) Mid-Atlantic; Billy Maxwell (Nebraska) Midwest; Dion Miller (Texas Tech) Mountain; Michelle Eisenreich (Brown) Northeast; Don Babbit (Georgia) South; Dick Booth (Arkansas) South Central; Tim Hall (Clemson) Southeast; Mark MacDonald (Washington State) West.

Seven women and six men from Kentucky colleges were awarded at-large bids Tuesday to the NCAA Track & Field Championships, June 10-13, at Arkansas.

Joseph Maina (EKU photo)

From Eastern Kentucky, Joseph Maina was added to the men’s 5,000-meter field.

From Kentucky, Rondel Sorrillo made it in the men’s 100, Emily Strot in the women’s discus.

From Louisville, Steve Hnat was added in the men’s shot put; Josh Greenwald and Andrew Hackney in discus; Matt Hughes in the steeplechase. U of L additions to the women’s field are Chinwe Okoro and Khadija Abdullah in the shot put, Rachel Gehret in the high jump and Seidre Forde in the triple jump.

From Western Kentucky’s women’s team, Miaie Williams was added in the 100, Janet Jesang in the 5,000.

The at-large recipients will join automatic qualifiers at Arkansas. Automatic berths went to the top five in individual events and top three in relays at the Mideast Regional, held Saturday at U of L.

Here’s what the combined at-large and automatic lists from Kentucky schools look like, with NCAA seeding; a = at-large berth; q = automatic qualifier.

MEN

Rondel Sorrillo

Gavin Smellie

100 meters — 24 a, Rondel Sorrillo (UK).

200 — 3 q, Gavin Smellie (WKU); 5 q, Rondel Sorrillo (UK).

5,000 — 26 a, Joseph Maina (EKU).

3,000 steeplechase — 2 q, Cory Thorne (U of L); 14 a, Matt Hughes (U of L).

4-by-100 relay — 6 q, Kentucky.

4-by-400 relay — 11 q, Western Kentucky; 12 q, Kentucky.

Shot put — 8 q, Rashaud Scott (UK); 17 a, Steve Hnat (U of L).

Rashaud Scott

Chase Madison

Discus — 1 q, Rashaud Scott (UK); 7 q, Chase Madison (UK); 16 a, Josh Greenwald (U of L); 17 a, Andrew Hackney (U of L).

Long jump — 7 a, Mandhla Mgijima (WKU).

High jump — 9 q, Tone Belt (U of L).

Long jump — 16 q, Tone Belt (U of L).

WOMEN

Tarah McKay

Janet Jesang

100 — 19 a, Miaie Williams (WKU).

1,500 — 24 q, Tarah McKay (U of L).

5,000 — 6 a, Janet Jesang (WKU).

4-by-100 relay — 12 q, Western Kentucky.

Shot put — 10 q, Jere’ Summers (U of L); 20 a, Chinwe Okoro (U of L); 23 a, Khadija Abdullah (U of L).

Kristin Smith

Ashley Trimble

Discus — 4 q, Ashley Muffet (UK); 6 q, Jere’ Summers (U of L); 17 a, Emilee Strot (UK).

High jump — 19 a, Rachel Gehret (U of L).

Triple jump — 24 a, Seidre Forde (U of L).

Heptathlon (entries based on pre-regional results) — 11. Ashley Trimble (UK).

USA Track & Field Athlete of the Week: Tyson Gay

The third-fastest 200-meter dash of all time makes Tyson Gay the USA Track & Field choice for athlete of the week.

From Tyson Gay's facebook photo gallery

Gay, a Lafayette High School graduate who later starred for Arkansas, uncorked a 19.58-second 200 Saturday at the Reebok Grand Prix, in New York’s Icahn Stadium. Only a pair of Olympic champions have ever run faster: Michael Johnson (19.32) and Usain Bolt (19.30).

Gay swept the 2007 World Championships in the 100 and 200 meters, and also ran on the gold-medal 4-by-100 relay.

After winning the 100 in American-record time at last year’s U.S. Olympic Trials, Gay suffered a severe hamstring injury during preliminaries of the 200. He went on to run the 200 at the Beijing Olympics, but the missed practice time left him far off his usual form. A dropped baton in the 4-by-100 put a disappointing end to his Olympic experience.

Saturday’s result, his first 200 since the Olympics, means Gay now has the third- and fourth-fastest 200s ever. No. 4 is 19.62, his winning effort at the 2007 USA Outdoor Championships.

Saturday’s runner-up, Gay’s former training partner and Arkansas teammate Wallace Spearmon, finished in 19.98. Former LSU standout Xavier Carter was third in 20.27.

“It made me very, very happy; 19.5 had been one of the goals I had, but to do that in the first race is very pleasing,” Gay told reporters. “I wanted to work on my reaction and my start. Then I just ran. I ran for my life. When I came toward the finish line, I got kind of tight and I just wanted to bring it on in. I tried to push all the way through, just to see where my body is at.”

Several of the week’s leading national marks were turned in on Louisville’s Cardinal Park facility, site of the NCAA Mideast Regional.

Cory Thorne

Louisville’s Cory Thorne had the fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase of the week (8:36.98).

Three winners in men’s field events ranked No. 1 for the week: Kentucky’s Rashaud Scott in the discus (216-2); LSU’s Walter Henning in the hammer throw (231-6), and Arkansas’ Mychael Stewart in the long jump (25-10 3/4).

And two of the women’s field event champions at Louisville led the nation: Purdue’s Kara Patterson in the javelin (192-1), and Indiana State’s Lauren Martin in the triple jump (44-4 3/4).

BEST MARKS BY AMERICANS FOR WEEK ENDING MAY 31
 
MEN
 
100 - 10.04 Jacoby Ford (Clemson) - Greensboro, N.C. 5/30
200 - 19.58 Tyson Gay (adidas) - New York, 5/30     World leader
400 - 44.75 LaShawn Merritt (Nike) - New York, 5/30
800 - 1:46.00 Khadevis Robinson (Nike) - New York, 5/30
1500 - 3:34.14 Leo Manzano (Nike) - New York, 5/30     U.S. leader
3000SC - 8:36.98 Cory Thorne (Louisville) - Louisville, 5/30
5000 - 13:03.06 Bernard Lagat (Nike) - New York, 5/30    U.S. leader
110H - 13.12 Terrence Trammell (TSA) - New York, 5/30
400H - 48.52 Bershawn Jackson (Nike) - New York, 5/30
HJ - 2.25/7-4.5 Scott Sellers (Kansas State) - Norman, Okla., 5/29
PV - 5.56/18-3 Jason Colwick (Rice) & Maston Wallace (Texas) - Norman, Okla., 5/30
LJ - 7.89/25-10.75 Mychael Stewart (Arkansas) - Louisville, 5/29
TJ - 16.81/55-2 Will Claye (Oklahoma) - Norman, Okla., 5/30
SP - 20.99/68-10.5 Ryan Whiting (Arizona State) - Eugene, Ore., 5/29
DT - 65.90/216-2 Rashaud Scott (Kentucky) - Louisville, 5/30
HT - 70.56/231-6 Walter Henning (LSU) - Louisville, 5/30
JT - 80.34/263-7 Chris Hill (Georgia) - Greensboro, N.C., 5/29
Dec - 8516 Trey Hardee (Nike) - Gotzis, Austria, 5/31     U.S. leader
  
WOMEN
 
100 - 11.04 Shalonda Solomon (Reebok) - New York, 5/30
200 - 22.34 Lauryn Williams (Nike) - New York, 5/30     World leader
400 - 50.50 Allyson Felix (adidas) - New York, 5/30     World leader
800 - 1:59.29 Anna Willard (Nike) - New York, 5/30     World leader
1500 - 4:03.96 Christin Wurth-Thomas (Nike) - New York, 5/30     U.S. leader
3000SC - 9:26.20 Jenny Barringer (Colorado) - Norman, Okla., 5/30     World leader
5000 - 15:32.39 Jen Rhines (adidas) - New York, 5/30
100H - 12.88 Seun Adigun (Houston) - Norman, Okla., 5/30
400H - 55.44 Tiffany Williams (Reebok) - New York, 5/30
HJ - 1.93/6-4 Sharon Day (Asics) - Havana, Cuba, 5/29
PV - 4.81/15-9.25 Jenn Stuczynski (adidas) - New York, 5/30     World leader
LJ - 6.72/22-0.75 Funmi Jimoh (Nike) - Belgrade, Serbia, 5/29 & Brianna Glenn (adidas) - New York, 5/30
TJ - 13.53/44-4.75 Lauren Martin (Indiana State) - Louisville, 5/30
SP - 18.43/60-5.75 Michelle Carter (unat) - New York, 5/30
DT - 63.97/209-10 Stephanie Brown Trafton (Nike) - New York, 5/30
HT - 69.76/228-10 Amber Campbell (Mjolnir) - Havana, Cuba, 5/30
JT - 58.56/192-1 Kara Patterson (Purdue) - Louisville, 5/30
Hept - 6,063 Sharon Day (Asics) - Havana, Cuba 5/30     U.S. leader

… And a clarification

However, a later check of UK’s meet notes, as well as the media guide listings of “top 10 marks” in each event, showed that Buncic threw 217-4.

And now …

You’ve got to love how the Kentucky men stepped up to take third place in the team standings. The top five in individual events, as well as the top three relays, automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, June 10-13, at Arkansas.

The 20th-ranked Wildcats have been snake-bitten with injuries for most of the outdoor season, particularly in the sprints.

But there was Rondel Sorrillo, who didn’t even compete outdoors until the Southeastern Conference meet because of injuries, taking third place in the 200 meters and anchoring the second-place 4-by-100-meter relay.

Rondel Sorrillo

“Better than SEC, but it still hurts,” said Sorrillo, who ran the 200 for Trinidad and Tobago at last summer’s Beijing Olympics — beating eventual gold-medal winner Usain Bolt in the first round. “It hurts, but I’m back.”

What hurts?

“My butt, my hamstrings, my calves,” he said. “Both legs.”

Jose Acevedo

There was Jose Acevedo, who also ran the 200 at Beijing, representing Venezuela.

He ran second on the 4-by-100 relay, then anchored the third-place 4-by-400 relay. That despite a foot injury that, Coach Don Weber said, would have kept a less-determined sprinter out of the meet.

When Justin Austin went down at the Penn Relays, the Cats had to plug holes on both relays.

Also missing was Mikel Thomas, a 2008 Olympian for Trinidad and Tobago in the 110-meter hurdles. He suffered a broken collarbone during practice, a week-and-a-half ago.

Kwasi Obeng

Stephan Smith

Saturday, Kwasi Obeng did the job on the relays, running the third leg on the quick relay and leading off the 4-by-4.

Stephan Smith, a half-miler, filled in on the second leg of the 4-by-4.

“Considering the way we’ve been for most of the outdoor season, especially in our sprint group — hurt and banged up as much as we have been — it’s a great day,” Weber said. “Especially for those guys.”

Now, being off next weekend, the Cats will try to “maintain” fitness and continue the healing process.

Erin Tucker

Don Weber

“We can get a little bit better,” Weber said, “so that’s encouraging.”

In the 4-by-100, UK led through three legs. Obeng’s handoff to Sorrillo didn’t go too well, though, allowing 100-meter champion Trindon Holliday of LSU to be first out of the final exchange zone.

“Trindon … had the baton first because (Sorrillo) had to wait on Kwasi to get the baton,” said Erin Tucker, UK’s sprints and hurdles coach. “Anytime, the four-by-one, when you have to wait a little bit, you lose that acceleration and then you’ve got to start back up from square one. … You want to get the baton going full speed.”

The good news is that the problem was due in part to Sorrillo accelerating, finally, through the zone. By his own admission, Sorrillo had been deficient in that area during practice. And now Obeng and Sorrillo have nearly two weeks to work on the final exchange.

Gordon McKenzie

Tucker said Gordon McKenzie “ran an awesome leadoff leg. … Jose built off it. … Kwasi just looked like a superstar because he’s out in front. And then we had the little thing with Rondel.”

As good as the sprint results were, UK came out best in the weights.

Rashaud Scott, who won the shot put on Friday, added the discus title Saturday. Having successfully defended his regional title, Scott will try to repeat as national champion at Arkansas.

And consider this: all six of his throws Saturday were better than second-place finisher Greg Pilling of Central Michigan.

Pilling threw 197-2, two feet ahead of UK’s Chase Madison.

Rashaud Scott

Madison, a senior who transferred in 2007 from Iowa State, can relate to UK’s sprinters.

At Iowa State, he broke a bone in his left foot. A titanium screw was inserted to fix the bone. It didn’t work.

Chase Madison

When he arrived at UK for his entrance physical, “they said, ‘well, you’re either going to have to have another surgery on that thing to fix it because they did it totally incorrect, or you’re never going to throw again,’” Madison said when interviewed before last winter’s SEC Indoor Championships.

He opted for surgery, which involved taking bone from his ankle and grafting the bone to his foot. Oh, and four screws and a plate.

He went from June 2006 until April 2008 without throwing a disc in competition.

Now, he throws in pain. Look at his foot and you can actually see the plate and a screw sticking out from the bone. Pain limits his practice time, but he’s a believer in quality workouts over quantity. When he does throw, he throws with purpose.

Saturday, he said his pain was controlled as well as could be expected: “I had quite a bit of Aleve in me.”

“It’s nice to be back to a national meet. I haven’t been since 2006, since I’ve been hurt,” he said. “It was a decent day, I guess. Could have expected a lot more, could have been a lot worse. So, regroup and get ready for two weeks.”

U of L: A crown of Thorne’s

Corey Thorne

Louisville’s highlight Saturday came from Corey Thorne, who outkicked Eastern Michigan’s Josh Karanja to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a stadium-record 8:36.98. Karanja finished in 8:37.20.

“It’s going to be just like that at nationals,” Thorne said. “Whether it goes fast or slow, it’s going to come down to who has the best kick. So coming out here, it’s kind of like a trial.”

Ron Mann

Head coach Ron Mann and distance coach Brice Allen prepared Thorne well.

“One of the things that Coach Allen and I have done over the last 10 days is doing a lot of speed work over the barriers, preparing for that last quarter,” Mann said. “Those barriers come up very quickly and you’ve got to be ready for it. He did a nice job of executing that.”

Tarah McKay

Jere' Summers

U of L also had two automatic qualifiers in women’s events.

Tarah McKay ran fourth at 1,500 meters. Jeré Summers, the surprise winner of Friday’s discus, took second in Saturday’s shot put.

McKay, a junior from St. Clements, Ontario, Canada, improved one spot from her regional finish of a year ago.

Summers, a junior from Oakland, Calif., is a two-time Most Outstanding Field Event Performer in the Big East.  She transferred to U of L after competing two indoor seasons and one outdoor season at Cal State Northridge.

WKU: Smellie is good

Gavin Smellie

Western Kentucky senior Gavin Smellie won the men’s 200 meters, tying the Cardinal Park record of 20.45 seconds. (Auburn freshman Marcus Rowland was runner-up, followed by Sorrillo. Earlier, Rowland false-started out of the 100 meters, an event in which he was ranked No. 2 in the region and No. 4 in the nation.) 

Smellie, a Canadian, also led off the Hilltoppers’ second-place 4-by-400 relay and anchored the eighth-place 4-by-100 relay. The first seven spots in the quick relay went to Southeastern Conference schools, led by LSU and Kentucky.

Western’s women placed third in the 4-by-100 relay.

EKU: I go, you go, we all go for Mugo

Stanley Mugo

Eastern Kentucky’s top finish of the day came from Stanley Mugo in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

 

A junior from Kenya and the Ohio Valley Conference’s Co-Male Track Athlete of the Year, Mugo placed 10th.

By placing among the top 12 in the region, he still has a chance of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships (bids to be announced Tuesday). His time Saturday was 9:00.89. However, he ran 8:52.07 in April at the Penn Relays.

Regions and records

The Mideast, one of four regionals, is comprised of 167 teams from 12 states (Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin).

Cardinal Park records were set in 22 of Saturday’s 28 events. Two others were tied, and another was negated because it was wind-aided.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK’s Scott was among five athletes setting regional records, and the only male.  

Phoebe Wright

Women’s meet records went to: 

* U.S. Olympic Trials champion Kara Patterson of Purdue, who won javelin for the fourth year in a row, this time at 192-1.

* Two-time defending NCAA champ Tiffany Ofili of Michigan, 12.96 in the 100-meter hurdles.

* Tennessee former walk-on and now top-ranked Phoebe Wright, 2:02.20 in the 800.

* Middle Tennessee State’s Sarah Nambawa, ranked second nationally, with a triple jump of 45-9.

Rashaud Scott

Kentucky’s Rashaud Scott remains the No. 1 discus performer, but the Wildcats team dropped from 21st to No. 25 in the released U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association men’s poll that was released Wednesday.

Cross-state rival Louisville, led by second-ranked steeplechaser Corey Thorne, also fell, from No. 25 to 27.

Oregon reclaimed the No. 1 team ranking, dropping Florida to No. 2.

Florida and Kentucky are among seven Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the top 25. The SEC Championships open Thursday and last through Sunday at Florida.

Texas A&M is No. 1 in the women’s poll. Kentucky is 37th, Louisville 42nd. LSU is the top-rated SEC team, No. 4.

                            MEN                                                     
    Team                     Conference                 Points                    

 1. Oregon                 (Pac-10)              278.52 
 2. Florida                 (SEC)                    265.86
 3. Florida State        (ACC)                   265.23
 4. Texas A&M          (Big 12)                 236.25
 5. Nebraska              (Big 12)               205.59
 6. Arizona State         (Pac-10)             187.09
 7. South Carolina       (SEC)                  172.25
 8. Arkansas               (SEC)                   169.58
 9. Texas                    (Big 12)               162.35
10. Stanford               (Pac-10)              162.10
11. Baylor                   (Big 12)               159.03
12. LSU                       (SEC)                  158.29
13. Auburn                 (SEC)                  149.12
14. Washington          (Pac-10)             137.66
15. Texas Tech          (Big 12)               120.31
16. Souther Cal         (Pac-10)              119.30
17. California            (Pac-10)               114.77
18. Minnesota           (Big Ten)              111.72
19. Brigham Young   (Mountain West)    94.94
20. Georgia               (SEC)                     93.64
21. Washington State (Pac-10)              91.25
22. Virginia Tech       (ACC)                     91.17
23. Liberty                 (Big South)           91.11
24. Missouri              (Big 12)                 90.43
25. KENTUCKY           (SEC)                   90.27

Other Kentucky and SEC teams — 27. Louisville (Big East), 79.85; 34. Tennessee, 68.73; 37. Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) 62.39; 43. Alabama, 54.34; 46. Mississippi State, 50.94; 71, Mississippi, 25.68; 146. Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley) 1.88.

                               WOMEN

 1. Texas A&M          (Big 12)              302.56
 2. Oregon                (Pac-10)            256.51
 3. Florida State        (ACC)                242.82
 4. LSU                      (SEC)                220.09
 5. Southern Cal       (Pac-10)            212.44
 6. Texas                  (Big 12)             192.53
 7. Arizona State      (Pac-10)            170.80
 8. Baylor                 (Big 12)               169.52
 9. Virginia Tech     (ACC)                     154.60
10. Brigham Young (Mountain West)   153.40
11. Michigan          (Big Ten)                150.96
12. Tennessee        (SEC)                    148.34
13. UCLA                (Pac-10)                146.00
14. Auburn             (SEC)                     126.52
15. Stanford           (Pac-10)                119.98
16. Miami, Fla.       (ACC)                     112.82
17. Washington     (Pac-10)                111.96
18. Nebraska         (Big 12)                 111.93
19. Oklahoma       (Big 12)                  111.81
20. Penn State       (Big Ten)               110.29
21. Minnesota       (Big Ten)                  95.52
22. Arkansas         (SEC)                       92.82
23. Texas Tech     (Big 12)                     89.26
24. SMU                (Conference USA)     88.60
25. Indiana           (Big Ten)                  86.12
Other Kentucky and SEC teams — 29. Florida, 71.01; 37. Kentucky, 59.25; 39. Mississippi, 55.93; 42. Louisville (Big East), 52.88; 53. South Carolina, 42.53; 60. Alabama, 37.76; 72. Georgia, 25.96; 73. Western Kentucky (Sun Belt), 24.58; 83. Mississippi State, 17.06.

Event-by-event leaders (plus Kentuckians in top 20)

                       MEN

Gavin Smellie

100 — Jacoby Ford (Clemson) 10.11; 13. Gavin Smellie (WKU) 10.29.
200 — Trey Harts (Baylor) 20.29; 6. Gavin Smellie (WKU) 20.58.
400 — Gil Roberts (Texas Tech) 45.27.
800 — Tevan Everett (Texas) 1:47.39.
1,500 — Matt Centrowitz (Oregon) 3:36.92.
5,000 — Brandon Bethke (Arizona State) 13:27.74.
10,000 — Sam Chelanga (Liberty) 27:28.48.
110 hurdles — Oma Osaghae (Texas Tech) 13.42.
400 hurdles — Jeshua Anderson (Washington State) 49.44.

Corey Thorne

3,000 steeplechase — Jake Morse (Texas) 8:34.57; 2. Corey Thorne (U of L) 8:39.19; 12. Matt Hughes (U of L) 8:47.36.
4-x-100 relay — Florida State 38.75; 17. WKU 39.93.
4-x-400 relay — Florida State 3:01.54; 8. UK 3:05.77.
High jump — (Tie) Trent Arrivey (Washington State) and Matt Fisher (Minnesota) 7-4 1/2; 13. Tone Belt (U of L) 7-1.
Pole vault — Jason Colwick (Rice) 18-9 1/4.
Long jump — Brian Chibudu (Florida State) 26-5; 4. Mandhla Mgijima (WKU) 25-11; 6. Rudon Bastian (U of L) 25-8.
Triple jump — Will Claye (Oklahoma) 55-3/4.
Shot put — Ryan Whiting (Arizona State) 66-11 1/2; 15. Steve Hnat (U of L) 60-6 1/2; 16. Rashaud Scott (UK) 60-3 3/4; 20. Chase Madison (UK) 59-11 1/4.
Discus — Rashaud Scott (UK) 212-9; 6. Chase Madison (UK) 196-7.
Hammer throw — Chris Rohr (Missouri) 235-11.
Javelin — Cyrus Hostetler (Oregon) 272-10.
Decathlon — Ashton Eaton (Oregon) 8,091.

                        WOMEN
100 — Alexandria Anderson (Texas) 11.09.
200 — Tiffany Townsend (Baylor) 22.63; 20. Miaie Williams (WKU) 23.43.
400 — Jessica Beard (Texas A&M) 51.52.
800 — Molly Beckwith (Indiana) 2:02.51.
1,500 — Jenny Barringer (Colorado) 4:08.38.

Janet Jesang

5,000 — Jenny Barringer (Colorado) 15:07.64; 10. Janet Jesang (WKU) 15:52.22.
10,000 — Lisa Koll (Iowa State) 32:43.85; 20. Janet Jesang (WKU) 34:08.18.
100 hurdles — Tiffany Ofili (Michigan) 12.82.
400 hurdles — Eric Cray (Bethune-Cookman) 51.80.
3,000 steeplechase — Nicole Bush (Michigan State) 9:39.38.
4-x-100 relay — Texas A&M 42.91.
4-x-400 relay — LSU 3:31.81; 20. WKU 3:37.43.
High jump — Destinee Hooker (Texas) 6-3 1/2; 11. Rachel Gehret (U of L) 5-11 1/4.
Pole vault — Natalie Willer (Nebraska) 14-4 1/2.
Long jump — Blessing Okagbare (UTEP) 22-6 1/4.
Triple jump — Kim Williams (Florida State) 44-9 3/4; 10. Seidre Forde (U of L) 42-11 3/4.

Ashley Muffet

Ashley Trimble

Shot put — Mariam Kevkhishvili (Florida) 59-2 1/4; 12. Ashley Muffet (UK) 53-4 1/2; 20. Khadija Abdullah (U of L) 52-2.
Discus — Annie Alexander (Tennessee) 188-9; 3. Ashley Muffet (UK) 187-8; 13. Jere’ Summers (U of L) 173-8; 17. Emilee Strot (UK) 171-2.
Hammer throw — Eva Orban (Southern Cal) 226-10; 11. Jere’ Summers (U of L) 199-10; 13. Kristin Smith (UK) 199-2.
Javelin — Kara Patterson (Purdue) 191-7.
Heptathlon — Brianne Theisen (Oregon) 5,986; 20. Ashley Trimble (UK) 5,438.

The University of Kentucky softball team turned a local Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant into a Buffalo Wild, Wild Wings during Sunday’s televised NCAA Selection Show (ESPNU).

“We were just told to meet at ‘B.W.’s’ at 9 o’clock, so I thought it was just going to the team,” said second baseman Natalie Smith, a junior. “And then I walk in and girls got surprised with their families, and then everyone’s whispering ‘Coach Cal’s here!’ and Mr. Barnhart, all the athletic people, our media crew, academics, weight, strength and conditioning. It just shows what a family UK athletics is, and it’s just really awesome to have that support system around us.”

Yes, men’s basketball coach John Calipari and athletics director Mitch Barnhart joined in the celebration.

This was big stuff — Kentucky gets its first invitation to the NCAA softball big dance.

“It was really exciting, for the first time in my three years here,” said Molly Johnson, UK’s sweet-hitting junior shortstop. “I was really happy for the team.”

Rachel Lawson

“I wanted to see what the looks on all their faces were because I’m so proud of everything that they’ve done this year,” Coach Rachel Lawson said as she relived the moment that Kentucky’s name appeared on the screen. “They deserve it. They work hard. Just for them to feel this moment for the first time, I think, is very special.”

UK (32-21) landed in the Columbus (Ohio) Regional, one of 16 four-team regionals that will be played next weekend. The Wildcats will open the double-elimination regional against Brigham Young (39-16), the Mountain West champion, Thursday at 5 p.m. Ohio State (44-9), seeded 11th nationally, will face MAAC champion Canisius (27-22) Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Play continues through Saturday. The champion will advance to a best-of-three Super Regional, May 22-23, to face either sixth-seeded Georgia, North Carolina, Campbell or Radford. Winners of the eight Super Regions advance to the College World Series, May 28-June 3, at Oklahoma City.

“Rachel and this group have done a remarkable job,” Barnhart said. “I’m really, really proud of them.”

Natalie Smith

“All the hard work has finally paid off,” Smith said. “We’re really excited to go to Ohio State. Because it’s near Kentucky, a lot of family can travel. We think we’re going to get a lot of fans, and it’s definitely a regional that we think we have a good shot of winning.

“These freshmen have no idea how big of a deal this is because they haven’t had to go through the past two years of losing seasons and just a lot of ups and downs, coaching changes. But it’s all worth it right now and any problems we’ve had in the past, everything’s just kind of melted away. It’s almost like a clean slate and we’re just ready to go.”

UK finished 20-31 in 2007 and, in Lawson’s first season as coach, 17-37 in 2008.

“It’s huge for the program,” Lawson said of what the NCAA berth means, “because I think now they finally understand they’re on the big stage. That was the coolest thing about being at the SEC Tournament, because I heard one of the players say ‘we’re a big deal.’ I don’t think they understood until they were sitting on the field in Knoxville this weekend that they understood they were a big deal. So now that they understand that they are a big deal, now it’s just a matter of winning softball games and don’t worry about anything else.”

UK is among nine SEC teams to receive NCAA bids, along with top-seeded Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia, No. 13 Tennessee and unseeded Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and Mississippi State. The Wildcats are coming off an SEC Tournament that saw them stun Georgia 2-0, then take Alabama to extra innings before falling 2-1.

Molly Johnson

Megan Yocke

“After the SEC Tournament, I think our confidence was soaring,” Johnson said. “That win against Georgia really helped. Then taking Alabama to extra innings, a win would have been even better, but extra innings against a top-notch team like Alabama will only help a young team like ourselves.”

“We extremely confident right now,” said sophomore Megan Yocke, who can play infield or behind the plate. “We think that we can pretty much take on anyone. We’ve faced a lot of Top 25 competition in the early season and we played extremely well against them. And we’ve gotten better throughout the season, so I think if we were to face those same teams again we could give an even better run.” 

COLUMBUS REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thursday (times subject to change):
Game 1: Kentucky (home) vs. BYU (away) - 5 p.m.
Game 2: Canisius at Ohio State - 7:30 p.m.

Friday (times subject to change):
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner - 1 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser - 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser - 6 p.m.

Saturday (times subject to change):
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner - 1 p.m.
Game 7, if needed: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser - 3:30 p.m.

Region seeds – 1. Florida; 2. UCLA; 3. Washington; 4. Alabama; 5. Michigan; 6. Georgia; 7. Oklahoma; 8. Stanford; 9. Arizona; 10. Arizona State; 11. Ohio State; 12. Northwestern; 13. Tennessee; 14. Georgia Tech; 15. DePaul; 16. Florida State.

* Louisville was selected as a regional host. The Cardinals will open against Purdue. Also in the field are ninth-seeded Arizona and Tennessee Martin.

To see the full NCAA bracket, visit:

 http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/w-softbl/auto_pdf/Soft-D1-2009Bracket-64

Friday’s Southeastern Conference baseball game between Kentucky and Auburn has been postponed due to rain.

The three-game series at UK’s Cliff Hagan Stadium now will start Saturday with two games.

The game postponed Friday will start Saturday at 2 p.m. Saturday’s regularly scheduled game will be televised on the Big Blue Sports Network, starting at 7 p.m.. Sunday’s game is set for 1 p.m.

Probable pitchers in the opener are left-hander James Paxton (5-2, 5.40) of Kentucky against RH Jon Luke Jacobs (3-4, 6.23). The second game will pit another UK lefty, Chris Rusin (5-4, 4.07), against LH Grant Dayton (2-5, 5.61). Auburn will go with right-hander Dexter Price (3-2, 5.74) in the finale, with UK’s starter yet to be announced.

Kentucky-Auburn in a rain delay

It’s a beautiful day for baseball!

Just not at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Friday’s scheduled game, Auburn at Kentucky, will not get off at the scheduled time (6:30 p.m.) as rain continues to fall. Coaches and umpires are scheduled to meet at 6:40 to decide whether to play, postpone or wait some more.

The teams also have games scheduled Saturday and Sunday, both with hopes of being among the eight teams that will qualify for the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Kentucky comes into the weekend ninth in the SEC (9-15), Auburn 10th (8-16). Vanderbilt holds the eighth spot (10-13).

UK (24-23 overall) took two of three games from Tennessee last weekend. The Wildcats finish SEC play next week — at SEC East-leading Florida.

Auburn (27-22) has lost seven in a row in league play — one to South Carolina, followed by three-game sweeps at the hands of top 10 teams LSU and Ole Miss. Auburn finishes league play at home next week, facing arch-rival Alabama.