Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Arkansas junior Makeba Alcide marked her 22nd birthday Friday by taking the first title to be decided in the 2012 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, the pentathlon.

Alcide scored a personal-best 4,126 points at the University of Kentucky’s Nutter Field House, the first time she has topped 4,000 points.

Mississippi State’s Erica Bougard finished second with 4,109 points for the five events, followed by Alabama’s Kaylon Eppinger (4,081) and Florida’s Brittany Harrell (4,050).

Sand flew as Florida's Gray Horn landed a long jump of 24-10. (Mark Maloney)

Alcide won the high jump (5-9.25), Eppinger took the shot put (40-11.5) and Bougard snared the long jump (19-9.75) and 800 meters (2:14.80). Tennessee’s Ellen Wortham won the 60-meter hurdles (8.35) but did not complete the pentathlon.

Meanwhile, the first four of the seven men’s events in the heptathlon saw defending champion Gray Horn of Florida take the lead.

Horn, a senior, scored a personal-best and school-record first-day total of 3,418 points — just three points shy of the SEC first-day record set by Tennessee’s Jangy Addy in 2008.

Georgia’s C.J. Holman was in second (3,311), followed by Arkansas’ Kevin Lazas (3,265). Razorbacks freshman Gunnar Nixon, the national leader coming into the meet, was in fourth (3,200). Kentucky’s Daniel Buckles was tenth (2,517).

Horn won the long jump (24-10). Holman was first in the 60 meters (6.91). Lazas took the shot put (46-3.50). Georgia’s Garrett Scantling, in sixth place overall, cleared 6-10.25 to win the high jump.

The meet resumes at 11 a.m. with the men’s 35-pound weight throw and high jump. The first women’s event, pole vault, is set for noon. The first track event, preliminaries in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, are scheduled for 2:10 p.m.

Cleaning up some post-vacation track and field notes …

Southeastern Conference rivals Alabama and Florida have plucked two assistant coaches from Don Weber’s staff at Kentucky.

Alabama hired throws coach Doug Reynolds in June, and Florida took sprints coach Erin Tucker this month.

Cory Young

While the search is on for Tucker’s replacement, Reynolds’ spot at UK has been taken by Cory Young.

Young, a 2005 University of Indianapolis graduate, was named Division II National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year this season at Grand Valley State. In five seasons with the Lakers, Young’s throwers totaled 33 all-America honors and four national championships.

Doug Reynolds

Erin Tucker

Reynolds spent six seasons at UK, where his throwers set seven school records and won nine SEC titles. A Pac-10 discus champion for Arizona, where he graduated in 1998, Reynolds was named Mideast Region Throws Coach of the Year in his first season at UK.

Tucker returns to his alma mater, where he was a four-time SEC champion and six-time all-American from 1994 through 1999. He spent eight seasons at UK and in 2006 was named Mideast Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. At UK, he coached 27 all-Americans, 26 all-SEC performers, 15 all-region athletes, six SEC champions, four Olympians, three NCAA runner-ups and one NCAA champion (Rondel Sorrillo, 2010, 200 meters).

And the ESPY goes to …

Tyson Gay

In case you missed it, the ESPY Awards included a winner from Lexington: Tyson Gay. The American record-holder in the 100 meters (9.69) and second-fastest ever in the world, the Lafayette High School graduate won the ESPY for Best Track and Field Athlete.

* One of Gay’s biggest rivals from his high school days, Owensboro’s Casey Combest, will be featured Saturday in a 90-minute documentary carried on ESPN Classic. The documentary, Lay It On The Line: The Casey Combest Story, is scheduled to air at 4 a.m. and again at 6:15 p.m.

Combest set national high school indoor records for 60 meters, 100 yards and 100 meters. The documentary follows his comeback in an attempt to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.

Finalists named for The Bowerman

The Bowerman Advisory Board, in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, has named The Bowerman finalists. The award is considered collegiate track and field’s top honor, on par with football’s Heisman Trophy.

Tina Sutej

Kimberlyn Duncan

Jessica Beard

Women’s finalists are Texas A&M senior sprinter Jessica Beard, LSU sophomore sprinter Kimberlyn Duncan and Arkansas junior pole-vaulter Tina Sutej.

Men’s finalists are Washington State senior hurdler Jeshua Anderson, Florida junior jumper Christian Taylor and Florida State junior sprinter/jumper Ngoni Makusha.

Ngoni Makusha

Jeshua Anderson

Christian Taylor

Finalists were chosen by the 10-person Bowerman Advisory Board, based on performances during the 2011 indoor and outdoor collegiate seasons. The award will be presented Dec. 14, during the USTFCCCA convention at San Antonio, Texas.

The winners will be determined by Bowerman Voters, who consist of: Bowerman Advisory Board; media; statisticians; collegiate administrators; and past winners Galen Rupp, Ashton Eaton, Jenny (Barringer) Simpson and Queen Harrison. Also, online voting (Aug. 1-16) by the public will constitute one collective vote, as will online voting by USTFCCCA members.

Former University of Kentucky softall All-American Molly Johnson was named Friday to the United States National Team.

Molly Johnson (Staff file photo, 2009)

Johnson, a shortstop, became UK’s first softball All-American in 2009, when she broke three school records (81 hits, 53 runs, .498 on-base percentage) and set career highs in nine offensive categories. She completed her UK eligibility in 2010 and served as an assistant coach for the Wildcats this year.

This will be her third consecutive season representing Team USA. She also played for the USA Futures squad last year.

The 2011 National Team has an 18-player roster and one alternate.

The team will open play against the USA Softball Junior National Team on Saturday, June 25, with a doubleheader exhibition series at Plant City, Fla. Exhibition doubleheaders against the Junior Nationals also are set June 29 at Salem, Va., and July 1 at Bowie, Md.

Then, it will be on to international play.

Team USA will go to Surrey, British Columbia, for the Canadian Open Fast Pitch International Championship, July 9-17. That will be followed by the World Cup of Softball VI, July 21-25, at Oklahoma City.

The Americans will be after their ninth Pan American Games gold, Oct. 17-23, at Guadalajara, Mexico.

South Florida’s Ken Eriksen will coach the National Team, assisted by Olympic gold-medalists Tairia Flowers and Stacey Nuveman. Flowers is head coach at Cal State Northridge, while Nuveman is an assistant at San Diego State. Completing the coaching staff is Oregon head coach Mike White.

The National Team roster (with school attended): Valerie Arioto (California); Whitney Canion (Baylor); Kaitlin Cochran (Arizona State); Lauren Gibson (Tennessee); Kelly Grieve (Tennessee); Taylor Hoagland (Texas); Ashley Holcombe (Alabama); Molly Johnson (Kentucky); Stacy Johnson (Iowa); Megan Langenfeld (UCLA); Jenae Leles (Arizona); Michelle Moultrie (Florida); Christine Orgeron (Louisiana Lafayette); Keilani Ricketts (Oklahoma); Brittany Schutte (Florida); Jordan Taylor (Michigan); Rhea Taylor (Missouri), and Chelsea Thomas (Missouri). Alternate: Jessica Shults (Oklahoma).

Baseball

                            South Atlantic League

Lexington Legends
vs. Rome Braves

What: Four-game series 

When: Wednesday through Saturday (10:05 Wednesday morning, then 7:05 Thursday through Saturday nights) 

Where: Whitaker Bank Ballpark 

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867 

Major League affiliates: Houston Astros (Legends), Atlanta Braves

Alaniz

Bushue

Minaya

Quevedo

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Wednesday, RH Ruben Alaniz (2-3, 5.01) vs. LH Carlos Perez (3-4, 4.59); Thursday, RH Tanner Bushue (5-1, 3.72) vs. RH David Filak (2-3, 6.82); Friday, RH Carlos Quevedo (4-1, 5.24) vs. RH Caleb Brewer (1-2, 3.08); Saturday, RH Juan Minaya (1-3, 6.08) vs. RH Ryan Weber (0-0, 2.08).

Matt Lipka

Brave to watch: 2B/SS Matt Lipka (6-foot-1, 188 pounds, from Frisco, Texas) is rated by Baseball America as the sixth-best prospect in the Atlanta system. A supplemental first-round draft pick last June out of McKinney High School in Texas, Lipka is batting .264, with 12 RBI, 27 runs and 11 stolen bases over 43 games. After an 0-for-5 game on May 14, he has hits in nine consecutive games, going 15-for-39 (.385), with eight RBI and nine runs. Last season, Lipka played 48 games with the Gulf Coast League Braves and four with the Danville Braves of the Appalachian League, hitting a combined .288 with a homer, 25 RBI, 34 runs and 24 stolen bases. He also earned all-star honors in the GCL. In high school, he was a two-time all-state 4A wide receiver in football, with Dodgers first-round draft pick Zach Lee at quarterback. Lipka turned down a baseball scholarship to Alabama and signed with the Braves for $800,000.

Kike Hernandez

Legend to watch: 2B/LF Enrique “Kike” Hernandez (5-11, 170, from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) has hits in his last four games, going 7-for-16 (.437). Overall, he is 14-for-55 (.255) over 16 games, with two RBI, seven runs, five walks and five strikeouts. However, he missed nearly a month (April 16 until May 14) due to injury. Since returning, he is 9-for-33 (.273). Hernandez, who bats and throws right, is hitting .313 against left-handers and .231 versus righties. A 2009 sixth-round draft pick ou of the American Military Academy school in Puerto Rico, Hernandez went 61-for-207 (.295) over 53 games with the Gulf Coast League Astros that summer, with a homer, three triples, 12 doubles, 27 RBI, 35 runs and eight stolen bases. Last year, with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League, he was the team’s Offensive Player of the Month for August. Overall, he hit .280 with three homers, 33 RBI, 31 runs and three stolen bases over 60 games.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

Oklahoma’s Mookie Salaam has rejoined the men’s watch list for collegiate track and field’s biggest award, The Bowerman.

The sixth update of the year was released Wednesday by the men’s watch committee in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Mookie Salaam

Salaam, who won the 60- and 200-meter sprints at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, swept the 100 and 200 at last weekend’s Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Salaam’s time of 20.05 in the 200 set a meet record and is the second-fastest in the world this year. He won the NCAA title at that distance indoors.

The Bowerman, named for legendary Oregon coach Bill Bowerman, debuted in 2009 and is presented annually to the top male and female collegiate track and field athletes in the nation. Oregon’s Ashton Eaton and Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison won last year.

The 10 semifinalists for this year’s award will be named June 20. Three finalists will be named July 13.

The men’s watch list, in alphabetical order, with class, school and events:

Jeshua Anderson, sr., Washington State, hurdles
Miles Batty, jr, Brigham Young, distance
Sam Chelanga, red-shirt sr., Liberty, distance
Will Claye, jr., Florida, jumps
Jeff Demps, soph.(i)/jr.(o), Florida, sprints
Kirani James, soph., Alabama, sprints
Ngonidzashe Makusha, jr., Florida State, jumps/sprints
Omo Osaghae, sr., Texas Tech, hurdles
Mookie Salaam, jr., Oklahoma, sprints
Christian Taylor, jr., Florida, jumps

Also receiving mention

Robbie Andrews (soph., Virginia) distance; Andy Bayer (rs-soph., Indiana) distance; Charles Clark (sr., Fla. State) sprints; Derek Drouin (jr., Indiana) jumps; German Fernandez (so., Okla. State) distance; Mason Finley (soph., Kansas) throws; Eric Flores (sr., Cal Lutheran) throws; Marquise Goodwin (soph., Texas) jumps/sprints; Leford Green (jr., Johnson C. Smith) sprints; Walter Henning (sr., LSU) throws; Tabarie Henry (sr. Texas A&M) sprints; Leonard Korir (jr., Iona) distance; Erik Kynard (soph., Kansas State) jumps; Torrin Lawrence (jr., Georgia) sprints; Marcel Lomnicky (jr. Va. Tech) throws; Maurice Mitchell (jr., Fla. State) sprints; Demetrius Pinder (sr., Texas A&M) sprints; Dorian Ulrey (sr., Arkansas) distance; Craig Van Leeuwen (jr., Ramapo) pole vault.

Kentucky remained steady at No. 23 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, released Tuesday.

Over the weekend, the Wildcats (22-7 overall, 8-3 SEC) swept Mississippi State for the second time in three seasons.

Alabama (33-2, 9-1 SEC) held on to first place for a second week in a row. Despite suffering its first SEC loss of the season and second loss overall, 4-1 to Tennessee, the Crimson Tide received 19 of 20 first-place votes — the most for any team this season.

Tennessee (27-5, 5-3 SEC) climbed one spot in the poll to No. 10.

Another significant move involving SEC teams saw Georgia (27-4, 8-3) vault from No. 4 to No. 2. The Bulldogs swept then-No. 2 Florida, the first time the Gators have been swept in a three-game home series since 2006. Florida (30-4, 7-3) dropped to No. 5 in the poll.

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

March 29 – March 21-27, 2011 – Week Seven

Parenthesis Denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out:  LSU
New to Poll: Georgia Tech

Others receiving votes:  LSU (22); Northern Iowa (14); Long Beach State (8); Fresno State (5); Ala. Birmingham (4); Brigham Young (3); North Carolina (2); San Diego State (2); Notre Dame (1); Maryland (1)

The University of Louisville has been recognized with the U.S. Olympic Achievement Award.

Swimmers Elaine Breeden of Lexington and Caroline Burckle of Louisville earned recognition for their respective universities, Stanford and Florida.

The U.S. Olympic Committee, U.S. National Governing Bodies for Sport and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics joined together to create the award, which recognizes the colleges and universities whose student-athletes and coaches have won Olympic medals.

Ron Mann

A total of 43 colleges and universities contributed to U.S. medal successes at the last two Olympics — the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Schools are recognized based on two criteria: having a current student-athlete who was part of a medal-winning performance or a coach who was a credentialed member of the U.S. Olympic Team delegation and his/her athlete or team won a medal. Ten schools met both criteria, 16 had a student-athlete and 22 had a coach.

U of L’s Ron Mann was part of the U.S. coaching staff in athletics (track and field) at Beijing.

The U.S. Olympic Achievement Award will be presented every two years following the Olympic Games.

Below are the lists of the universities, athletes and coaches that will be honored.

Colleges/universities — Alabama, Arizona, Boston College, Cal-Berkeley, Cal-Irvine, Concordia, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Harvard, Humboldt State, Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northeastern, Northern Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Santa Monica College, Seton Hall, Shelton State, South Carolina, Southern Illinois, St. John’s, St. Mary’s, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee State, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, Southern Cal, Wesleyan, Wisconsin.

Coaches (with sport and school) — Harvey Glance, athletics, Alabama; James Li, athletics, Arizona; Frank Busch, swimming, Arizona; Mike Candrea, softball, Arizona; Teri McKeever, swimming, Cal-Berkeley; Jamie Morrison, volleyball, Concordia; Mike Krzyzewski, basketball, Duke; Gregg Troy, swimming, Florida; Jack Bauerle, swimming, Georgia; Sue Woodstra, volleyball, Humboldt State; Jon Valdez, gymnastics, Illinois; Terry Brands, wrestling, Iowa; Ron Mann, athletics, Louisville; Kerry McCoy, wrestling, Maryland; Bob Bowman, swimming, Michigan; Dave Flint, hockey, Northeastern; Myles Avery, gymnastics, Ohio State; Mark Williams, gymnastics, Oklahoma; Randy Jepson, gymnastics, Penn State; Erica Walsh, soccer, Penn State; Marv Dunphy, volleyball, Pepperdine; Kim Keenan-Kirkpatrick, athletics, Seton Hall; Dawn Staley, basketball, South Carolina; Connie Price-Smith, athletics, Southern Illinois; Yury Gelman, fencing, St. John’s; Rob Browning, volleyball, St. Mary’s; John Rittman, softball, Stanford; Jim Boeheim, basketball, Syracuse; Chandra Cheeseborough, athletics, Tennessee State; J.J. Clark, athletics, Tennessee; Bubba Thornton, athletics, Texas; Eddie Reese, swimming, Texas; Gail Goestenkors, basketball, Texas; John Speraw, volleball, Cal-Irvine; Jeanette Bolden, athletics, UCLA; Jillian Ellis, soccer, UCLA; Jodi McKenna, hockey, Wesleyan; Mark Johnson, hockey, Wisconsin.

Athletes — Lacey Nymeyer, swimming (one silver), Arizona; Kelly Stack, hockey (silver), Boston College; Molly Schaus, hockey (silver), Boston College; Nathan Adrian, swimming (gold), Cal-Berkeley; Tim Hutton, water polo (silver), Cal-Irvine; Caroline Burckle, swimming (bronze), Florida; Walter Dix, athletics (two bronze) Florida State; Emily Cross, fencing (silver), Harvard; Jonathan Kuck, speedskating (silver), Illinois; Tobin Heath, soccer (gold), North Carolina; Joceyln Lamoureux, hockey (silver), North Dakota; Monique Lamoureux, hockey (silver), North Dakota; Adam Wheeler, wrestling (bronze), Northern Michigan; Jonathan Horton, gymnastics (silver, bronze), Oklahoma; Stephen Strasburg, baseball (bronze), San Diego State; Ronda Rousey, judo (bronze), Santa Monica College; Deontay Wilder, boxing (bronze), Shelton State; Elle Logan, rowing (gold), Stanford; Julia Smit, swimming (silver, bronze), Stanford; Elaine Breeden, swimming (silver), Stanford; Jessica Steffens, water polo (silver), Stanford; Ricky Berens, swimming (gold), Texas; David Walters, swimming (gold), Texas; Christine Marshall, swimming (bronze), Texas A&M; Lauren Cheney, soccer (gold), UCLA; Amy Rodriguez, soccer (gold), Southern Cal; Klete Keller, swimming (gold), Southern Cal; Rebecca Soni, swimming (gold, two silver), Southern Cal; Kameryn Craig, water polo (silver), Southern Cal; James Krumpholz, water polo (silver), Southern Cal; Meghan Duggan, hockey (silver), Wisconsin; Hilary Knight, hockey (silver), Wisconsin.

Kansas State University sophomore Erik Kynard Jr. has been added to the “watch list” for collegiate track and field’s top award, The Bowerman.

Kynard, a Kentucky Invitational high jump champion as a high school athlete, rose to the watch list after clearing 7-7 3/4 in the Tyson Invitational, Feb. 12, at Arkansas. Only two other collegiate athletes ever have jumped high indoors, Hollis Conway and Brian Brown.

Kynard is unbeaten in five competitions this season, including the Big 12 Championships, and has cleared 7-3 3/4 or higher in each.

The 10 athletes now on the watch list:

Jeshua Anderson

Jeshua Anderson, Washington State, sr., from Woodland Hills, Calif.
IN 2011: His season best in the 400-meter dash of 46.93 places him in the collegiate top 35. The outdoor season is where Anderson is expected to shine when he can compete in his specialty event – the 400-meter hurdles.

Robby Andrews

Robby Andrews, Virginia, soph., from Englishtown, N.J.
IN 2011: Has yet to compete officially. Ran unattached and successfully was the “rabbit” for Bernard Lagat’s attempt to break the American two-mile record.

Sam Chelanga

Sam Chelanga, Liberty, RS sr., from Nairobi, Kenya
IN 2011: In his first 5K of the indoor season, Chelanga recorded a then world-leading and current collegiate-leading time of 13:41.35 on his home 200-meter, flat track on Jan. 29. Chelanga notched a would-be collegiate leader of 7:48.24 in the 3,000 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix where he finished fourth in a professional-loaded field. Because no collegians were involved in that competition. Chelanga tallied a 7:50.92 clocking at 3,000 meters in placing fifth overall at the Flotrack Husky Classic. Chelanga added to his tally of Big South Championships with a mile crown (4:16.88) this season.

Will Claye

Will Claye, Florida, jr., Phoenix
IN 2011: Claye stand second nationally in the triple jump with a season’s best of 56-4 (17.17 meters) achieved in finishing runner up to teammate Christian Taylor at the SEC Championships. Claye is also eighth in the country in the long jump, having notched a season best of 26-1 (7.95m) in taking third at the Tyson Invitational. Claye added a third-place showing in the long jump at the SEC meet, placing behind only Arkansas’ Tarik Batchelor and LSU’s Zedric Thomas -– both members of the national top five of the event this year.

Jeff Demps

Jeff Demps, Florida, soph (indoor)/junior (outdoors), from Winter Garden, Fla.
IN 2011: After opening the season with a 6.57 in winning the Virginia Tech Elite, Demps has twice more clocked sub-6.60 in the 60 meters, including when he won the SEC title in the event for the second straight year with a 6.55. Demps ranks No. 2 nationally in the 60, behind only Oklahoma’s Mookie Salaam (6.54).

Mason Finley

Mason Finley, Kansas, soph., from Salida, Colo.
IN 2011: Finley has three wins in the books so far in 2011 in his signature event -– the shot put. His opener, a 67-11½ (20.71m) heave to win at the Missouri-Kansas dual leads the rest of Division I by more than two feet feet. Last weekend, at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, Finley was upset by Nebraska’s Luke Pinkelman who now stands No. 2 on the descending order list (65-10¼, 20.07m).

Walter Henning

Walter Henning, LSU, sr., frm Kings Park, N.Y.
IN 2011: Henning continues not to miss in the weight throw. The LSU strongman has won 10 straight against collegiate competition with the 35-pound weight –- four of which have come in the 2011 season, including his third straight SEC crown. At the LSU Twilight on Feb. 18, Henning notched his season-best throw of 76-6¼ (23.32m). Henning’s personal best in the event is 78-1 (23.80m).

Kirani James

Kirani James, Alabama, soph., from Gouyave, Grenada
IN 2011: On every occasion in which he has stepped on the track for the 400 meters this season, James has set a new world-leading mark. Starting on Feb. 12 when he ran 45.47 (oversized) to win Notre Dame Meyo Invitational, then on Feb. 26 for the preliminary round of the SEC Championships when he ran 45.37. And, for the trifecta, James, who is 18, clocked 44.80 in the SEC finals to not only set another world record, but it also set a new world junior all-time best. The time places him in the top five of the all-time world indoor list and only Kerron Clement’s (Florida) world record of 44.57 set in 2005 stands as a better all-time collegiate mark.

Erik Kynard Jr.

Erik Kynard Jr., Kansas State, soph., from Toledo, Ohio
IN 2011: Kynard leaped on to the scene with a 7-7¾ (2.33m) clearance in winning the high jump at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 12. Only two other collegians (Hollis Conway and Brian Brown) in indoor history have jumped higher than Kynard. The sophomore has won all five competitions in which he has entered this year, including the Big 12 Championships. Kynard has won each of those competitions by clearing at least 7-3¾ (2.23m).

Christian Taylor

Christian Taylor, Florida, jr., from Fayetteville, Ga.
IN 2011: Taylor sent quite a message in winning the SEC Championships triple jump on his final attempt. With a mark of 56-11½ (17.36m) that not only won the event for the third straight time and set an SEC record, he became the third all-time best collegian indoors in the event. Only Charlie Simpkins (Baptist, 17.50m, 57-5, 1986) and Mike Conley (Arkansas, 17.40m, 57-1, 1985) have jumped farther in indoor collegiate history than Taylor. The Gator also finished eighth at the SEC meet in the long jump and has a season’s best in the event of 25-0 (7.62m), good for the national top 25.

The Bowerman Advisory Board appointed four of its members to comprise The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee and another four of its members to make up The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee. The committee will release their next men’s update on Wednesday, March 16. The three men and three women finalists will be named late June.

Neely Spence (Photo by Mark Maloney)

South Carolina’s LaKya Brookins, Shippensburg’s Neely Spence and Arkansas’ Tina Sutej have been added to the women’s watch list for The Bowerman, while Marquise Goodwin of Texas and Florida junior Will Claye have joined the men’s watch list.

The Bowerman is presented annually to the top male and female athlete in collegiate track and field.

All the watch-list additions are collegiate leaders in their events this season.

Brookins has the leading collegiate time for 60 meters (7.18); Spence is the world leader at 5,000 meters (16:01.09); and Sutej is the collegiate leader in the pole vault (14-7 1/4).

Goodwin is the collegiate leader in the long jump, Claye in the triple jump.

The women’s watch list, with name, yr. (school) events and hometown:

LaKya Brookins, sr. (South Carolina) sprints; Seneca, S.C.
Jessica Beard, sr. (Texas A&M) sprints; Euclid, Ohio
Ti’erra Brown, sr. (Miami, Fla.) hurdles; Hampton, Va.
Semoy Hackett, jr. (LSU) sprints; Scarborough, Trinidad & Tobago
Neely Spence, jr. (Shippensburg) distance; Shippensburg, Pa.
Tina Sutej, jr. (Arkansas) pole vault; Ljubljana, Slovenia
Sheila Reid, jr. (Villanova) distance; Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Jeneba Tarmoh, jr. (Texas A&M) sprints; San Jose, Calif.
Brianne Theisen, sr. (Oregon) combined events; Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada
Kim Williams, sr. (Florida State) jumps; Kingston, Jamaica

The men’s watch list:

Jeshua Anderson, sr. (Washington State) hurdles; Woodland Hills, Calif.
Robby Andrews, soph. (Virginia) distance; Englishtown, N.J.
Sam Chelanga, sr. (Liberty) distance; Nairobi, Kenya
Will Claye, jr. (Florida) jumps; Phoenix, Ariz.
Jeff Demps, soph./jr. (Florida) sprints, Winter Garden, Fla.
Mason Finley, soph. (Kansas) throws; Salida, Colo.
Marquise Goodwin, soph. (Texas) sprints/jumps; Garland, Texas
Walter Henning, sr. (LSU) throws; Kings Park, N.Y.
Kirani James, soph. (Alabama) sprints; Gouyave, Grenada
Christian Taylor, jr. (Florida) jumps; Fayetteville, Ga.

Wesley Korir runs the straight path

Former University of Louisville standout Wesley Korir will try for his third consecutive Los Angeles Marathon title next month (March 20).

About a year ago, Korir married Tarah McKay, former captain of the U of L women’s track and cross country teams. The couple, living in McKay’s Canadian hometown of St. Clements, Ontario, have since had a daughter, named McKayLA in recognition of the McKay family and the “LA” Marathon.

Korir, who won $160,000 in cash and a Honda Accord EX-L for his first Los Angeles win alone, is using some of his earnings to help the needy in his homeland. Included is a project to fund a mission hospital. Korir notes that when he was young, a brother was killed by a snakebite because proper medical care wasn’t readily available. (For details about the project, see:

http://thestepsfoundation.org/26-2-challenge/

A Fresh Air approach

The Fresh Air Fund, an independent non-profit agency that provides free summer vacations to New York City children from low-income communities, is seeking runners and sponsors for its team in the NYC Half-Marathon on March 20.

The Fresh Air Fund also is in need of host families for summer vacationers next summer.

For more information, see:

Eastern Kentucky’s Lydia Kosgei is the Ohio Valley Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week.

Lydia Kosgei

Kosgei, a junior from Eldoret, Kenya, placed fourth in the mile in Saturday’s Kentucky Invitational, posting an OVC-leading 4:47.69. The field of 39 milers included athletes from Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan State and several post-collegiate competitors. The only collegian to finish ahead of Kosgei was Tennessee’s Chanelle Price.

Kosgei’s time ranks ninth-best in the country this season and is third-fastest in EKU history. Jamie King O’Shea holds the Colonels’ record, 4:42.90.

Kosgei earned her first OVC title last spring when she won the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:39.99. She red-shirted last fall’s cross country season.

EKU will travel this weekend to the Indiana University Gladstein Invitational.

Other OVC weekly award winners are Eastern Illinois junior Zye Boey (Male Track), Southeast Missouri State senior Brandon Colbert (Male Field) and SEMO junior Shemekia Brewer (Female Field).

Boey won the 60 (6.77) and 200 (21.45) at the Wisconsin Badger Track Classic. His 200 time ranks third in the NCAA.

Colbert won the shot put at Southern Illinois’ Saluki Open, which also is where Brewer won the triple jump.

Southeastern Conference Track & Field Athletes of the Week

Female Runner
LaKya Brookins, South Carolina senior — Won the 60-meter dash at the Virginia Tech Invitational with an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 7.25.

Female Field Athlete
Colleen Felix, Georgia junior — Won the triple jump at the Clemson Challenge with a national-leading mark of 43-5 3/4, which is No. 3 on Georgia’s all-time list.

Female Freshman
Cory McGee, Florida — In her collegiate debut, posted top 10 times in the nation in the mile (4:46.70) and 3,000 meters (9:43.72) at the Nittany Lion Challenge Meet. Winning the mile and placing second in the 3,000, McGee has the nation’s top freshman times in both events. Her meet-record mile time is fourth-best in the country this season, while her 3,000 time ranks No. 7.

Male Runner
Horatio Williams, LSU junior — The transfer from Hinds Community College debuted with LSU in the Purple Tiger Invitational by zipping to a national-leading 6.61 in the 60 meters after a personal-best 6.73 in prelims. He ranks No. 3 all-time at LSU, behind only Richard Thompson (6.51) and Trindon Holliday (6.54).

Male Field Athlete
Zedric Thomas, LSU senior — Won the Purple Tiger Invitational long jump with a personal-best 26-3 3/4, three-quarters of an inch further than teammate Damar Forbes. Thomas’ mark ranks No. 1 in the nation this season and No. 4 all-time at LSU.

Male Freshman
Justin Hunter, Tennessee — Won the Kentucky Invitational long jump with an NCAA automatic-qualifier of 26-1, just two weeks after completing football season with the Volunteers. His mark is No. 4 in the nation this season and he is the lone freshman ranked among the top 14. He also ranks No. 3 all-time at Tennessee.