Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Lexington's Tyson Gay

Lexington native Tyson Gay has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week for a second time this season.

Gay’s 9.69 ties Bolt’s winning time from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, matching the second-fastest “legal” time ever. Gay’s race Sunday had the maximum allowable wind, 2 meters per second (about 4 1/2 mph).

Former University of Kentucky standout and reigning world champion Dwight Phillips had the best long jump by an American during the week, 27 feet, 5 1/4 inches.

Dwight Phillips

LaShawn Merritt

Allyson Felix

Wurth-Thomas

 

 

 

 

 

Best American marks for the week ending Sept. 20. X — Sunday at Shanghai, China; Y — Tuesday at Szczecin, Poland; Z — Sunday at Talence, France.

MEN

100 — 9.69, Tyson Gay (adidas) X                        American record
200 — 20.21, Tyson Gay (adidas) Y
400 — 45.28, LaShawn Merritt (Nike) X
800 — 1:46.33, Nick Symmonds (Oregon TC Elite) Y
110 hurdles — 13.15, Terrence Trammell (TSA) X
High jump — 7-5 1/4, Andra Manson (Nike) X
Long jump — 27-5 1/4, Dwight Phillips (Nike) X
Shot put — 70-6 1/4, Christian Cantwell (Nike) Y
Decathlon — 8,189, Tom Pappas (Nike) Z

WOMEN

Photos courtesy of USA Track & Field

The United States Olympic Committee announced Tuesday its Athletes of the Month for July.

And the winners are …

Women – USA Softball shortstop Natasha Watley;

Men — USA Swimming’s Ryan Lochte;

Team — USA Swimming’s men’s 4-by-100 freestyle relay swimmers.

Runner-up in the team category was the USA Basketball men’s under-19 team that won its age-group World Championships. That team included Darius Miller (Mason County H.S., Univ. Kentucky) and Shelvin Mack (Bryan Station H.S., Butler Univ.).

Natasha Watley

For the first time, 10 percent of the vote was determined by followers of the USOC’s Twitter site (@USOlympic). A panel of U.S. Olympic family members accounted for the other 90 percent of the vote.

Watley helped Team USA to gold-medal finishes in the Canada Cup and KFC World Cup of Softball (at Oklahoma City). Starting a team-high 18 games, Watley went 25-for-47 (.702) at the plate, knocking in 20 runs and going 8-for-8 in the stolen-base department. She hit two doubles and two homers, including a grand slam against Canada in the World Cup.

At the FINA World Championships in Rome, Lochte set a world record in winning the 200-meter individual medley and swam on the world-record 800-meter freestyle relay team, as well as the championship-record 400-meter freestyle relay. Lochte also won a bronze medal in the 200-meter backstroke.

The USOC team honor, the men’s 400 free relay, went to Michael Phelps, Lochte, Matt Grevers and Nathan Adrian. Their World Championships time of 3:09.21 edged the Russians by 31 hundredths of a second and beat the favored French team by more than half a second.

The top three in the Athlete of the Month categories:

WOMEN — 1. Natasha Watley; 2. Kelly Rulon, swimming; 3. (tie) Tina Charles, basketball; Rebecca Soni, swimming; Serena Williams, tennis.

MEN — 1. Ryan Lochte; 2. Troy Dumais, diving; 3. Andy Roddick, tennis.

TEAM — 1. U.S. men’s 400-meter freestyle relay swim team; 2. U.S. men’s U-19 basketball team; 3. U.S. women’s senior water polo team.

Lexington native Tyson Gay is among the winners as the U.S. Olympic Committee has announced its Athletes of the Month for May.

Gay, out of Lafayette High School and the University of Arkansas, took men’s honors. The American record-holder at 100 meters, Gay posted the world’s third-fastest 200 meters ever and blew away a world-class field in the Reebok Grand Prix, May 30 at New York.

TYSON GAY, from his photos on Facebook.

In his first 200 in the United States since pulling a hamstring last July at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Gay crossed the finish line in 19.58 seconds. The only faster races recorded are 1996 Olympic gold-medalist Michael Johnson’s world-record 19.32, and 2008 Olympic gold-medalist Usain Bolt’s world-record 19.30.

Earlier in May, Gay lowered his personal best for 400 meters to 45.57 at the Texas Invitational.

Gay will be out to defend his titles in the 100, 200 and as part of the Team USA 4-by-100-meter relay in this summer’s World Outdoor Championships at Berlin.

Other USOC awards for May went to diver Allison Brennan and the National Sled Hockey Team.

Brennan won on the 3-meter springboard in the USA Diving Grand Prix at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Her score of 358.55 points was 18 better than Russia’s Anastasia Pozdniakova, last year’s Olympic silver-medalist. Brennan, an assistant coach at South Carolina, also beat four-time Olympic medalist Wu Minxia of China. Brennan’s final dive, a reverse 1 1/2 somersault with 2 1/2 twists, earned the highest score of the finals, 76.85. 

The Paralympics Sled Hockey Team won the World Championships at Ostrava, Czech Republic. Team captain Andy Yohe scored with 11 seconds left in the championship game to earn a 1-0 victory over Norway. Steve Cash made 11 saves for the Americans.

Others on the team: Mike Blabac, Taylor Chace, Jimmy Connelly, Brad Emmerson, Mike Hallman, Lonnie Hannah, Tim Jones, Taylor Lipsett, Chris Mans, Adam Page, Josh Pauls, Greg Shaw and Kip St. Germaine.

The top three in the USOC monthly award results:

Women — 1. Allison Brennan (diving); 2. Alaina Williams (gymnastics); 3. Lauren Wenger (water polo).
Williams won one international and two national trampoline competitions. Wenger scored three goals in a 10-5 Team USA win over Canada in the World League Super Finals for the Americas.

Men — 1. Tyson Gay (track and field); 2. Steve Cash (sled hockey); 3. Devin Britton (tennis).
Britton, an unseeded freshman, won the NCAA singles title and led Ole Miss to the quarterfinals.

Team — 1. U.S. National Sled Hockey Team; 2. Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen (diving); 3. U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team.
Dumais and Ipsen won the synchronized 3-meter springboard event at the USA Diving Grand Prix, and were selected to dive for the U.S. at this summer’s World Championships in Italy. The gymnatics team won a pair of “friendlies” against Germany and France. Bridget Sloan took all-around honors in both meets.

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

Hockey player Caitlin Cahow, equestrian rider Steffen Peters and the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team were named Thursday as winner of the Athletes and Team of the Month for April, as determined by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Cahow, from Branford, Conn., split time at forward and defense while helping Team USA to its second straight title in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships. She anchored the U.S. power-play and penalty-kill units, netting two goals and four assists over five games. Included were two goals in the 4-1 gold-medal game victory over Canada, as Team USA finished 4-0-1. Cahow, 23, was on the bronze-medal U.S. Olympic team in 2006.

Equestrian Steffen Peters aboard Ravel. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Peters, the Male Athlete of the Month, became the first U.S. rider to win both legs of the Rolex/FEI World Cup Dressage Final. The San Diego rider, aboard Ravel, put up the best score of his career to defeat two of the three medalists who finished ahead of him at last summer’s Beijing Olympics.

Results

Women

1. Caitlin Cahow, Ice Hockey

2. Anna Tunnicliffe, Sailing (Gold medal in Laser Radial at Hyeres, France, site of the French Olympic Sailing Week from April 18-24 and the fourth event on the ISAF Sailing World Cup calendar.)

3. Clarissa Chun, Wrestling (Won her second national championship with a victory in the 49 kg/105.5 lbs. division at the U.S. Women’s National Championships in Las Vegas on April 9; named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament and did not allow a point in four matches. Two weeks later, Chun won a gold medal at the Pan American Championships.)

Men

1. Steffen Peters, Equestrian

2. Jack Campbell, Ice Hockey (All-tournament tam goalie for the U.S. Men’s Under-18 National Team that won the World Championships, shutting out Russia in the gold-medal game. Finished with a 4-0 record, a 0.75 goals-against average and a .967 save percentage with two shutouts.)

3. Keith Sanderson, Shooting (Gold-medal iwinner n the 25-meter Rapid Fire Pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation Rifle/Pistol World Cup in Beijing on April 22. A week earlier, won the silver medal in the Men’s Rapid Fire at the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea.)

Team

1. U.S. Women’s National Team, Ice Hockey

2. ISU World Team Trophy Team, Figure Skating (Struck gold inthe inaugural event at Tokyo, scoring 60 points to edge Canada (54) and Japan (50). Team USA: Evan Lysacek (men’s winner), Jeremy Abbott (men, fifth), Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto (ice dance winners), Caroline Zhang (ladies, third), Rachael Flatt (ladies, fourth) and Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett (pairs, fourth).)

3. U.S. Fed Cup Team, Tennis (Squad of Melanie Oudin, Alexa Glatch, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber advanced to the Fed Cup Finals for the first time since 2003 by defeating host Czech Republic, 3-2, in the semifinals April 25-26. The U.S. will play Italy in the Fed Cup Final in November.

Lindsey Vonn

A year out from the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympic Games– Feb. 12, 2010 — the United States has a bona fide Alpine ski favorite.

Before injuring her thumb while opening a bottle of champagne, Lindsey Vonn took the FIS World Championships by storm. The injury, which required surgery, has knocked Vonn out of Thursday’s giant slalom, but she hopes to compete in Saturday’s slalom.

Vonn, a Minnesota native and a Vail, Colo., resident, already has won two World events at Val d’Isere, France — the super G and downhill. She missed a silver medal in the super combined, learning only at the finish line that she had been disqualified for missing a gate.

Just before her ill-fated downhill celebration, Vonn spoke with reporters via teleconference.

“Downhill is my favorite event. It always has been since I met Picabo Street,” Vonn said. “She really inspired me to want to be a ski champion, and her best event was always downhill. For some reason, I just have always been drawn to downhill. It’s the speed, the adrenaline, the rush of it all. It’s an amazing discipline. I’ve always wanted to win at a big event in downhill, and I feel like it’s a big breakthrough for me.

“I was able to do it despite nerves. My husband (Tom, a 2002 Olympian) was with me there at the start and helped calm me down, and we really worked through it. I was able to win despite that. I’m definitely going to take what I learned from today into the Olympics and, hopefully, I’ll be able to do well there.”

Vonn, married last September, competed in the 2002 and 2006 Olympics under her maiden name, Kildow. She placed sixth in combined and 32nd in slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games; seventh in super G and eighth in downhill at the 2006 Torino Games.

Now 24, Vonn is a threat in all Alpine events. She won the 2008 World Cup overall and downhill titles.

Vonn at Val d'Isere, France

She is the first American woman to win the overall World Cup titles since Lexington’s Tamara McKinney in 1983. Vonn also won five downhills in 2008, for a career total of an American-record 10. (She passed Street and men’s skier Daron Rahlves on the all-time downhill win list.)

“Unfortunately, I never got to watch her race when I was younger,” Vonn said of McKinney. “I really only saw Picabo and Hilary Lindh at the Olympics, and when I met Picabo in Minnesota, that was definitely inspiration for me. But I never met Tamara until later in my career, and I was never able to see her ski. My dad use to always talk about here as a legend in skiing, and she’s a hero. I look back and see who really has done the most for skiing and Tamara played a huge role in that.”

As a teen-ager, Vonn became the only American ever to win at Italy’s Trofeo Topolino (for skiers 11-14) and earn Junior Worlds medals and U.S. titles.

She earned her first World Cup win just six weeks after turning 20. In 2007, she took her first major championships medals with a silver in downhill and super G.

Now, she’s better than ever, armed with the mighty intangible known as experience.

“Definitely, from the 2002 Olympics, I’ve made huge physical advances in my fitness and, also, mentally,” said Vonn, who is listed at 5-foot-10, 160 pounds. “In 2002 I was just there as a rookie. I was trying just to get experience and I was having a good time. I wasn’t nervous at all. That actually allowed me to ski really well in the combined.

“In Torino, I came in with a lot more expectations and pressure than I had in any World Championships or Olympics. I knew how to handle it … At the same time, I had (an) injury and knew I probably wasn’t going to win any medals, but was out there trying my best. I think that took some of the pressure off.

“These World Championships have been the toughest because of the pressure and expectations. But because of my past experiences and everything that I have learned, and with the help of my husband, I was able to be mentally much stronger.”

Smarter, unwilling to throw caution to the wind.

“You have to give it 100 percent effort if you want to win. But, at the same time, you still have to be smart,” Vonn said. “You have to still ski the line, but you respect it. You can’t say ‘OK, I’m going 100 percent; I’m going to go as straight as I can and just push myself to win it.’ Because if you’re doing that, you’re not going to be fast. You can’t be fast by just going straight. … I was definitely giving it my all, giving it 100 percent, but still being smart. Still keeping that high line. Still being right where I needed to be in the technical sections and the difficult sections. You have to do that.”

Aside from the Worlds and Olympics, the only other place Vonn lets it all rip is in practice. Other competitions, she skis “90 percent … more or less.”

“When I train at 100 percent, I go straighter. I try to push the line. I try to push everything. But the likelihood of going out and making a mistake is very high.”

Likelihood of a Vonn mistake in Vancouver? Not so high.

We’ll know for sure in one more year.

More than a dozen countries will be represented this weekend at USA Wrestling’s Dave Schultz Memorial International Open. The competition, Friday through Sunday, will take place at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

With a nod to USA Wrestling media contact Gary Abbott for providing background information …

Greco-Roman standouts include Americans Lindsey Durlacher, Sam Hazewinkel and Harry Lester, along with Bulgaria’s Aleksander Kostadinov. Durlacher (55 kg) is a 2006 World Championships bronze medalist; Hazewinkel (55 kg) is the 2008 University Worlds champ; Lester (74 kg) is the 2006 and ‘07 World bronze medalist, and Kostadinov (55 kg) is the 2007 and ‘08 Junior World champion.

James Johnson

Incidentally, University of Kentucky graduate James Johnson, a three-time national champion, is coaching the Greco-Roman talent for the Sunkist Kids.

Top entrants in men’s freestyle include India’s Sushil Kumar and Russians Darsam Dzaparov, Magomed Zubairov and Evgeni Kolomiets. Kumar (66 kg) is the reigning Olympic bronze medalist; Dzaparov (66 kg) is the 2006 Junior World champion; Zubairov (74 kg) is the 2008 Junior World champion; and Kolomiets (96 kg) is the 2008 World University champion. 

Women’s freestylers include Carol Huynh, Clarissa Chun, Iwona Matkowska-Sadowska, Patricia Miranda, Katherine Fulp-Allen, Aka Tomar, Sylwia Bilenska, Tonya Verbeek, Tatyana Lazareva, Adeline Gray, Monika Ewa Michalik and Agnieszka Wieszczek.

At 48 kg, Canada’s Huynh is the 2008 Olympic gold medalist; Team USA’s Chun is the 2008 World champion; and Poland’s Matkowska-Sadowska is the 2006 World bronze-medalist. 

At 51 kg, Miranda is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist and four-time winner of the Schultz Memorial, and fellow American Fulp-Allen is the 2008 Junior World champion.

At 55 kg, India’s Tomar is the 2006 World bronze medalist; Poland’s Bilenska is the 2004 World University champion; Canada’s Verbeek is the 2004 and ‘08 Olympic bronze medalist; and Ukraine’s Lazareva is the 2004 World University champion and ‘08 World silver medalist. 

Gray, of the U.S., is the 2008 Junior World champ at 67 kg, while Poland’s Michalik is the 2006 and ‘07 World bronze medalist.

Wieszczek, also a Pole, is the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist.

* Wrestling is on tap in Lexington as well. The Lexington City Championships will take place Saturday at Tates Creek High School. Finals begin at 1:30 p.m.

Arkansas visits UK gymnasts; Hall of Fame class named

Switching from wrestling mat to floor exercise mat, Kentucky’s women will entertain third-ranked Arkansas in a Southeastern Conference meet, Friday at 7 p.m. This will be the annual “Pink Meet” at Memorial Coliseum, in support of UK HealthCare’s Markey Cancer Center.

The Cats have dropped three straight SEC meets after opening with a non-conference victory over Utah State. Arkansas is 4-1 overall, 2-0 in the SEC.

Admission is $1 for fans wearing pink, full price for others. A portion of proceeds will benefit breast cancer research, education and treatment at the Markey Cancer Center. The first 300 fans will receive a pink mug.

Friday also is designated as Girl Scouts Night, with free admission for those wearing Girl Scouts uniforms or T-shirts.

Heather Hite

After the meet, UK’s sophomore gymnasts will sign autographs.

Last week, at No. 8 Florida, Heather Hite and Hillary Ferguson led UK on the balance beam, each scoring 9.750 to tie for second place.

Hillary Ferguson

Natalie Rubinstein, ranked 18th on the uneven bars, led the Cats in that event as she has all season, scoring 9.825.

Ferguson, No. 21 nationally in floor exercise, scored 9.825 at Florida to place third overall. She also took third in the all-around at 39.075.

Natalie Rubinstein

Arkansas, coming off a win over No. 9 Alabama, is led by Casey Jo Magee. Ranked third nationally, she won her fifth all-around of the season by scoring 39.450. Ranked No. 2 on the floor, she scored 9.925 in that event.

* USA Gymnastics this week announced its 2009 class of inductees for the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

The HOFers include: 2004 Olympic all-around gold medalist Carly Patterson; 2004 rhythmic Olympian Mary Sanders; 2000 Olympian Steve McCain; and 1996 Olympian John Macready.

Also elected: two-time World Acrobatic champions Shenea Booth and Arthur Davis; trampoline and tumbling coach/judge Pat Wilson Henderson; trampolinist James Yongue; Temple University coach Fred Turoff, and the 1999 World Championships gold-medal double mini-trampoline team of Karl Heger, Mark Griffith, Byron Smith and Ryan Weston.

The Hall of Fame luncheon and induction ceremony is set for Friday, Aug. 14, as part of the USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show at Dallas, which is held in conjunction with the Visa Championships. More information is available at www.usa-gymnastics.org.

In the “timing is everything” department Wednesday comes an e-mail notice from the Cincinnati Reds which reads in part:

“The Reds are welcoming fans to choose their seats in person at the annual Select-Your-Seat event Saturday, Jan. 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Stop by Great American Ball Park and get an exclusive tour of the press box, where you can take in a view of the ballpark and select your seats for 2009. You’ll even have a chance to head out into the stadium and check out your seats up close.

Great American Ball Park

Saturday is also the last day to guarantee your seats for Opening Day at the best prices of the year with a Reds ticket plan. Save up to 22 percent on 2009 pricing if you buy before Feb. 1.”

As snow-laden trees, with a thick undercoat of ice, continue to fall around much of Central Kentucky, you’ve got to admire the Reds’ optimism for a Saturday promotion.

Admission is free. For more information and parking details, call the Reds at 513 765-7500. Or check on the web: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/ticketing/selectaseat.jsp.

Notes on the run

Former Murray State and University of Louisville standout Wesley Korir earned $2,500 last weekend by winning a half-marathon at Carlsbad, Calif.

Korir, a Kenyan now living in Oakland, Calif., netted $1,500 for first place and a $1,000 bonus for his sub-1:04 time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 45 seconds, the fastest time at Carlsbad since Jenko Bensa ran 1:02:38 in 2000. Runner-up to Korir, Sergio Reyes of California, clocked in at 1:04:17.

Korir missed out on a $15,000 payday in October, when he finished fourth in the Chicago Marathon. Because he was not seeded with elite runners at the front, he was ineligible for prize money in that race.

* USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week is German Fernandez of Oklahoma State, who ran the fastest indoor mile ever by a junior athlete. Competing in the Razorback Invitational at Arkansas, Fernandez was timed in 3:56.50. That broke the world junior best of 3:58.34, set last year by Boaz Lalang of Kenya.

Other noteworthy performances included:

* Derek Miles, Olympic pole-vaulter, clearing a world-leading 19 feet, 1 inch at Vermillion, S.D.;

* Christian Cantwell, Olympic silver-medalist, with a world-leading shot put of 70-5.25 at Nordhausen, Germany;

* And Porscha Lucas, Texas A&M, sweeping the 60 (7.30) and 200 (world-leading 23.39) in the Texas-Texas A&M Dual.

The Ice Man cometh

Mark Johnson has been named head coach of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team that will compete at Vancouver. He is in his seventh season as coach at Wisconsin, where his winning percentage of .802 coming into the season leads active coaches in NCAA Division I.

Mark Johnson

Johnson also will coach Team USA at this year’s World Championships, April 4-12, at Hameenlinna, Finland, and also during other pre-Olympic competitions.

Many remember Johnson as the leading scorer (11 points) on the 1980 “Miracle On Ice” men’s gold-medal team at the Lake Placid Olympics. He scored two goals in the “Miracle” win over the Soviet Union. The son of Hall of Fame coach Bob Johnson, he went on to score 508 points over 669 games in the National Hockey League.

Since women’s hockey was added to the Olympic program, Team USA has won gold (1998, Nagano), silver (2002, Salt Lake City) and bronze (2006, Torino). All three teams were coached by Ben Smith.

Olympic cyclist Amber Neben of Irvine, Calif., captured first place in the elite women’s time trial Wednesday at the UCI Road World Championships in Varese, Italy.

Neben’s time of 33 minutes, 51.35 seconds for 25 kilometers was seven seconds faster than Christine Soeder of Austria. Judith Arndt of Germany was another 14 seconds behind, taking the bronze medal in a field of 43 riders.

Neben placed fifth in 2005 and fourth in 2007. She is the fourth American to win an elite women’s time trial world title. The others are Beijing Olympics gold-medalist Kristin Armstrong (2006), Mari Holden (2000) and Karen Kurreck (1994). The U.S. is tied with France for most world titles since the event became a World Champs discipline in 1994.

Neben’s win Wednesday and Armstrong’s win at Beijing mark the first time one country has won women’s World and Olympic cycling titles in the same year in the same event.

Armstrong finished fifth Wednesday, 25 seconds behind Neben and two seconds back of fourth-place Tatiana Antoshina of Russia. Christine Thorburn of Sunnyvale, Calif., finished 12th.

A late-race mechanical mishap kept Neben from a shot at an Olympic medal last month. Since then, she also won the five-day Tour of Ardeche in France and had top-five time-trial finishes in Italy and Switzerland.