Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Gavin Smellie

Former Western Kentucky University Gavin Smellie is no longer on the bubble.

He’s in the Olympics.

Smellie was named to the Canadian Olympic track and field squad in the 4-by-100-meter relay over the weekend.

However, it was not certain at that time that Canada would be among the 16 relay teams to qualify for the Summer Olympic Games in London.

Word came Tuesday, though, that Canada will run as the No. 11 seed.

Smellie is the second Hilltopper to qualify for the London Olympics.

Claire Donahue qualified for the U.S. Swim Team last week, placing second in the 100-meter butterfly.

The Canadian track relay team qualified with a two-race average time of 38.64 seconds.  Jamaica qualified with the fastest time of 37.56.

A native of Etobicoke, Ontario, Smellie twice earned All-America honors during his career on the Hill from 2006-10.  He was part of the 2008 All-American 4-by-400-meter relay team at the 2008 NCAA Indoor championships, and won individual All-America recognition in the 200 meters at the 2009 Outdoor championships.  He was also the 2009 Mideast Regional champion in the 200.

Smellie was named all-Sun Belt Conference multiple times during his career, and was selected as the  Most Outstanding Performer at both the 2008 SBC Indoor Championships and 2009 Outdoors.

Among his international competition, Smellie ran in the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and finished sixth in the 200 at the 25th Summer Universiade in Belgrade, Serbia.

Okoro wins title in Africa

Former University of Louisville and Russell High School standout Chinwe Okoro won the women’s discus competition last weekend in the 18th African Senior Athletic Championships at Porto-Novo, Benin Republic.

Representing Nigeria, Okoro moved from fourth place to third by reaching 178 feet, 11 inches on her fourth attempt. She won on her sixth and final throw, 185-8.

Okoro also placed second in the shot put with a distance of 53-2 1/4.

In June of 2011, Okoro won the shot put at the 65th All Nigeria/Cross River State Athletics Championships.

Of Nigerian descent, Okoro is a native of Darien, Ill., and a three-time national All-Academic Team honoree who graduated with a 3.88 grade-point average in biology. Recently, she was named a 2011-12 Big East Conference Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award winner.

Okoro helped U of L to a fifth straight Big East Conference outdoor title, winning her first league title in the shot put. She graduated as a three-time outdoor All-American.

Meanwhile, former Card and two-time NCAA champion Matt Hughes placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at last weekend’s Canadian Olympic Trials, clocked in 8:47.65. And current U of L team member Michelle Theophille placed second in the women’s high jump by clearing 6 feet.

Neither performance Hughes nor Theophille met the Olympic standard, though.

Of course, I’m talking about the indoor track and field season kicking into gear.

The University of Kentucky Invitational is set for Friday and Saturday inside Nutter Field House.

Along with UK, men’s and women’s teams from Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky State, Louisville, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Michigan State, Western Carolina and Alabama will compete. Florida A&M will compete in men’s events only. Central Florida, Marshall and Vanderbilt will send only women’s teams.

Friday’s competition, limited to the weight throws and triple jumps for men and women, plus men’s high jump and women’s pole vault, begins at 6 p.m.

Saturday’s schedule starts at 10:30 a.m. with the women’s high jump and long jump. The first track event, semifinals of the women’s 60-meter hurdles, is set for 12:30 p.m. The final event, the men’s 4-by-400-meter relay, is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

First Bowerman Watch List released

The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee, in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, released its first crop of candidates for collegiate track and field’s most prestigious award. All three of last season’s finalists have graduated.

The list of possible successors includes 2009 finalist German Fernandez and three sophomores. Washington State’s Jeshua Anderson is on the list for a record ninth time.

One, Alabama’s Kirani James, is scheduled to compete at UK this weekend.

The preliminary watch list, in alphabetical order, with athlete, year, school, event(s) and hometown:

Jeshua Anderson, sr., Washington State, hurdles, Woodlands, Calif.
Robby Andrews, soph., Virginia, distance, Englishtown, N.J.
Sam Chelanga, sr., Liberty, distance, Nairobi, Kenya
Charles Clark, sr., Florida State, sprints, Virginia Beach, Va.
Jeff Demps, soph./jr., Florida, sprints, Winter Garden, Fla.
German Fernandez, jr./soph., Oklahoma State, distance, Riverbank, Calif.
Mason Finley, soph., Kansas, throws, Salida, Colo.
Walter Henning, sr., LSU, throws, Kings Park, N.Y.
Kirani James, soph., Alabama, sprints, Gouyave, Grenada
Christian Taylor, jr., Florida, jumps, Fayetteville, Ga.

Kentucky connections on T&FN annual list

Tyson Gay at the Beijing Olympics.

Track & Field News magazine’s annual lists of Top 40 performers in the nation for the 2010 season is loaded with Kentucky connections. In addition to the top 40 nationals, T&FN tacks on a list of foreign collegians.

Event leaders included Lexington’s Tyson Gay in the men’s 100 and former UK competitor Dwight Phillips in the men’s long jump. Gay had six of the 10 fastest times by an American in 2010, including the top three. Phillips had the top 11 best jumps by an American last season, ranging from 27-9 1/4 to 27-2.

Here are the Kentucky connections listed.

WOMEN
100-meter hurdles — 5. Danielle Carruthers (Paducah Tilghman) 12.68.
Mile — (foreign collegian) Janet Jesang (WKU) 4:41.57.
3,000 — (foreign collegian) Janet Jesang (WKU) 9:11.09.
5,000 — 24. Allison Grace (UK) 15:49.10.
10,000 – 11. Allison Grace (UK) 32:54.99.
Half-marathon — 22. Allison Grace (UK) 74:20.
4-by-200 relay — 18. UK 1:35.23.
4-by-400 relay — 32. UK 3:35.14.
Shot put — 8. Ashley Muffet (UK) 57-3 1/2; 17. Jere’ Summers (Lvl.) 55-9 1/4; 36. Chinwe Okoro (Russell, Lvl.) 52-7 1/4.
Discus — 8. Jere’ Summers (Lvl.) 188-1; 13. Ashley Muffet (UK) 181-10; 32. Mary Angell (UK) 173-0; 37. D’Ana McCarty (Lvl.) 171-5.
Hammer throw — 11. Kristin Smith (UK) 212-7; 19. Jere’ Summers (Lvl.) 207-4; 29. D’Ana McCarty (Lvl.) 204-2; 40. Lindsey Cook (Lvl.) 195-9.
Javelin — 10. Dana Pounds Lyon (Lexington) 172-6.
Heptathlon — 22. Precious Nwokey (UK) 5,543.

MEN
100 — 1. Tyson Gay (Lafayette) 9.78; (foreign collegian) Rondel Sorrillo (UK) 10.19 (10.05 wind-aided).
200 — 1. (tie with Walter Dix) Tyson Gay (Lafayette) 20.29; (foreign collegians) Rondel Sorrillo (UK) 20.29; Gavin Smellie (WKU) 20:46.
400 — 7. Tyson Gay (Lafayette) 44.89.
800 — 36. Sharif Webb (UK) 1:47.64.
3,000 — 29. Bobby Curtis (St. Xavier) 7:57.28; (foreign collegian) Soufiani Bouchikhi (EKU) 7:59.20.
5,000 — 10. Bobby Curtis (St. Xavier) 13:18.97.
10,000 — 4. Bobby Curtis (St. Xavier) 27:33.38.
20K walk — 15. Ray Sharp (Ballard) 1:46:24.
50K walk — 4. Ray Sharp (Ballard) 4:31:04
3,000 steeplechase — (foreign collegian) Matt Hughes (Lvl.) 8:34.18.
4-by-100 relay — UK 39.62.
4-by-200 relay — 18. WKU 1:24.36; 21. UK 1:24.72.
4-by-400 relay — 34. WKU 3:06.99.
Triple jump — 19. Andre Black (Lvl.) 53-4 1/4.
Long jump — 1. Dwight Phillips (UK) 27-9 1/4; 23. Wesley Smith (Lvl.) 25-8; 28. Tone Belt (Lvl.) 25-6 1/4; (foreign collegian) Rudon Bastian (Lvl.) 25-10.
Discus — 10. Chase Madison (UK) 201-0; 22. Rashaud Scott (UK) 193-8; 28. Colin Boevers (UK) 192-1.
Shot put — 2. Reese Hoffa (Lvl. native) 72-8 1/2; 11. Jeff Chakouian (UK) 65-11; 29. Steve Hnat (Lvl.) 62-6 3/4.
High jump — 30. Grant Lindsey (UK) 7-2 1/2.

Soufiane Bouchikhi

Eastern Kentucky University snared its fifth consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championship in both men’s and women’s cross country Saturday.

Meanwhile, Louisville’s men placed second and the women took eighth in the Big East Conference meet.

EKU’s men placed 1-through-5 to score a perfect 15 points, only the fourth time that has happened in conference history. EKU also pulled off sweeps in 1965 and 1989, and Western Kentucky did so in 1980. The Colonels, who now have 19 OVC men’s crowns, were followed by Southeast Missouri with 40 points.

EKU’s women upended Eastern Illinois 20-45.

Competing at the South Hills Golf Course in Cookeville, Tenn., the Colonels also had both individual winners.

Freshman Soufiane Bouchikhi won the men’s 8,000-meter race in 24 minutes, 56.73 seconds.

Kat Pagano

Senior Kat Pagano prevailed in the women’s 5,000-meter event, timed in 18:23.00.

“Today was less about individuals and more about teams,” said Coach Rick Erdmann, who won his 25th Women’s Coach of the Year award and his 17th Men’s Coach of the Year. “Both teams ran together and competed together, and I’m really proud of that. Hopefully this will give us some momentum heading into regionals.”

The NCAA Southeast Regionals are set for Nov. 13 at Louisville.

Bouchikhi followed in the footsteps of former Colonels Jacob Korir (2004-07), Joseph Maina (2008) and Wesley Ruttoh (2009) by being named OVC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year and OVC Male Freshman of the Year. Bouchikhi is the first freshman to win the event since Korir in 2004, and his time is the fastest in the event since 2007.

Pagano, already a two-time top 10 finisher in the OVCs, won her first title. She placed fifth in 2008 and fourth last year. She is the second straight Colonel to win the event and OVC Athlete of the Year honors, as Picoty Leitich won last year as a freshman.

EKU’s Hannah Miller, 12th in 19:10.40, earned OVC Freshman of the Year honors.

After Bouchikhi, EKU’s men had sophomore Victor Kemboi in 25:19.63, junior Evans Kiptoo (25:29.16), junior David Mutuse (25:35.22) and freshman Ole Hesselbjerg (25:43.19). SEMO’s Jason Lumpkin finished less than a second after Hesselbjerg.

EKU’s three non-scoring runners all placed in the top 14. Sophomore Daniel Jones came in 10th, with juniors Musa Kimuli and Chris Rice going 12-14. All eight Colonels earned all-conference honors.

After Eastern and SEMO came Eastern Illinois (95), Morehead State (108), Austin Peay (145), UT Martin (162), Tennessee Tech (189), Jacksonville State (211), Murray State (260) and Tennessee State (310).

EKU’s women won their 25th OVC title, sweeping the first three places and six of the top 12.

After Pagano came sophomore Jackline Barkechir (18:40.72) and Leitich (18:46.74). Senior Sylvia Bundotich placed sixth (18:58.83) and junior Danielle Mason took eighth (19:02.79).  Then came Miller, followed by freshman Natalie Field in 19th (19:41.30) and senior Ashli Joseph in 23rd (19:52.41).

After EKU and Eastern Illinois in the team standings, it was Murray in third (111), trailed by Jacksonville State (119), SEMO (158), Tech and Peay (181 each), Martin (183), Morehead (207) and Tennessee State (300).

All-OVC men

First team – Bouchikhi, Kemboi, Kiptoo, Mutuse, Hesselbjerg, Lumpkin, Brad LaRocque (Eastern Ill.)
Second team – Chris Loseman and Nate Shipley (SEMO), Jones, Enock Langat (Peay), Kimuli, Dustin Davis (SEMO), Rice.

All-OVC women

First team – Pagano, Barkechir, Leitich, Olivia Klaus (Eastern Ill.), Ericka Starn (Jacksonville), Bundotich, Gabriela Duenas (Eastern Ill.).
Second team – Mason, Brittany Arthur (Eastern Ill.), Katelyn Jones (Murray), Megan Gingerich (Eastern Ill.), Miller, Kasey Owens (SEMO), Erika Ramos (Eastern Ill.).

Eaton leads Louisville men

In the Big East Championships, held at Jamesville (N.Y.) Beach Park, Syracuse edged the U of L men 59-63. Villanova won the women’s title with 26 points, while Louisville rang up 272.

Michael Eaton, a senior, led Louisville’s men by placing second with an 8K time of 25:05.4. Lee Carey of Providence won in 24:56.8.

U of L’s Matt Hughes placed ninth (25:25.3). Tyler Byrne, 15th overall, was the top freshman in the race. Completing U of L’s scorers were Luke Lovelace and Gordon Dooley, 18th and 19th. The gap between Eaton and Dooley was a mere 53 seconds.

“I’m really proud of the men’s efforts today,” Cardinals Coach Brice Allen said. “They executed the game plan to a ‘T.’ We had the No. 1 senior and the No. 1 freshman in the conference.

“Michael ran the race today like a fifth-year senior. He was patient in the middle of the pack at the 800-meter mark; he moved into 15th place at the mile; by three miles, he moved into the top five; and with a mile to go he walked everyone down except the leader. That’s what you come to expect from a fifth-year senior.”

Emily Borsare led U of L’s women, placing 24th with a time of 21:55.1 for 6,000 meters. Kim Grieshaber was 43rd, Monica Hernandez 48th, Ariel Briggs 78th and Cassie Martin 79th.

“Emily ran a great race today,” Allen said. “She closed well and moved up 10 positions. To cap her cross country career, she ran well for the Cardinals.

“We’re looking forward to the regional race and the move on to nationals.”

The Louisville Sports Commission will host 97 colleges and universities from 20 states Saturday in the ninth annual Greater Louisville Classic, the largest college meet in the South.

More than 2,000 athletes are expected to compete at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park. The field includes 29 men’s teams and 23 women’s squads that are ranked in either the NAIA, NCAA (Divisions I, II, III) or National Junior College Athletic Association polls. NCAA Division II teams will be returning to Louisville for the national championships, Dec. 4.

U of L, ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Southeast Region, is the defending men’s team champion. Expected challengers to the Cardinals include Eastern Kentucky (No. 6 in the Southeast Region) and Colorado School of Mines (No. 3 in NCAA II). Others include the 4-7-8 teams in NCAA Division II – Grand Valley State, Southern Indiana and Queens (N.C.); 5-6 teams in NCAA I South Region — Georgia and Ole Miss; the No. 9 team in the NCAA I Midwest, Southern Illinois; and No. 11 in the Southeast, Davidson.

Men’s individual leaders include Mississippi’s Barnabas Kirui (fourth in 2009 NCAA, first in 2007 NCAA steeplechase), Queens’ Michael Crouch (D-II 1,500-meter champion) and Daniel Kirwa (D-II cross country runner-up), U of L’s Matt Hughes (D-I steeplechase champion) and Michael Eaton (2008 D-I track all-American), and EKU freshman sensation Bouchikhi Soufiane.

Leading women’s teams include the Nos. 3-4 teams in the NCAA South Region — Vanderbilt and Georgia — and the Nos. 2-4 Division II squads — Grand Valley State and Shippensburg.

Individuals to watch include Shippensburg’s Neely Spence (D-II 2008 cross country runner-up and two-time 5,000-meter champion), Western Washington’s Sarah Porter (D-II 2009 cross country runner-up and 2010 10,000-meter runner-up), Western Kentucky’s Marion Kandie, Kentucky’s Chelsea Oswald, U of L’s Kim Grieshaber and EKU’s Picoty Leitich.

Competition will be split into three divisions.  The schedule — men’s gold race, 9:30 a.m.; women’s gold, 10:15; men’s blue, 11; women’s blue, 11:45; men’s silver, 12:30 p.m.; women’s silver, 1:15 p.m.

After the collegiate races, more than 1,200 high school and middle school athletes from Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio will compete, starting at 2:30 p.m.

Latest rankings of NCAA Division I teams from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association have Kentucky and Louisville in a tight race.

With the regular season completed, the NCAA field is to be set Friday. The first round of the NCAA Championships will be held May 27-29 at Greensboro, N.C., and Austin, Texas.  

The Florida men and Oregon women have the No. 1 spots in the latest rankings.

Louisville’s men are 31st, two spots ahead of Kentucky. Western Kentucky is 56th.

UK’s women are rated No. 29, one spot ahead of U of L. WKU is No. 145.

Florida, winner of the Southeastern Conference championship, is among nine SEC men’s teams ranked in the nation’s top 25. The others: 5. LSU; 9. Auburn; 10. South Carolina; 12. Mississippi State; 15. Mississippi; 16. Georgia; 24. Alabama; 25. Arkansas.

The Big 12 leads the women’s top 25 with five ranked teams. The SEC has four in the top 25: 3. LSU; 6. Florida; 11. Auburn; 13 Arkansas.

For more on the rankings and links to guideline and rationale information, see:

http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings

Louisville’s men have a pair of athletes ranked among the nation’s top 10 in their events. Steve Hnat has the fourth-best mark in the shot put and Matt Hughes is No. 5 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

UK also has two men in the top 10: Rondel Sorrillo, seventh in the 200, and Sharif Webb, ninth in the 800. Sorrillo also ranks 11th in the 100 and is part of UK’s 20th-rated 4-by-100 relay.

Western’s Gavin Smellie is ranked No. 2 in the 200. He also is No. 48 in the 100 and runs on both the No. 16 4-by-400 relay and No. 27 4-by-100 relay.

Rankings in the Southeast Region have U of L fourth, UK 14th, Western eighth, Eastern Kentucky 36th and Morehead State 40th. (With rankings based on potential points, Western flip-flopped with UK from the national rankings. In other words, Western likely would score more points in regional competition, but UK would score more in nationals.)

UK’s ranked women are topped by Kristin Smith, fifth nationally in the hammer throw. Ashley Muffet is No. 6 in discus and No. 12 in shot put.

Louisville’s Jere’ Summers is ranked No. 1 in the discus, 7 in the hammer and 31st in the shot.

Regional team rankings have UK fifth, Louisville seventh, Western 11th, Eastern 38th, Murray State 42nd and Morehead 47th.

Virginia Tech’s men and Clemson’s women are the No. 1 teams in the Southeast Region.

National rankings

MEN

1. Florida; 2. Oregon; 3. Texas A&M; 4. Southern California; 5. LSU; 6. Arizona State; 7. Texas Tech; 8. Florida State; 9. Auburn; 10. South Carolina; 11. Brigham Young; 12. Mississippi State; 13. Stanford; 14. Oklahoma; 15. Mississippi; 16. Georgia; 17. Virginia Tech; 18. Baylor; 19. Kansas; 20. Nebraska; 21. Washington; 22. New Mexico; 23. Penn State; 24. Alabama; Arkansas.

WOMEN

1. Oregon; 2. Texas A&M; 3. LSU; 4. Oklahoma; 5. Virginia Tech; 6. Florida; 7. Penn State; 8. Clemson; 9. Florida State; 10. Texas; 11. Auburn; 12. Miami (Fla.); 13. Arkansas; 14. Texas-El Paso; 15. Southern California; 16. Indiana State; 17. Arizona; 18. Brigham Young; 19. Indiana; 20. Illinois; 21. Texas Tech; 22. Stanford; 23. New Mexico; 24. Southern Illinois; 25. Kansas.

Cats on SEC Community Service teams

Distance runners Andrea Halasek-Richardson, a senior, and Josh Nadzam, a junior, are UK’s selections to the SEC Community Service teams, which highlight an athlete from each school “who gives back to (the) community in superior service efforts.”

Women’s selection Halasek-Richardson, out of Scott County High School, compiled 124 1/2 hours of community service dating to 2006. She mentored at Johnson Elementary School and also contributed at Lansdowne Elementary, Cassidy Elementary, Habitat for Humanity and Wildcat Track Club.

Nadzam, the men’s selection, served 89 1/2 hours in 2009. Nearly half of that time was spent at the Ronald McDonald House. He also served at the Kentucky Refugee Ministry, Hope Center, Catholic Action Center, Monaca (Pa.) High School and Calvary Baptist Church.

Johnson will play for USA in Canada, Japan

UK's Molly Johnson

Kentucky senior Molly Johnson has been named to Team USA rosters for an international softball series coming this summer. The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America made the announcement.

Johnson, who plays primarily at shortstop, will play in the Canadian Open Fast Pitch International Championships, July 7-11, at Surrey, British Columbia, as well as exhibitions July 13-14 at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. (Lexington hockey fans may recall Whitehorse as hometown of Kentucky Thoroughblades captain Jarrett Deuling.)

Then, Johnson and Team USA will head to Sendai City, Japan, to play in the Japan Cup, Aug. 3-9.

For the third time in four years, Eastern Kentucky has the Male Outdoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Here’s a look at that item, along with EKU’s third-place finishes at the OVC Championships and what’s up with the University of Kentucky, which a conference Runner of the Week.

Track and field fans in the Lexington area will want to mark Thursday on the calendar. That’s when the public schools will gather at Paul Laurence Dunbar for the City High School Championships, starting at 6 p.m.

OVC Freshman of the Year

Soufiane Bouchikhi, from Antwerp, Belgium, is the OVC Male Freshman of the Year for the outdoor season, replicating what he achieved indoors.

Soufiane Bouchikhi

He follows in the footsteps of teammates Elkana Kurgat and Shannon Davis, who won OVC Male Freshman honors for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The award was created in 2005.

Bouchikhi posted the fastest 5,000 meters in the conference this season, 14:01.74, to place second at the Penn Relays – a mere two-hundredths of a second behind Lewis Woodard of William & Mary.

The full list of OVC award winners: Megan Gingerich, Eastern Illinois (Female Track Athlete of the Year); Kandace Arnold, Eastern Illinois (Female Field Athlete); Elizabeth Bond, Jacksonville State, and Jerika Lewis, Southeast Missouri (Freshman Co-Athletes); Chris Gill, Southeast Missouri (Male Track Athlete); Brandon Colbert, Southeast Missouri (Male Field Athlete), and Bouchikhi. 

OVC Championships

EKU’s men and women both placed third in last weekend’s rain-shortened OVC Championships at Tennessee Tech, winning eight individual titles.

Heading the list was Bouchikhi, who took the 5,000 in 15:00.37.

Eastern Illinois won the men’s title with 261 points, followed by Southeast Missouri with 128, EKU with 106, Tennessee State with 61 and Morehead State with 22.

EKU’s other male champions were Christopher Rengifo in the 1,500 (3:54.19), Joseph Maina in the 10,000 (30:23.75) and David Mutuse in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:39.72).

Eastern Illinois’ women prevailed with 212 points, followed by SEMO (155 1/2), EKU (131), Jacksonville State (73 1/2), Tennessee Tech (67), Austin Peay (66 1/2), Tennessee State (42 1/2), Murray State (30) and Morehead State (1).

EKU winners were Diamond Benjamin in the 100 (11.94), Lydia Kosgei in the 1,500 (4:39.99), Kat Pagano in the 5,000 (17:29.35) and the 4-by-100-meter relay team of Benjamin, Lutisha Bowen, Jazzmin Jeter and DanHeisha Harding (46.65).

Sorrillo, Banks win at Ohio State

Victories by Rondel Sorrillo, David Banks, Kristin Smith and Ashley Muffet highlighted Kentucky’s showing in the Jesse Owens Track Classic at Ohio State.

Rondel Sorrillo

Sorrillo, an Olympian from Trinidad and Tobago, showed that his progress is continuing after suffering a hamstring injury late in the indoor season. His winning time of 10.33 for 100 meters — his first try at the distance this season — puts him among the top 20 collegiate performers this season. Yet, he had to recover after stumbling out of the starting blocks.

No wonder the senior was named Male Runner of the Week in the Southeastern Conference.

Banks eclipsed his school record in the triple jump by half an inch, winning the event with a distance of 51 feet, 5 1/2 inches.

Ashley Muffet

Smith notched the second-best mark in school history to win the hammer throw at 208-7. That moved her from 12th in the national rankings to No. 4.

Muffet uncorked her best effort in nearly four years to take shot-put honors at 53-11 1/4. That improved her national ranking from No 16 to No. 11.

Other top performers for UK including Josh Nazdam, fourth in the men’s 1,500 (3:47.07) and Samantha Stenzel, who matched her school record (12-7 1/2) to tie for third in the women’s pole vault.

Aggies on top

Texas A&M is No. 1 in both the men’s and women’s rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Aggies are defending NCAA champions in each.

The SEC has eight of the top 25 men’s teams (3. Florida; 7. LSU; 8. Auburn; 12. Mississippi; 13. Mississippi State; 16. South Carolina; 23. Georgia; 25. Arkansas) and four of the top 25 women’s squads (2. LSU; 9. Arkansas; 10. Florida; 14. Auburn).

Among area men’s teams, Louisville is No. 29, Kentucky is No. 43 and Western Kentucky is No. 54

On the women’s side, UK is 30th, U of L 32nd and Western 131st.

In-state individuals with top 10 rankings are U of L men Matt Hughes (4. steeplechase), Steve Hnat (8. shot put) and Tone Belt (9. long jump) and woman Jere’ Summers (6. discus and hammer throw); UK men Sharif Webb (8. 800) and Colin Boevers (10. discus), and women Kristin Smith (4. hammer throw) and Ashley Muffet (5. discus); and WKU male Gavin Smellie (3. 200).

For more details, see: http://www.ustfccca.org/featured/dual-defending-champion-aggies-move-to-nation%e2%80%99s-top-spot-once-again

For team-by-team reports, see: http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings