Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

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.

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:

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.

Rondel Sorrillo

Kentucky landed six athletes on the list, topped by three-event honoree Rondel Sorrillo. He won the NCAA 200-meter dash and was runner-up in the 100. Sorrillo, Sean Lange, Kwasi Obeng and Alex Williams all earned All-America status in the 4-by-100 relay. 

The Wildcats also were represented by Colin Boevers in the men’s discus and Ashley Muffet in the women’s discus and shot put.

Forty-nine SEC men earned 65 honors, while 34 women garnered 51 awards.

Florida led the men’s list with 11 individuals, while LSU was first among the women with eight individuals.

Sorrillo was one of two men to earn awards in three events. The other was South Carolina’s Johnny Dutch (110-meter hurdles, 400 hurdles, 4-by-400 relay).

Three women earned three-event honors: Auburn’s Joanna Atkins (400, 4-by-100, 4-by-400), Auburn’s Sheniqua Ferguson (100, 200, 4-by-100), LSU’s Samantha Henry (200, 4-by-100, 4-by-400) and LSU’s Takeia Pinckney (100, 200, 4-by-100).

Florida led SEC teams in the NCAA Championships, placing second in the men’s standings and third in the women’s standings. UK, with Sorrillo doing all the scoring, placed 13th in the men’s events. The UK women tied for 51st in the nation.

Bowerman candidate Lists of 10 announced

The USTFCCCA has released the lists of 10 men and 10 women that will be considered for The Bowerman Award. The Bowerman is college track and field’s version of football’s Heisman Trophy, presented to the top athlete in the sport on an annual basis.

The groups of 10 will be trimmed to three men and three women by a 10-member Bowerman Advisory Board. The board, chaired by Herman Frazier, senior associate athletics director for sports administration at Temple University, will release its selections July 12.

Then, Bowerman Voters — a group of about 100 national and regional media members, statisticians, administrators and presidents of affiliated organizations — will cast the final votes. Voters include this writer and last year’s winners: Galen Rupp and Jenny Barringer.

The winners will be announced at the USTFCCCA Convention, Dec. 13-16, at San Antonio Texas.

The top 10 lists, in alphabetical order, follow.

WOMEN

Semoy Hackett

Queen Harrison

Kylie Hutson

Semoy Hackett, Lincoln (Mo.) — Sophomore sprinter from Trinidad & Tobago won five NCAA Division II titles, setting three meet records.

Kylie Hutson, Indiana State — Senior from Terre Haute, Ind., swept NCAA pole-vault titles indoors and outdoors, setting a meet record outdoors, and was undefeated in collegiate competition.

Mariam Kevkhishvili

Lisa Koll

Porscha Lucas

Mariam Kevkhishvili, Florida — Senior from the nation of Georgia swept NCAA shot-put titles indoors and outdoors, was undefeated and surpassed 60 feet four times.

Lisa Koll, Iowa State — Senior from Fort Dodge, Iowa, won the NCAA 5,000 and 10,000 meters outdoors, 5,000 meters indoors and set a 10,000-meter collegiate record of 31:18.07.

Porscha Lucas, Texas A&M — Senior from Plano, Texas, won NCAA titles in the 200 and 4-by-100 relay, running the second leg on an undefeated relay, and placed second in the 100.

Francena McCorory

Blessing Okagbare

Francena McCorory, Hampton — Junior from Hampton, Va., won the indoor and outdoor 400-meter titles, setting an American indoor record of 50.54.

Blessing Okagbare, Texas-El Paso — Senior from Nigeria is the first woman to win the 100 meters and long jump in the same NCAA Championships; also swept 60 meters and long jump indoors.

Brianne Theisen

Phoebe Wright

Brianne Theisen, Oregon — Junior from Canada swept NCAA multi-event titles (pentathlon indoors, heptathlon outdoors) and led off the winning 4-by-400 relay.

Phoebe Wright, Tennessee — Senior from Signal Mountain, Tenn., swept NCAA 800 crowns, was undefeated at that distance, led off the NCAA Indoor-champion distance medley relay and ran on three Penn Relays championship teams.

MEN

Sam Chelanga

Johnny Dutch

Jeff Demps

Sam Chelanga, Liberty — Red-shirt junior from Kenya won the NCAA 10,000 meters and, earlier in the season, sliced 20 seconds off his own collegiate record in the event.

Jeff Demps, Florida — Frosh (indoors)/soph (outdoors) from Winter Garden, Fla., won NCAA sprint titles indoors at 60 meters and outdoors at 100, and anchored the winning 4-by-100 relay outdoors.

Johnny Dutch, South Carolina — Junior from Clayton, N.C., won the NCAA 400-meter hurdles, running the fourth-best time in the world (48.12) in the quarterfinals, and also was a finalist in the 110-meter hurdles and 4-by-400 relay.

Ashton Eaton

Kirani James

Walter Henning

Ashton Eaton, Oregon — Senior from Bend, Ore., won a second straight NCAA heptathlon title indoors, setting a world record in the process, and took his third straight decathlon championship outdoors.

Walter Henning, LSU — Junior from Kings Park, N.Y., won national crowns in the 35-pound weight throw indoors and in the hammer throw outdoors, the first such double since 2006.

Kirani James, Alabama — Freshman from Grenada, at 17, won the NCAA 400 meters in 45.01.

David McNeill

Christian Taylor

David McNeill, Northern Arizona — Senior from Australia swept NCAA 5,000-meter titles indoors and outdoors, clocking 13:25.63 in the latter.

Christian Taylor, Florida — Sophomore from Fayetteville, Ga., is the first to sweep NCAA triple jump titles, indoors and outdoors, since 2002, and also was runner-up in the long jump at both meets.

Ryan Whiting

Andrew Wheating

Andrew Wheating, Oregon — Senior from Norwich, Vt., is the first man to sweep the NCAA Outdoor 800 and 1,500 crowns since 1984; also anchored the Ducks’ first-place distance medley relay indoors.

Ryan Whiting, Arizona State — Senior from Harrisburg, Pa., won the NCAA shot put indoors and outdoors, recording eight puts beyond 70 feet, and added the discus crown outdoors.

Cally Macumber

Kentucky’s Cally Macumber is Female Freshman of the Week in Southeastern Conference track and field, while Eastern Kentucky’s Soufiane Bouchikhi and Kat Pagano have been honored by the Ohio Valley Conference. All three athletes competed at last weekend’s 116th Penn Relays.

Macumber, from Rochester Hills, Mich., lowered her personal best for 5,000 meters by more than 20 seconds, placing 14th in Penn’s college championship division with a time of 16:43.61. That boosts her to the top five in the SEC this season.

Soufiane Bouchikhi

Bouchikhi, a freshman from Antwerp, Belgium, is OVC Male Track Co-Athlete of the Week. Pagano, a junior from Hollis, Maine, is OVC Female Track Co-Athlete of the Week.

Bouchikhi placed second, nosed out at the finish by William and Mary’s Lewis Woodard, in the 5,000-meter run. Bouchikhi crossed the line in 14:01.71, two-hundredths of a second behind Woodard. That leads the OVC this season by nearly 40 seconds, trailed by teammate David Mutuse in 14:40.71.

Kat Pagano

Pagano set a school record of 36:06.00 for 10,000 meters, placing 14th. The time is the fastest of the season in the OVC by nearly two minutes. The former EKU record of 36:13.15 was set by Sarah Blossom in 1999.

Other SEC weekly award winners are: Tennessee senior Phoebe Wright (Female Runner); Florida senior Mariam Kevkhishvili (Female Field Athlete); LSU sophomore Barrett Nugent (Male Runner); LSU junior Walter Henning (Male Field Athlete), and Florida’s Omar Craddock (Male Freshman). All competed at the Penn Relays.

Wright (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) led Tennessee to wins in the distance medley (2:02.12 800-meter split), 4-by-1,500 (4:17.3 anchor) and 4-by-800 (meet-record 2:00.89 anchor) relays.

Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, nation of Georgia) captured the shot put (59-7 1/2) with the third-best mark in meet history.

Nugent (Maurice, La.) won the 110-meter hurdles (13.58). His time is a personal best, fastest in the SEC this season and ranks third in the NCAA.

Henning (Kings Park, N.Y.) won his second straight Penn hammer throw (237-9) — by more than 22 feet — and was named College Men’s Individual Athlete of the Meet.

Craddock (Kileen, Texas) snared triple jump honors (53-3 1/2), defeating the nation’s top two ranked individuals (Alphonso Gordon of Georgia Tech and Zuheir Sharif of Texas A&M). 

Other OVC weekly award winners are Southeast Missouri seniors Chris Gill (Male Track Co-Athlete), Juli Koenegstein (Female Track Co-Athlete) and Brandon Colbert (Male Field Athlete), and Austin Peay senior Molly Bartkiewicz (Female Field Athlete).

Gill (O’Fallon, Mo.) placed first at 400 meters (OVC-leading 47.64) at the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Twilight Meet.

Koenegstein (Chester, Ill.) placed ninth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (OVC-leading 10:48.93) at the Drake Relays.

Colbert (Troy, Mo.) had three top 20 finishes at Drake — second in the discus (OVC-leading 175-0), ninth in the shot put (53-7 3/4) and 18th in the hammer throw (181-6).

Bartkiewicz (Westlake, Ohio) placed third at Penn, clearing 12-10 in the pole vault.

Former University of Louisville star Angel McCoughtry is among 12 players added Wednesday to the 2010-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team roster.

The 12 additions brings to 20 the player pool from which this year’s World Championships team and 2012 Summer Olympics teams will be chosen. Team USA first must qualify for the latter tournament.

McCoughtry, reigning Rookie of the Year in the WNBA, plays for the Atlanta Dream. She also was part of Team USA’s gold-medal squad at the 2007 Pan American Games.

Others added to the roster by the five-member Player Selection Committee are: Alana Beard (Washington Mystics), Swin Cash (Seattle Storm), Tina Charles (University of Connecticut), Shameka Christon (New York Liberty), Candice Dupree (Chicago Sky), Lindsey Harding (Washington Mystics), Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut Sun), Maya Moore (University of Connecticut), Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx) and Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx).

UConn’s Geno Auriemma is head coach.

Players previously named the team are: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks), Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury).

Monkey business

By the way, you may have noticed that I’m baaaccckk.

Back from the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, a working vacation. For details, see my personal blog:
www.monkeyalarm.com

SEC has most track teams nationally ranked

The Southeastern Conference dominates the latest Indoor Track & Field national rankings of NCAA Division I teams, compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The SEC has seven men’s teams among the top 25 and six women’s teams. The Big 12 is second in both categories with six men’s teams and five women’s squads.

Louisville is the lone in-state representative, with the 13th-ranked women’s program.

The top seven men’s rankings in the Southeast Region, in order: Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Louisville, South Carolina, Clemson, Kentucky and Virginia.

The Southeast Region top seven women’s teams: Clemson, South Carolina, Louisville, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Duke and Virginia.

Men’s rankings
Rank  Team (Points)                 Previous rank
 1. Texas A&M (141.69)                           1
 2. Florida (136.89)                                   4
 3. Oregon (134.27)                                  2
 4. LSU (109.18)                                        3
 5. Arizona State (107.75)                        5
 6. Arkansas (91.80)                                 6
 7. Texas Tech (91.19)                             9
 8. Virginia Tech (80.81)                        15
 9. Oklahoma (75.10)                             12
10. Indiana (71.67)                                   7
11. Nebraska (69.31)                              8
12. Minnesota (65.06)                            17
13. Penn State (64.53)                           11
14. Florida State (63.65)                        13
15. Stanford (62.08)                                14
16. California (55.78)                              24
17. Northern Arizona (53.64)                 19
18. Auburn (50.94)                                  16
19. Baylor (50.91)                                    10
20. South Carolina (46.02)                     –
21. Arizona (45.76)                                  18
22. New Mexico (44.69)                          22
23. Mississippi (44.02)                            –
24. Georgia (44.00)                                 25
25. Texas (43.78)                                      –

Women’s rankings
Rank  Team (Points)                 Previous rank
 1. Oregon (185.55)                                 1
 2. Texas A&M (158.94)                           2
 3. Florida (113.51)                                  3
 4. Clemson (108.53)                              7
 5. Tennessee (108.03)                          4
 6. LSU (102.35)                                       5
 7. Penn State (99.38)                           10
 8. Arkansas (97.84)                                6
 9. Villanova (79.07)                                 8
10. Texas-El Paso (78.12)                   17
11. Auburn (72.23)                                   9
12. Southern Illinois (59.52)                12
13. Louisville (59.11)                            13
14. Arizona (58.62)                                16
15. Brigham Young (58.15)                 11
16. Indiana State (57.93)                      18
17. Florida State (56.64)                       20
18. Nebraska (56.02)                            14
19. Oklahoma (53.27)                           15
20. Indiana (49.90)                                19
21. Iowa State (49.57)                            –
22. Virginia Tech (49.04)                      21
23. South Carolina (46.35)                    –
24. Texas Tech (42.52)                          –
25. Miami (Fla.) (38.98)                          –

Louisville 1-2 in women’s weight throw

D'Ana McCarty

Highlighting individual rankings is the women’s weight throw, where Louisville’s D’Ana McCarty (74-0 1/4) and Jere’ Summers (73-4) are 1-2 and UK’s Kristin Smith (67-6) is No. 8.

Event-by-event leaders, plus in-state representatives among the top 25, follow.

Men
60 meters — Jeff Demps (Fla.) 6.59; tie 2. Rondel Sorrillo (Ky.) 6.60; tie 20. Justin Austin (Ky.) 6.69.
200 — (tie) Calvin Smith (Fla.) and Charles Clark (Fla. St.) 20.67; 5. Rondel Sorrillo (Ky.) 20.77.
400 — Torrin Lawrence (Ga.) 45.03.
800 — Andrew Wheating (Ore.) 1:46.3.
Mile — Lee Emanuel (N.M.) 3:57.62.
3,000 — David McNeill (Northern Ariz.) 7:47.52.
5,000 — David McNeill (Northern Ariz.) 13:39.32.
60 hurdles — Ronnie Ash (Okla.) 7.59.
4×400 relay — Texas A&M 3:04.86.
Distance medley relay — Oregon 9:29.82.
High jump — (tie) Paul Hamilton (Neb.) and Derek Drouin (Ind.) 7-5; tie 12. Tone Belt (U of L) 7-2 1/4.
Pole vault — Scott Roth (Wash.) 18-9 1/4.
Long jump — Alain Bailey (Ark.) 26-9 3/4; tie 7. Rudon Bastion (U of L) 25-10; tie 13. Tone Belt (U of L) 25-6 1/4; 16. Wesley Smith (U of L) 25-4 1/2.
Triple jump — Christian Taylor (Fla.) 55-2 3/4; 14. Andre Black (U of L) 52-7 1/4.
Shot put — Ryan Whiting (Ariz. St.) 70-7 1/4.
Weight throw — Walter Henning (LSU) 78-1.
Heptathlon — Ashton Eaton (Ore.) 6,256.

Women
60 — (tie) Blessing Okagbare (Texas-El Paso) and Layka Brookins (S.C.) 7.18.
200 — Shavon Greaves (Penn St.) 22.98.
400 — Jessica Beard (Texas A&M) 51.15; 25. Jenna Martin (Ky.) 53.76.
800 — Phoebe Wright (Tenn.) 2:01.47.
Mile — Charlotte Browning (Fla.) 4:31.24; 17. Janet Jesang (Western Ky.) 4:41.57.
3,000 — Lisa Koll (Iowa St.) 8:56.09; 8. Janet Jesang (Western Ky.) 9:11.09.
5,000 — Lisa Koll (Iowa St.) 15:29.65; 13. Janet Jesang (Western Ky.) 16:04.48.
60 hurdles — Queen Quedith (Va. Tech) 7.94.
4×400 relay — Arkansas 3:32.87; 15. Kentucky 3:37.90.
Distance medley relay — Oregon 10:59.64.
High jump — (tie) Elizabeth Patterson (Ariz. St.) and Amber Kaufman (Hawaii) 6-3 1/2; tie 25. Rachel Gehret (U of L) 5-10 3/4.
Pole vault — Kylie Hutson (Ind. St.) 14-8 1/4.
Long jump — Blessing Okagbare (Texas-El Paso) 21-11 3/4.
Triple jump — Kimberly Williams (Fla. St.) 46-8 1/4.
Shot put — Mariam Kevkhishvilli (Fla.) 60-10 3/4; 6. Jere’ Summers (U of L) 55-9 1/4; tie 14. Ashley Muffet (Ky.) 53-9 1/4; 21. Chinwe Okoro (U of L) 52-7 1/4.
Weight throw — D’Ana McCarty (U of L) 74-0 1/4; 2. Jere’ Summers (U of L) 73-4; 8. Kristin Smith (Ky.) 67-6.
Pentathlon — Liane Weber (Clemson) 4,262; 16. Precious Nwokey (Ky.) 3,967.

Three new names on The Bowerman watch list’s top 10

The men’s ”watch list” for the USTFCCA’s Bowerman Award has three new names among the top 10 this week: LSU’s Walter Henning, Georgia’s Torrin Lawrence and Northern Arizona’s David McNeill. The Bowerman is college track and field’s version of the Heisman Trophy in football. For more information, see www.TheBowerman.org

The Bowerman Watch List top 10 through March 3, in alphabetical order:

Name (school, class) event, hometown
Jeshua Anderson (Wash. St., jr.) hurdles, Woodland Hills, Calif.
Ronnie Ash (Okla., jr.) hurdles, Raleigh, N.C.
Sam Chelanga (Liberty, jr.) distances, Nairobi, Kenya
Ashton Eaton (Ore., sr.) combined events, Bend, Ore.
German Fernandez (Okla. St., so.) distances, Riverbank, Calif.
Walter Henning (LSU, jr.) throws, Kings Park, N.Y.
Torrin Lawrence (Ga., so.) sprints, Jacksonville, Fla.
David McNeill (Northern Ariz., sr.) distances, Melbourne, Australia
Andrew Wheating (Ore., sr.) distances, Norwich, Vt.
Ryan Whiting (Ariz. St., sr.) throws, Harrisburg, Pa.

Also receiving mention — Aaron Braun (Adams St.); Charles Clark (Fla. St.); Will Claye (Okla.); Jason Colwick (Rice); Lee Emanuel (N.M.); Ricky Flynn (Lynchburg); Ryan Foster (Penn St.); Ramon Gittens (St. Augustine’s); Tabarie Henry (Texas A&M); Trindon Holliday (LSU); Bryce Lamb (Texas Tech); Ngonidzashe Makusha (Fla. St.); Scott Roth (Wash.); Ramon Sparks (Abilene Christian).

Campbell is Athlete of the Week

Amber Campbell is USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week, having won the women’s weight throw with a season world-leading and a meet-record mark of 81 feet, one-half inch at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships at Albuquerque, N.M.

Campbell, a 2008 Olympian, won here fourth consecutive national title with the third-best throw ever. She earned 1,213 points to earn the title of Visa Champion by one point over sprinter Carmelita Jeter, worth $30,000.

The best performances by American in the week ending Feb. 28 follow. AL = American leader; OT = oversized track; WL = world leader.

MEN
60 — Ivory Williams (Nike) at Albuquerque, 6.49 WL; 200 — Charles Clark (Fla. St.), Blacksburg, Va., and Calvin Smith (Fla.), Fayetteville, Ark., 20.67 WL; 400 — Torrin Lawrence (Ga.), Fayetteville, 45.10; 800 — Nick Symmonds (Nike/Ore. TC Elite), Albuquerque, 1:47.59; Mile — Andrew Wheating (Ore.), Seattle, 3:58.20 OT; 3,000 — Mark Matusak (Calif.), Seattle, 7:59.67 OT; 5,000 — Elliott Heath (Stanford), Seattle, 13:47; 5K walk — Tim Seaman (NYAC), Albuquerque, 20:57.47; 60 hurdles — Terrence Trammell (Trackstar Appeal), Albuquerque, 7.41 WL; High jump — Jesse Williams (Nike), Albuquerque, 7-8; Pole vault — Scott Roth (Wash.), Seattle, 18-9 1/4; Long jump — Bryce Lamb (Texas Tech), Ames, Iowa, 26-8 1/2); Triple jump — Lawrence Willis (unattached), Albuquerque, 55-3 3/4; Shot put — Christian Cantwell (Nike), Albuquerque, 69-4; Weight throw — A.G. Kruger (Nike), Albuquerque, 82-0 WL; Heptathlon — Nick Adcock (Mo.), Ames, Iowa, 5,938.

WOMEN
60 — Carmelita Jeter (Nike), Albuquerque, 7.02 AL; 200 — Shavon Greaves (Penn St.), State College, Pa., 22.98 WL; 400 — Debbie Dunn (unatt.), Albuquerque, 50.86 WL; 800 — Anna Pierce (Nike), Albuquerque, 2:00.84 AL; 1,500 — Morgan Uceny (Reebok), Albuquerque, 4:19.46; Mile — Jordan Hasay (Ore.), Seattle, 4:35.01 OT; 3,000 — Lisa Koll (Iowa St.), Ames, Iowa, 8:56.09 OT; 5,000 — Lisa Koll (Iowa St.), Ames, Iowa, 15:41.57 OT; 3K walk — Maria Michta (Walk USA), Albuquerque, 13:51.33; 60 hurdles — Ginnie Powell (Nike), Albuquerque, 7.87; High jump — Chaunte Lowe (Nike) Albuquerque, 6-6 AL; Pole vault — Lacy Janson (unatt.), Albuquerque, 15-3; Long jump — Brittney Reese (Nike) Albuquerque, 22-7 1/4 WL; Triple jump – Erica McLain (Nike) Albuquerque, 46-1 1/2 AL; Shot put — Jill Camarena (Nike/NYAC), Albuquerque, 61-1 1/2; Weight throw — Amber Campbell (Nike), Albuquerque, 81-0 1/2 WL; Pentathlon — Chantae McMillan (Neb.), Ames, Iowa, 4,151. 

Rondel Sorrillo

Kentucky senior Rondel Sorrillo is Male Runner of the Week in the Southeastern Conference.

A 2008 Olympian from Trinidad and Tobago, won the 200-meter dash at UK’s Rod McCravy Memorial Track and Field Meet. His time of 20.77 seconds makes him an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships, ranks first in the SEC this season and second in the nation. Sorrillo also ran a 47.5 split in the 4-by-400 relay.

This week’s other SEC track and field award winners:

Male Field Athlete: Walter Henning — The LSU junior, who placed fourth in the 35-pound weight throw at last year’s NCAAs, shattered personal and school records at the New Mexico Invitational with an NCAA-leading throw of 75 feet, 8 inches. His previous best was 74-5 1/2.

Male Freshman: Jeremy Postin — The Florida weight-thrower placed third at the Texas A&M Challenge, reaching a personal best of 59-6 3/4 in his second collegiate meet. That also ranks fifth on the Gators’ all-time list.

Female Runner: Jackie Areson — The Tennessee senior broke a 19-year-old school record and automatically qualified for the NCAAs by clocking 9:07.27 for 3,000 meters at the Penn State Invitational. Her time leads the SEC, ranks second in the NCAA and clipped 2 1/2 seconds off the Vols record set by Patty Wiegand.

Female Field: Shara Proctor – The Florida senior from Anguilla won the Texas A&M Challenge long jump with a collegiate-leading 21-8, adding four inches to her school record. Her NCAA-automatic mark ties for eighth-best in the world this season.

Stephanie Brown

Female Freshman: Stephanie Brown — Brown clocked a 2:07.62 split on the 800-meter leg to help Arkansas record an NCAA-provisional time of 11:15.70 in the distance medley relay at Texas A&M. That is the second-best mark in the NCAA thus far. Brown also placed second in the mile with a provisional qualifying time of 4:46.40. That ranks 13th in the NCAA this season, No. 2 among freshmen. 

EKU’s Rengifo takes OVC award

Eastern Kentucky senior Chris Rengifo is the Ohio Valley Conference’s Male Track Athlete of the Week.

Competing at the Rod McCravy Memorial meet, Rengifo ran the second-fastest mile (4:16.26) and third-fastest 800 (1:54.01) by an OVC athlete this season.

A native Canadian (Woodbridge, Ontario), Rengifo is a two-time first-team All-OVC cross country performer. He ran on the Colonels’ winning distance medley relay at last year’s OVC Indoor Championships, and also ran on the school-record four-mile relay at the 2008 Penn Relays.

Texas A&M No. 1 in both team rankings

Texas A&M holds the top spot in both the men’s and women’s weekly rankings of NCAA Division I programs, compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The A&M men notched three world-leading marks at its Texas A&M Challenge, climbing from fourth in the rankings. The Aggies already topped the women’s rankings.

The Aggies with world-leading marks: Curtis Mitchell, 20.69 for 200 meters; Tabrarie Henry, 45.81 for 400; and a 3:04.86 4-by-400 relay team of Bryan Miller, Tran Howell, Henry and Demetrius Pinder.

Kentucky’s men dropped two spots to No. 21, while Louisville’s women maintained the No. 14 spot.

The SEC leads the men’s rankings with seven teams among the top 25. The Big 12 and Pac-10 have six teams each.

The SEC also tops the women’s list with six teams. The Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference are next with four teams each.

Men’s rankings

    School (points)                     Previous rank
 1. Texas A&M                                          4
 2. Florida State                                       1
 3. Oregon                                               2
 4. LSU                                                     6
 5. Florida                                                 3
 6. Nebraska                                            5
 7. Arkansas                                             7
 8. Arizona State                                      8
 9. Oklahoma                                           9
10. Stanford                                           17
11. Indiana                                            16
12. Baylor                                              10
13. Minnesota                                        12
14. Penn State                                        –
15. Texas Tech                                       11
16. California                                         22
17. Virginia Tech                                    13
18. South Carolina                                15
19. New Mexico                                     –
20. Auburn                                            18
21. KENTUCKY                                   19
22. Georgia                                          14
23. Arizona                                          20
24. Oklahoma State                             24
25. Washington State                          21

Women’s rankings

 1. Texas A&M                                       1
 2. Oregon                                            2
 3. Brigham Young                                 3
 4. LSU                                                  4
 5. Tennessee                                       8
 6. Florida State                                    5
 7. Clemson                                           7
 8. Penn State                                       6
 9. Florida                                              9
10. South Carolina                               11
11. Arkansas                                        10
12. Villanova                                         –
13. Nebraska                                        12
14. LOUISVILLE                                 14
15. Oklahoma                                      15
16. Arizona                                          17
17. Auburn                                           19
18. Washington                                   13
19. Baylor                                            16
20. Virginia Tech                                  18
21. Indiana State                                22
22. Southern Illinois                            20
23. Connecticut                                   21
24. Texas-El Paso                                25
25. North Carolina                                –