FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Junior Andy Fryman came away with Kentucky's first Southeastern Conference outdoor title since 2002 as he won the shot put competition at Saturday\'s day two portion of the 2006 SEC Championships at John McDonnell Field.
Fryman's opening toss was good enough to win the title but he increased his event-winning mark by over three feet with a final heave of 61-5.50 (63-4.25 personal-best). Fryman's win gave Kentucky the 2006 conference meet sweep after junior Gavin Ball won the indoor competition in Gainesville, Fla. (2/26). Ball finished the outdoor competition in third (58-4), giving the Cats 16 points for the event. Fryman and Ball continue the strong UK tradition in the shot put, marking the fifth consecutive year a Wildcat thrower had won either an indoor or outdoor conference title. During that span, the Cats earned 11 All-SEC awards (top three finish). Former Kentucky great Jeff Chakouian won four consecutive indoor titles from 2000-04 and won the outdoor crown in 2002. Friday, Fryman scored four points for Kentucky in the hammer throw by finishing fourth. Fryman, Ball and sophomore Alek Grietens will look to add to the Cats' total tomorrow when all three compete in the discus.
Senior Ildiko Varga added eight points to the women's team total with a second place finish in the discus (175-0). Varga, the UK school record holder (185-10), has been the model of consistency in the event over her career with a fifth place finish at last year's SEC meet, a runner-up in 2004, and as a freshman, a sixth place triumph. Friday afternoon, Varga scored a sixth place performance in the hammer throw. The native of Heves, Hungary finished this year's meet with 11 team points.
In the women's 1,500 preliminaries, junior Georganne Way and sophomore Lavera Morris were two of 12 runners to move on to the finals. Way placed third in the first heat with a time of 4:28.65, while Morris finished fourth in heat two with a season-best mark of 4:29.65. Both runners will double-up in the finals of the 800 and 1,500 Sunday evening.
In the men's 1,500 prelims, sophomore John Richardson coasted into tomorrow's finals with a second place finish in heat two (3:49.16). Richardson will also run in the 800 finals tomorrow. Sophomore Andre Silva had his best performance of the season with a PR of 3:51.62. Silva was less than a second from reaching the 12-man Sunday finals. Junior Jonathan Thomas also came through with a groundbreaking performance, lowering his personal-best by over 10 seconds to 3:52.60. Freshman Ryan Finn notched a season-best 3:55.32.
Senior Michelle Gales finished less than four inches from placing in the top eight in the long jump with an 11th-place leap of 19-4.75. Gales' season-best remains 19-6.50 – a half-inch short of a regional qualifying mark.
To close out the day, junior Luis Luna won heat four of the 400 prelims with the third-fastest time of the day and a season-best mark of 46.53 (fifth all-time UK). Luna will compete in tomorrow's nine-man finals. Freshman Jose Acevedo finished with a season-best and regional qualifying time of 47.26, but just missed reaching the finals. Luna, Acevedo, and sophomores Nathan Browning and Justin Harrison all own season-bests below the regional standard (47.26).
Heading into the final day, the UK men sit in seventh place with 20 points, while the women's team rests in eighth (17 pts.). The Arkansas men look poised to win their fourth consecutive SEC crown as they head into the final day with 47 points. Georgia leads the women's portion of the meet with a stout 88 points. The UK men's team trails fourth place LSU by only six points. The scoring formula for the meet is 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Tomorrow, the Kentucky field event competitors will compete in the men's discus and women's shot put, javelin and triple jump. Those who advanced in the running events will appear in the finals of their respective events. The men's nationally-ranked 4x400 relay squad will also take to the track. Events begin at Noon CT with the men's mile relay concluding the meet at approximately 9:35 p.m.