That was fun huh? It wasn’t even that close, UK just stopped playing defense for the last 5 minutes. UK laid a serious beat-down on SC tonight with a 34 victory. They looked unbelievable in the first half and then did something they haven’t always done – string together another half of amazing play. Terrence Jones had that intensity he has had that past few games that makes him look like the preseason POY candidate we knew he could be. Anthony Davis was a beast like we haven’t seen before too, which is saying something considering his past play. He suprassed Shaq tonight for the single-season freshman shot blocking record in the SEC. A  big congratulations to him as he has been incredible to watch. The Cats hit on just about every cylinder tonight, I’m not sure it is possible if they could play much better. It was absolute dunk city. Also, Jimmy Dykes made a very good point about Coach Cal. He said Cal does not get enough credit for getting all these players to play together, and he really doesn’t. He has been able to get multiple all-star caliber players to buy in and play as a unit and not individuals. These guys could average 20+ at another school where they would be the main guy. However, they came to UK to be coached by one of the best and prepare for the next level. They are playing as one and becoming a scary good team to go up against. If there is an extra gear…well I would just go home if I were the other team. Let’s look at a couple of individual performances.

Terrence Jones: It is hard not to put Davis first, but Jones deserves some serious acknowledgement. Jones has produced a strong and consistent effort recently as he finally seems to be 100% after his IU/pinky issues. He really brought it tonight, scoring 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. He looked to drive to the basket strong, early and often. Maybe more importantly even, he again showed a great positive attitude the entire game. Sure it’s easy to be happy and smiling when you’re up 40, but he did it when it was still a “game”. He also showed a good ability to pass out of the double-team once SC did start doubling him after his initial offensive burst. If Jones keeps up the level of effort and physicality, UK will flat out roll. Jones’ final stat line was 16 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, and 1 heck of a block.

Anthony Davis: 22 pts, 8 rebound, 8 blk – SO CLOSE. Davis was so close to a triple-double, but you can easily understand why Cal took him out. Davis actually checked back in with less than 10 to go, but came out quickly after he committed a foul and hit the deck hard. It is hard to know where to begin. Davis is something UK has never seen before. He has the presence of at least 3 people on the court, and not just the paint. He can stretch and block you on the 3-point line, or he will just lie in wait for your to foolishly drive it to the basket. It was mentioned above, but another congratulations to him for setting the new single season freshman SEC shot block record. When Davis wasn’t blocking a shot (and keeping it in play almost every time), it seemed like he was catching a lob and dunking or using some nice footwork to lead to a dunk. He is a special player and is going to do huge things at the next level, so enjoy him while we still have him.

Doron Lamb: Doesn’t seem like many of the other players got mentioned too much. It is hard when you’re competing with Davis and Jones and they are playing so well. However, it is worth noting Lamb did not miss until 2 minutes left in the game. He did finish perfect from beyond the arc, 3 of 3, which led to half of his 18 points. He also grabbed 4 rebounds, had a steal and an assist. Lamb was aggressive and really opened up the offense from the start by hitting that first 3. When he is on, he is lights out and can pour in points even with guys like Davis and Jones on the floor.

Michal Kidd-Gilchrist: It may not have been MKG’s best game stat-wise, but you know who cares the least about his stats? MKG. He doesn’t care if he scores 7 (which he did), or 20 as long as UK wins. That is an amazing quality for someone who was ranked #1 in the nation previous to Davis’ rise. MKG could have gone anywhere else and been “the man”, but he chose UK because he wants to win. He will do it at all costs and we saw him hit the deck multiple times going after balls or taking hard fouls. Davis is special in a way, but so is MKG. His will to win seems to energize the whole team. You can compare his energy in a way to that of Derek Anderson’s. Anderson was constantly smiling and he had an infectious smile. So does MKG. When he gets excited, you can see it affect the entire team and the effort level goes up a notch. While he only scored 7, he still grabbed 5 reb, had 3 stl and a block. His defense is smothering and as long as his motor keeps going at a high rate, he will be great.

Darius Miller: You might have thought Darius disappeared in the game with all the attention Jones and Davis got. While he only scored 5, he was active on offense and defense. Multiple times he drive to his spot at the top of the paint and instead of taking his runner shot that is so good, he just lobbed it to Davis because no one was on Davis and that is a 100% shot every time, which led to his 4 assists. Darius is special because he makes the right plays without being selfish. He doesn’t mind deferring to freshman when it leads to a higher percentage shot. He plays hard on both ends of the floor every game and will be a sorely missed weapon when he graduates.

Marquis Teague: Last, but certainly not least, we have to mention Teague. A lot of the play you are seeing form this team can be attributed to Teague believe it or not. He doesn’t put up huge offensive numbers, but he doesn’t have to. He just has to play smart, hold on to the ball, and then distribute to one of his many weapons. Teague has vastly improved over the recent stretch of games. Jimmy Dykes noted a pretty significant statistic early in the game. Teague’s assist to turnover ratio at this point in SEC player is higher than both John Wall’s or Brandon Knight’s was at the same point. Fans should be happy with his play recently. A good floor general is one of the most important pieces to a championship team and Teague is looking exactly that way.

Congratulations to Dermontti Dawson who truly is one of the nicest people you could ever meet.  I played some basketball with him at Lexington Christian and just about got killed when we ran into each other.  Jordan will have more on Mr. Dawson and his accomplishments.

Dermontti Dawson Elected to the

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Joins George Blanda as the Second Wildcat to be Honored

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dermontti Dawson, former offensive lineman for the University of Kentucky and the Pittsburgh Steelers, has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as announced Saturday.

Dawson was recognized for his accomplishments with the Steelers, with whom he played for 13 seasons, 1988 through 2000.  He became the starting center in 1989 and played 170 consecutive games before being sidelined during the 1999 season because of an injury.

Dawson was named first-team All-Pro for six straight years, 1993-98, and played in seven consecutive Pro Bowls (1993-99).  He was named the Co-AFC Offensive Lineman of the Year by the NFL Players Association in 1993 and the NFL Alumni Offensive Lineman of the Year for the ’96 season.  He anchored an offensive line that led the Steelers to five AFC Central Division championships and the AFC title in the 1995 season.  He played in Super Bowl XXX in January of 1996.

A native of Lexington, Dawson played center and guard at Kentucky from 1984-87 under Coach Jerry Claiborne.  During his collegiate career, Dawson blocked for three players who were then among the top four rushers in UK history – Mark Higgs, George Adams and Marc Logan.  More than two decades later, Higgs, Adams and Logan still rank among the top seven rushers in Wildcat annals.  Dawson and current Wildcat head coach Joker Phillips were teammates during the 1984 season.

Dawson was a member of the 1984 Kentucky squad that posted a 9-3 record, capped by a victory over Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame Bowl.  He was named All-Southeastern Conference as a senior and is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, College of Education.

Since his retirement from football, Dawson has returned to live in the Lexington area.  He has served on the UK Board of Trustees and the UK Athletics Board.

Dawson is the second Wildcat who will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  He joins legendary quarterback/kicker George Blanda, who played for a record 26 seasons and was the first player ever to score 2,000 points in a career.

Dawson will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 5.

 

Being number 1 on the road in the SEC is never an easy task.  Especially when you have to take that number one ranking to a place that has a very fresh memory about the last time you brought in a #1 next to your name.  Everybody remembers what happened 2 years ago in Columbia.  Cal and the Cats avenged their loss last year in Columbia, but now Kentucky returns as number one.

Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina holds 18,000 people.  South Carolina welcomed then number 1 Ohio State to their home floor earlier in the season and manged to only find 13,000+ to show up.  Today, expect that number to be much closer to capacity, as Coach Cal likes to remind us all the time, this will be South Carolina’s Super Bowl.

The Gamecocks have nothing to lose.  They have a losing record of 9-12, 1-6, and need a win today to have any chance of making it past the SEC Tournament for post season play.  Kentucky on the other hand is getting more and more comfortable being number one.  Manhandling LSU on the road and embarrassing Tennessee at home.  The question today is whether or not they can keep their momentum and take care of South Carolina.

The key to today’s game is simple: defense.  Kentucky leads the nation in opponent field goal percentage (holding opponents below 37%) and if the Cats continues to play defense the way they have been they could sub Tony and I in for offense and the Cats would still win.  If Anthony Davis is going to get a triple double, one would have to think that today could be the day it happens.  Carolina has no answer for Davis, or Jones, or Lamb, or Miller, or Teague.  If Wiltjer gets hot they won’t be able to stop him either. Did I mention Kidd-Gilchrist?  They can’t stop him either.

The thing that makes Kentucky so difficult to beat is that they don’t need all of those guys to have a good game to win.  If two or three of them have a good game then it is going to be a blowout.

Everybody’s favorite college basketball coverage team, Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes have the call today on ESPN at 6 pm.

Prediction: Davis with a triple double, and Kentucky wins 75-50.

After a phone call from Obama congratulating the newly crowned number one team in the country, Cal and company went into Columbia with a 19-0 record. No one especially myself thought that Devan Downey and the 11-8 Gamecocks stood a chance against the electrifying John “I’m the Best Player in College Basketball” Wall. With UK’s overwhelming talent the Gamecocks kept the game close and had it tied 49-49 with 6:19 to go in the game. With a final score of 68-62 Carolina shocked the Wildcats, the fans, all of college basketball and myself. I couldn’t believe it.

This year I have a feeling that our boys are not overlooking South Carolina and that guy from Tates Creek high school (I actually like Darrin) will not know what hit them. I do know that our talent is overwhelming and if we play OUR game the Gamecocks have no shot.

My predictions for tonight:

Lamb will have the best game he’s had all year. He seems focused and I’m looking at him to go for 20 big points.

This is less of a prediction and more of fact but Anthony Davis will dominate the paint, I’d love to see him get that elusive triple double. He certainly deserves it.

Let’s see Teague have another great floor game. I’m very high on him and I love to see him getting in a groove.

Cats 83 and Gamecocks 61.

How many blocks will Anthony Davis have today against South Carolina?  In the first meeting against South Carolina he had 7 blocks and you had to wonder why they kept trying to shoot over him?  Is there any chance that they have learned from their first meeting against Davis?  I have to believe that they have learned but I don’t know that it will make much of a difference.  Davis had his worst game in regards to blocks against North Carolina when he only had 2.  His best game came against Came one game before that when he had 8 against St Johns.  Even when Davis does not block a shot he always alters a shot.

I still have to believe that he is finally going to get 10 blocks in a game this year and that is the game that he will finally get that triple-double that everyone is waiting for.  Currently Davis has 108 blocks on the season and has shattered the freshmen record at UK that was 79.  The only question is how many will he finish the season with?  How many will he have today?  I say he will finish today with 6.

AIR RIFLE PUSHES RIFLE TO CRUCIAL GARC WIN OVER WVU

Wildcats Edge Mountaineers in the Match of the Two Remaining Undefeated GARC Teams

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Behind a dynamic air rifle performance, the Kentucky rifle team posted a 4680-4650 win over West Virginia in a matchup of the only two undefeated teams in the conference play, on Friday at WVU Rifle Range.

Kentucky (10-1, 5-0 Great American Rifle Conference) now is guaranteed a share of the 2011-12 GARC regular-season championship and now owns the tiebreaker over West Virginia. UK concludes its regular season on Saturday in Morgantown, facing N.C. State. A win over N.C. State on Saturday would secure the seventh conference title in UK rifle history and the Wildcats second consecutive unbeaten conference season.”

“It is exciting,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said about clinching a share of the regular-season conference title. “To win this conference match is great, especially facing such a great program in West Virginia. But I don’t think anyone on this team is focused on (clinching the regular-season championship) or looking into that detail now. Everyone is focused on coming out tomorrow and putting on another team effort to finish the season 6-0 in conference play.”

West Virginia joined UK as one of the only two undefeated teams remaining in conference play entering the match. In a showdown of the top teams in the league, the Wildcats posted a 30-point win over the Mountaineers.

“Overall it was a good performance,” Mullins said. “To come away with a win on the road against a great team is great. Our first team hadn’t competed in two weeks and they had to come out with the pressure on at a tough opponent’s range. We made some mistakes but I was happy with how the team worked. They really brought the effort and intensity to get the win. These matches with WVU have always been good, sometimes it will be a high scoring match and sometimes the teams have down scoring outputs. There is a huge sense of competition in this matchup every year.”

UK, the defending NCAA Champions, won on the strength of its air rifle performance, as Ethan Settlemires posted a team-leading 593, with Henri Junghänel and Emily Holsopple following with a 591. Heather Greathouse charted a 590 and Stacy Wheatley finished with a 589.

The Wildcats finished the smallbore portion with a 2315 team score, led by a 580 by Junghänel, who had a 580. Emily Holsopple and Greathouse each had a 579, with Settlemires (577) and Wheatley (574) rounding out the starting lineup.

“Our smallbore scores were down a bit and we wanted them to be higher but we are excited to get back out tomorrow,” Mullins said. “For the team to respond after some down scores to start the match in smallbore shows their resilience. They stayed through their shot plans. They worked their tails off throughout the match and finished strong in air rifle.”

Kentucky traveled its full roster to Morgantown, with Elijah Ellis leading the second squad with a 579 in smallbore. James Jasis (575), Katie Fretts (574), Jonathan Pinker (574), Ed Ryznar (570), Ethan Marne (567), Cody Manning (553) and John Sutton (553) rounding out the smallbore competitors.

“Our second relay was great, (Katie Fretts) Frettsy and (Elijah) Ellis really shot well, along with (Jonathan) Pinkel and James (Jasis),” Mullins said. “Overall it was a good team effort and that is the thing I like the most. It isn’t one or two people having huge scores or carrying the team, it is a huge team effort every day.”

In air rifle, Fretts led the second squad with a 582, as Ellis (580), Marne (575), Manning (574), Sutton (573), Sutton (573) all competing in air gun.

UK will face N.C. State on Saturday to conclude the regular season on Saturday. UK will host the NCAA Qualifier on Feb. 18 at UK’s Barker Hall.

- GO CATS -

Luttrell Wins 5K at Notre Dame Meyo Invitational

Senior breaks PR by over 15 seconds, records fifth fastest 5,000-meter run in UK history

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior distance runner Walter Luttrell shattered his career-best time in the 5,000-meter run, and the Kentucky men’s and women’s track and field teams recorded multiple times/marks that rank in the top 10 in program history Friday, the first day of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind.

Luttrell got off to a strong start at Meyo Track, leading the first lap of the event that spans over three miles in length. After losing the lead, the Dayton, Ohio native surged back to the front and won the race with a career-best time of 14:14.35, breaking his previous best time of 14:29.50 by over 15 seconds. The fastest 5,000m time in the Southeastern Conference entering tonight’s competition was 15:08.09 set by Cullen Doody of LSU. Luttrell’s time is the fifth fastest 5,000m run recorded in UK history.

One week after earning, SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week honors for her record-breaking performance in the 60m dash, Keilah Tyson competed in the women’s long jump for the first time in her collegiate career. Much like last week, Tyson impressed, finishing fourth in the event with a jump of 6.08m/19-11.50. Tyson’s jump is the seventh best long jump in school history.

Sophomore Kayla Parker and junior Darryl Bradshaw each earned top-12 times to qualify for the finals of the 60m hurdles. Parker advanced to the women’s 60m hurdles finals with a time of 8.61, while Bradshaw qualified for the men’s 60m hurdles finals by winning his heat with a time of 8.05. Bradshaw’s time of 8.05 is the same time he ran last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, missing out on his career best time by 0.01, which is also the sixth fastest time in the UK record books. The finals for the women’s 60m hurdles will begin Saturday at 2:40 p.m. ET. The finals for the men’s 60m hurdles start at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.

Freshman Tamyah Pipkin qualified for the finals in the women’s 60m dash with a time of 7.63, finishing in eighth place overall at the preliminaries. The women’s 60m dash finals begin Saturday at 3:20 p.m.

The men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams finished in third and fifth, respectively. The young men’s team, comprised of freshmen Keffri Neal and Sean Keane, and sophomores Robert Scharold and Adam Kahleifeh, finished the relay stretching 4,000m in 9:57.23. The women’s quartet of junior Cally Macumber, freshman Angelica Whaley, and sophomores Allison Peare and Chelsea Oswald crossed the finish line in 11:31.07.

Senior Jennifer Svoboda had a career-best throw in the women’s weight throw, recording a mark of 16.47m/54-00.50. Svoboda’s mark was tied for 14th at the meet. Sophomore Andrew Evans, a transfer from Michigan, Kalamazoo Community College, recorded his season-best mark in the men’s weight throw Friday. Evans finished 12th with a mark of 16.87m/55-04.25.

The Wildcats begin competition Saturday with a number of both track events and field events at 10 a.m. The final event of the day for Kentucky will be the men’s 3,000m run, raced by junior Luis Orta, who recorded the eighth fastest time in program history in the event last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, finishing in 8:10.58.

A link to live results of Saturday’s competition is available at UND.com. Results from day one of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational are listed below. Below those results is a list of all the events UK athletes are scheduled to compete in Saturday, as well as the scheduled start time for the event.

For more Kentucky track and field news and information, including results from day two of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitional, follow the Wildcats on Twitter at “KentuckyTrack” and go to UKathletics.com.

Notre Dame Meyo Invitational

Meyo Track

Feb. 2-3, 2012

Friday’s Results

Women’s Long Jump

4. Keilah Tyson – 6.08m/19-11.50

20. Kayla Parker – 5.57m/18-03.25

37. Candice Taylor – 5.12m/16-09.75

Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles

4. Kayla Parker – 8.61q

Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles

5. Darryl Bradshaw – 8.05q

20. Brandon Bagley – 8.25

37. Daniel Buckles – 9.34

Women’s 60-Meter Dash

8. Tamyah Pipkin – 7.63q

– Keilah Tyson – DNS

Women’s Weight Throw

T14. Jennifer Svoboda – 16.47m/54-00.50

Men’s 60-Meter Dash

31. Darryl Bradshaw – 7.16

33. Brandon Bagley – 7.17

Women’s High Jump

4. Terri-Ann Grant – 1.70m/5-07.00

13. Joanne Imbert – 1.65m/5-05.00

Men’s 5,000-Meter Run

1. Walter Luttrell – 14:14.35

Women’s Distance Medley Relay

5. Kentucky – 11:31.07

Macumber, Whaley, Peare, Oswald

Men’s Distance Medley Relay

3. Kentucky – 9:57.23

Neal, Keane, Scharold, Kahleifeh

Men’s Weight Throw

12. Andrew Evans – 16.87m/55-04.25

Women’s 1,000-Meter Run

10. Megan Broderick – 2:53.94

34. Katy Achtien – 3:09.24

Men’s 1,000-Meter Run

13. Trent Halasek – 2:27.60

Saturday’s Schedule of Events (all events are finals)

Women’s 3,000-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Taylor Wendler

Megan Wright

Men’s 3,000-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Stacey Eden

Jared Phillips

Women’s One-Mile Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Anna Bostrom

Megan Broderick

Men’s One-Mile Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Sean Keane

Robert Scharold

Women’s 400-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Julie Nunn

Shiara Robinson

Angelica Whaley

Men’s 400-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Ben Mason

Brandon Nichols

Women’s 800-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Allison Peare

Men’s 800-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Trent Halasek

Adam Kahleifeh

Keffri Neal

Women’s 200-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Julie Nunn

Shiara Robinson

Keilah Tyson

Men’s 200-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Brandon Bagley

Darryl Bradshaw

Ben Mason

Women’s Triple Jump – 10:00 a.m. ET

Brittany Britt

Candice Taylor

Women’s Pole Vault – 11:00 a.m. ET

Shelby Kennard

Samantha Stenzel

Women’s Shot Put – 11:00 a.m. ET

Jennifer Svoboda

Men’s High Jump – 1:00 p.m. ET

Daniel Buckles

Todd Nibbs

Ryan Ratliff

Men’s Shot Put – 1:30 p.m. ET

Isiah Kent

Men’s Triple Jump – 2:00 p.m. ET

Terence Boyd

Todd Nibbs

Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 2:40 p.m. ET

Kayla Parker

Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 2:50 p.m. ET

Darryl Bradshaw

Women’s 60-Meter Dash (Finals) – 3:20 p.m.

Tamyah Pipkin

Men’s 3,000-Meter Run – 4:25 p.m. ET

Luis Orta

Luttrell Wins 5K at Notre Dame Meyo Invitational

Senior breaks PR by over 15 seconds, records fifth fastest 5,000-meter run in UK history

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior distance runner Walter Luttrell shattered his career-best time in the 5,000-meter run, and the Kentucky men’s and women’s track and field teams recorded multiple times/marks that rank in the top 10 in program history Friday, the first day of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind.

Luttrell got off to a strong start at Meyo Track, leading the first lap of the event that spans over three miles in length. After losing the lead, the Dayton, Ohio native surged back to the front and won the race with a career-best time of 14:14.35, breaking his previous best time of 14:29.50 by over 15 seconds. The fastest 5,000m time in the Southeastern Conference entering tonight’s competition was 15:08.09 set by Cullen Doody of LSU. Luttrell’s time is the fifth fastest 5,000m run recorded in UK history.

One week after earning, SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week honors for her record-breaking performance in the 60m dash, Keilah Tyson competed in the women’s long jump for the first time in her collegiate career. Much like last week, Tyson impressed, finishing fourth in the event with a jump of 6.08m/19-11.50. Tyson’s jump is the seventh best long jump in school history.

Sophomore Kayla Parker and junior Darryl Bradshaw each earned top-12 times to qualify for the finals of the 60m hurdles. Parker advanced to the women’s 60m hurdles finals with a time of 8.61, while Bradshaw qualified for the men’s 60m hurdles finals by winning his heat with a time of 8.05. Bradshaw’s time of 8.05 is the same time he ran last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, missing out on his career best time by 0.01, which is also the sixth fastest time in the UK record books. The finals for the women’s 60m hurdles will begin Saturday at 2:40 p.m. ET. The finals for the men’s 60m hurdles start at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.

Freshman Tamyah Pipkin qualified for the finals in the women’s 60m dash with a time of 7.63, finishing in eighth place overall at the preliminaries. The women’s 60m dash finals begin Saturday at 3:20 p.m.

The men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams finished in third and fifth, respectively. The young men’s team, comprised of freshmen Keffri Neal and Sean Keane, and sophomores Robert Scharold and Adam Kahleifeh, finished the relay stretching 4,000m in 9:57.23. The women’s quartet of junior Cally Macumber, freshman Angelica Whaley, and sophomores Allison Peare and Chelsea Oswald crossed the finish line in 11:31.07.

Senior Jennifer Svoboda had a career-best throw in the women’s weight throw, recording a mark of 16.47m/54-00.50. Svoboda’s mark was tied for 14th at the meet. Sophomore Andrew Evans, a transfer from Michigan, Kalamazoo Community College, recorded his season-best mark in the men’s weight throw Friday. Evans finished 12th with a mark of 16.87m/55-04.25.

The Wildcats begin competition Saturday with a number of both track events and field events at 10 a.m. The final event of the day for Kentucky will be the men’s 3,000m run, raced by junior Luis Orta, who recorded the eighth fastest time in program history in the event last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, finishing in 8:10.58.

A link to live results of Saturday’s competition is available at UND.com. Results from day one of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational are listed below. Below those results is a list of all the events UK athletes are scheduled to compete in Saturday, as well as the scheduled start time for the event.

For more Kentucky track and field news and information, including results from day two of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitional, follow the Wildcats on Twitter at “KentuckyTrack” and go to UKathletics.com.

Notre Dame Meyo Invitational

Meyo Track

Feb. 2-3, 2012

Friday’s Results

Women’s Long Jump

4. Keilah Tyson – 6.08m/19-11.50

20. Kayla Parker – 5.57m/18-03.25

37. Candice Taylor – 5.12m/16-09.75

Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles

4. Kayla Parker – 8.61q

Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles

5. Darryl Bradshaw – 8.05q

20. Brandon Bagley – 8.25

37. Daniel Buckles – 9.34

Women’s 60-Meter Dash

8. Tamyah Pipkin – 7.63q

– Keilah Tyson – DNS

Women’s Weight Throw

T14. Jennifer Svoboda – 16.47m/54-00.50

Men’s 60-Meter Dash

31. Darryl Bradshaw – 7.16

33. Brandon Bagley – 7.17

Women’s High Jump

4. Terri-Ann Grant – 1.70m/5-07.00

13. Joanne Imbert – 1.65m/5-05.00

Men’s 5,000-Meter Run

1. Walter Luttrell – 14:14.35

Women’s Distance Medley Relay

5. Kentucky – 11:31.07

Macumber, Whaley, Peare, Oswald

Men’s Distance Medley Relay

3. Kentucky – 9:57.23

Neal, Keane, Scharold, Kahleifeh

Men’s Weight Throw

12. Andrew Evans – 16.87m/55-04.25

Women’s 1,000-Meter Run

10. Megan Broderick – 2:53.94

34. Katy Achtien – 3:09.24

Men’s 1,000-Meter Run

13. Trent Halasek – 2:27.60

Saturday’s Schedule of Events (all events are finals)

Women’s 3,000-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Taylor Wendler

Megan Wright

Men’s 3,000-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Stacey Eden

Jared Phillips

Women’s One-Mile Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Anna Bostrom

Megan Broderick

Men’s One-Mile Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Sean Keane

Robert Scharold

Women’s 400-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Julie Nunn

Shiara Robinson

Angelica Whaley

Men’s 400-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Ben Mason

Brandon Nichols

Women’s 800-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Allison Peare

Men’s 800-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Trent Halasek

Adam Kahleifeh

Keffri Neal

Women’s 200-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Julie Nunn

Shiara Robinson

Keilah Tyson

Men’s 200-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Brandon Bagley

Darryl Bradshaw

Ben Mason

Women’s Triple Jump – 10:00 a.m. ET

Brittany Britt

Candice Taylor

Women’s Pole Vault – 11:00 a.m. ET

Shelby Kennard

Samantha Stenzel

Women’s Shot Put – 11:00 a.m. ET

Jennifer Svoboda

Men’s High Jump – 1:00 p.m. ET

Daniel Buckles

Todd Nibbs

Ryan Ratliff

Men’s Shot Put – 1:30 p.m. ET

Isiah Kent

Men’s Triple Jump – 2:00 p.m. ET

Terence Boyd

Todd Nibbs

Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 2:40 p.m. ET

Kayla Parker

Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 2:50 p.m. ET

Darryl Bradshaw

Women’s 60-Meter Dash (Finals) – 3:20 p.m.

Tamyah Pipkin

Men’s 3,000-Meter Run – 4:25 p.m. ET

Luis Orta

Luttrell Wins 5K at Notre Dame Meyo Invitational

Senior breaks PR by over 15 seconds, records fifth fastest 5,000-meter run in UK history

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior distance runner Walter Luttrell shattered his career-best time in the 5,000-meter run, and the Kentucky men’s and women’s track and field teams recorded multiple times/marks that rank in the top 10 in program history Friday, the first day of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind.

Luttrell got off to a strong start at Meyo Track, leading the first lap of the event that spans over three miles in length. After losing the lead, the Dayton, Ohio native surged back to the front and won the race with a career-best time of 14:14.35, breaking his previous best time of 14:29.50 by over 15 seconds. The fastest 5,000m time in the Southeastern Conference entering tonight’s competition was 15:08.09 set by Cullen Doody of LSU. Luttrell’s time is the fifth fastest 5,000m run recorded in UK history.

One week after earning, SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week honors for her record-breaking performance in the 60m dash, Keilah Tyson competed in the women’s long jump for the first time in her collegiate career. Much like last week, Tyson impressed, finishing fourth in the event with a jump of 6.08m/19-11.50. Tyson’s jump is the seventh best long jump in school history.

Sophomore Kayla Parker and junior Darryl Bradshaw each earned top-12 times to qualify for the finals of the 60m hurdles. Parker advanced to the women’s 60m hurdles finals with a time of 8.61, while Bradshaw qualified for the men’s 60m hurdles finals by winning his heat with a time of 8.05. Bradshaw’s time of 8.05 is the same time he ran last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, missing out on his career best time by 0.01, which is also the sixth fastest time in the UK record books. The finals for the women’s 60m hurdles will begin Saturday at 2:40 p.m. ET. The finals for the men’s 60m hurdles start at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.

Freshman Tamyah Pipkin qualified for the finals in the women’s 60m dash with a time of 7.63, finishing in eighth place overall at the preliminaries. The women’s 60m dash finals begin Saturday at 3:20 p.m.

The men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams finished in third and fifth, respectively. The young men’s team, comprised of freshmen Keffri Neal and Sean Keane, and sophomores Robert Scharold and Adam Kahleifeh, finished the relay stretching 4,000m in 9:57.23. The women’s quartet of junior Cally Macumber, freshman Angelica Whaley, and sophomores Allison Peare and Chelsea Oswald crossed the finish line in 11:31.07.

Senior Jennifer Svoboda had a career-best throw in the women’s weight throw, recording a mark of 16.47m/54-00.50. Svoboda’s mark was tied for 14th at the meet. Sophomore Andrew Evans, a transfer from Michigan, Kalamazoo Community College, recorded his season-best mark in the men’s weight throw Friday. Evans finished 12th with a mark of 16.87m/55-04.25.

The Wildcats begin competition Saturday with a number of both track events and field events at 10 a.m. The final event of the day for Kentucky will be the men’s 3,000m run, raced by junior Luis Orta, who recorded the eighth fastest time in program history in the event last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, finishing in 8:10.58.

A link to live results of Saturday’s competition is available at UND.com. Results from day one of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational are listed below. Below those results is a list of all the events UK athletes are scheduled to compete in Saturday, as well as the scheduled start time for the event.

For more Kentucky track and field news and information, including results from day two of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitional, follow the Wildcats on Twitter at “KentuckyTrack” and go to UKathletics.com.

Notre Dame Meyo Invitational

Meyo Track

Feb. 2-3, 2012

Friday’s Results

Women’s Long Jump

4. Keilah Tyson – 6.08m/19-11.50

20. Kayla Parker – 5.57m/18-03.25

37. Candice Taylor – 5.12m/16-09.75

Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles

4. Kayla Parker – 8.61q

Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles

5. Darryl Bradshaw – 8.05q

20. Brandon Bagley – 8.25

37. Daniel Buckles – 9.34

Women’s 60-Meter Dash

8. Tamyah Pipkin – 7.63q

– Keilah Tyson – DNS

Women’s Weight Throw

T14. Jennifer Svoboda – 16.47m/54-00.50

Men’s 60-Meter Dash

31. Darryl Bradshaw – 7.16

33. Brandon Bagley – 7.17

Women’s High Jump

4. Terri-Ann Grant – 1.70m/5-07.00

13. Joanne Imbert – 1.65m/5-05.00

Men’s 5,000-Meter Run

1. Walter Luttrell – 14:14.35

Women’s Distance Medley Relay

5. Kentucky – 11:31.07

Macumber, Whaley, Peare, Oswald

Men’s Distance Medley Relay

3. Kentucky – 9:57.23

Neal, Keane, Scharold, Kahleifeh

Men’s Weight Throw

12. Andrew Evans – 16.87m/55-04.25

Women’s 1,000-Meter Run

10. Megan Broderick – 2:53.94

34. Katy Achtien – 3:09.24

Men’s 1,000-Meter Run

13. Trent Halasek – 2:27.60

Saturday’s Schedule of Events (all events are finals)

Women’s 3,000-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Taylor Wendler

Megan Wright

Men’s 3,000-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Stacey Eden

Jared Phillips

Women’s One-Mile Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Anna Bostrom

Megan Broderick

Men’s One-Mile Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Sean Keane

Robert Scharold

Women’s 400-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Julie Nunn

Shiara Robinson

Angelica Whaley

Men’s 400-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Ben Mason

Brandon Nichols

Women’s 800-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Allison Peare

Men’s 800-Meter Run – 10:00 a.m. ET

Trent Halasek

Adam Kahleifeh

Keffri Neal

Women’s 200-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Julie Nunn

Shiara Robinson

Keilah Tyson

Men’s 200-Meter Dash – 10:00 a.m. ET

Brandon Bagley

Darryl Bradshaw

Ben Mason

Women’s Triple Jump – 10:00 a.m. ET

Brittany Britt

Candice Taylor

Women’s Pole Vault – 11:00 a.m. ET

Shelby Kennard

Samantha Stenzel

Women’s Shot Put – 11:00 a.m. ET

Jennifer Svoboda

Men’s High Jump – 1:00 p.m. ET

Daniel Buckles

Todd Nibbs

Ryan Ratliff

Men’s Shot Put – 1:30 p.m. ET

Isiah Kent

Men’s Triple Jump – 2:00 p.m. ET

Terence Boyd

Todd Nibbs

Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 2:40 p.m. ET

Kayla Parker

Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 2:50 p.m. ET

Darryl Bradshaw

Women’s 60-Meter Dash (Finals) – 3:20 p.m.

Tamyah Pipkin

Men’s 3,000-Meter Run – 4:25 p.m. ET

Luis Orta

- GO CATS -

Gymnastics Continues Improvement with 195.05 at LSU

Kentucky gymnastics team earns highest SEC dual-meet score since 2010

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky gymnastics team continued to show its improvement on every event by recording a season-high score on floor exercise and tying its season-high team score in a 196.125-195.05 loss to No. 14 LSU on Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

The team score of 195.05 ties the season-high mark set by Kentucky (3-4, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) last weekend against non-conference foe Illinois-Chicago. UK has now eclipsed the 195 mark for the second consecutive meet for the first time since the beginning of the 2010 season. The score of 195.05 is the highest in a SEC dual meet since UK earned a 195.55 against Georgia in 2010.

“Since day one we have told this team to continue to improve every time it steps into the gym and I think we did that today,” UK head coach Tim Garrison said. “We did not like how we performed in our first SEC road meet of the year and our girls wanted to show tonight that we were better than that. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but getting this score on the road is something we can be happy with tonight.”

Kentucky won the balance beam over LSU (2-6, 2-2 SEC) with a team score of 48.875, while the top-15 ranked Tigers defeated the Wildcats on the other three events. Sophomore Audrey Harrison and freshman Alexis Gross shinned in the all-around competition again as both earned career-high marks. Harrison finished third in the all-around with a 39.125, while Gross was fourth with a 38.975.

The Wildcats again used 18 or more routines from freshmen or sophomores and have now used at least 18 routines from underclassmen in every meet this season. UK also set or tied nine season and career highs in the meet.

UK started the night on uneven bars, earning a team score of 48.525. Harrison led the Wildcats with a career-high score of 9.775, while freshman Alexis Gross finished second on the team with a 9.75. Senior Whitney Rose continued her consistent year on bars with a score of 9.7, while freshman Sara Shipley tied a season high with a 9.675. Senior Storey Morris, who leads the team on the event in average, went 9.625, while junior Caitlyn Ciokajlo went 9.15.

Kentucky performed well on vault as two Wildcats set career highs en route to a team score of 48.9. Sophomore Holly Cunningham paced UK with a career-high score of 9.85, which tied the highest vault score of the season for UK. Gross also earned a career high on the event, finishing tied for second on the team with a 9.775. Fellow freshman Kenzie Hedges and Harrison also posted 9.775s, while freshman Shelby Hilton concluded the event with a 9.55.

The Wildcats set a season-high floor score for the second consecutive week with a mark of 48.75. Two gymnasts earned career highs, including the highest floor score of the season by Harrison, who posted 9.85. Hedges also earned a career high with a 9.775, followed by sophomore Kayla Sienkowski’s 9.725. Hilton and Gross each earned 9.7s, while sophomore Kayla Hartley went 9.525.

UK finished the night with another clutch performance on balance beam led by freshman Shannon Mitchell’s career-high 9.825. Cunningham finished second on the event with a 9.8, while Morris went 9.775. Gross continued to do well on the event with a 9.75, while Harrison posted a 9.725 and Sienkowski a 9.7.

LSU’s Rheagan Courville won the all-around title with a 39.45, while Lloimincia Hall finished second with a 39.250.

Kentucky will return to action Friday when it hosts the 2011 Southeastern Conference and National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide. The meet will begin at 7 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum.

For more information on the Kentucky gymnastics team, follow “UKGymnastics” on Twitter and Facebook or visit UKathletics.com.

Team Scores:

1) LSU 196.125, 2) UK 195.050

UK Scores: Vault 48.9, Bars 48.525, Beam 48.875, Floor 48.75

VAULT: Morris 9.725, Hilton 9.55, Harrison 9.775, Cunningham 9.85, Hedges 9.775, Gross 9.775

BARS: Harrison 9.775, Gross 9.75, Rose 9.7, Shipley 9.675, Morris 9.625, Ciokajlo 9.15

BEAM: Sienkowski 9.7, Mitchell 9.825, Harrison 9.725, Gross 9.75, Morris 9.775, Cunningham 9.8

FLOOR: Hilton 9.7, Sienkowski 9.725, Gross 9.7, Hedges 9.775, Harrison 9.85, Hartley 9.525

All-Around: Harrison 39.125, Gross 38.975

- GO CATS -

College Game Day is in Mizzou today and I have to say that I am excited to have them joining the SEC next season.  Their fans have signs saying “Big XII been there and done that”, you have to love the excitement they have to join the SEC.  But lets take a look at Mizzou and what makes them good this year.  Mizzou without a doubt has the best back court in college basketball.  They have 4 guys who are guards that start and make major contributions.  Phil Pressey, Matt Pressey, Michael Dixon, Kim English and Marcus Denmon are all guards that do the majority of damage for the Tigers with Marcus Denmon being the leading scorer.  They do have one big man that is very solid and actually is one of the NCAA leaders in field goal percentage, Ricardo Ratliffe is the starting F/C for this team and he is very capable.  The main issue that Mizzou runs into is if he gets into foul trouble.  We have seen teams in the past who do well with the four guard sets and even seen the Cats try something similar to that not too long ago.

Villanova is probably the best that I can remember that recently did good with four guards but it is not easy.  Think about when a four guard team runs into teams like UNC or Kentucky.  Sure four guards are hard to match up with, but what do those small teams do when they have to guard Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and a big guard in Darius Miller?  Four guard teams can be exciting but I don’t think they would do as well against the elite teams in the country.  I know Mizzou beat Baylor but I don’t think Baylor is on the same level as Kentucky, UNC, Ohio State or Syracuse at least not right now.  What Mizzou does have that can give anyone problems is the 3 point threats.  If they get hot you better hope you are hot too, because if they get going it could be a long night.

I have never been a fan of four guard teams but they are exciting to watch.  What are your thoughts, do you like smaller teams?