UK to host SEC Indoor Championships over weekend
February 27, 2015
By Lamar Smith
UK has become a hotspot when it comes to hosting events lately. The university has already hosted the Rod McCravy Memorial, one of the most competitive indoor meets of the year, and the SEC Outdoor Championships last year.
Now, UK will play host to the best track athletes in the conference when they meet for the SEC Indoor Championships at the Nutter Field House on Friday and Saturday.
The SEC is considered one of the top conferences in the country, with 16 teams ranked among the Top 25. UK’s women’s team, led by senior sprints runner Dezerea Bryant and senior sprints/jumps athlete Kenyattia Hackworth, has been strong all season and is ranked ninth in the nation.
Head coach Edrick Floreal said he expects a few Cats to lead a strong charge in chase of a successful meet.
“I think we got two (players) that always stick out like sore thumbs,” Floreal said of Bryant and Hackworth. “But other than (them), you’ve got (junior thrower) Rebecca Famurewa, who has been on a tear this year, (senior thrower) Brad Szypka and (senior runner) Keffri Neal. who seems like everything he touches turns to gold.”
The Cats also have five athletes competing at the meet who have brought the track program a combined seven individual SEC Championships in years past. Bryant is the defending SEC 60m dash champion and currently holds the second-best 60m dash time in the nation this year with a 7.18.
Szypka and Neal look to defend their SEC shot put and SEC 800m titles, respectively, at the meet. Szypka ranks ninth in the NCAA this year in shot put.
The defending SEC men’s and women’s champion teams are Arkansas and Florida, respectively. Arkansas leads the conference with 20 SEC men’s championships and have won nine of the last ten.
The UK women finished fourth at the SEC Championships last year, scoring 72 points at the meet, while the men finished fifth with 69.33 points.