SEC Track and Field Athletes of the Week (January 15, 2013)
SEC Men’s Runner of the Week: Prezel Hardy, Jr., Texas A&M
• Claimed a sprint double in the 60 and 200 meters as the Aggies won the team title during the Texas A&M 12-Team Invitational.
• Posted a 6.64 victory in the 60, just missing the meet record of 6.63, as he bettered UT-Arlington’s Clayton Vaughn, who came into the meet with a PR of 6.61 from the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships.
• Bettered the meet record of 20.87 set by A&M’s Gerald Phiri in 2011 in winning the 200. His previous PR in the event was 20.99.
• Currently, Hardy is equal to second in the world this indoor season at 60m and second in the world for the 200m. His 200 m time equals No. 5 on the A&M all-time list.
SEC Co-Men’s Field Athlete of the Week: Raymond Higgs, Arkansas
• Was a dual-winner in the long jump at triple jump during top-ranked Arkansas’ season-opening dual win against No. 3 Texas.
• Began his indoor campaign with an SEC and NCAA-leading mark in the long jump of 7.85m/26-1, moving into ninth place on the program’s all-time list.
• Also won the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 15.15m/49-8.5, which is the second-best jump in the SEC and ranked No. 10 in the NCAA.
SEC Co-Men’s Field Athlete of the Week: Sam Kendricks, Ole Miss
• Shattered his own school record in the pole vault with a mark of 18-1.75 – his career best for indoors or outdoors – to overwhelm the competition at the UAB Blazer Invitational.
• His vault is tied for the best by an American this indoor season and ranks among the top-10 in the world. He is tied for second among NCAA pole vaulters.
• Without missing on any attempts, established new meet and facility records at the Birmingham CrossPlex and broke his previous school indoor record (17-6.5) by more than half a foot.
• Is the only Ole Miss pole vaulter ever to clear 18 feet and has now done so both indoors and outdoors.
SEC Men’s Freshman of the Week: Cale Wallace, Arkansas
• Finished second in his first collegiate indoor mile with an SEC-leading time of 4:08.63.
• He was the top-performing Razorback in the race, earning three points towards Arkansas’ seven-point win against No. 3 Texas in the dual meet.
• Nationally, his time ranks fourth in the NCAA and is the top mark among freshmen.
SEC Co-Women’s Runner of the Week: Cally Macumber, Kentucky
• Won the mile in a Kentucky Invitational field that included two unattached former All-Americans and 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials competitors at 800m (Phoebe Wright and Chanelle Price).
• Macumber’s personal-best time of 4:42.35 achieved this past weekend leads the SEC, ranks No. 2 in the nation and is one of the top times in the world this indoor season.
SEC Co-Women’s Runner of the Week: Cory McGee, Florida
• Coming off an off-season surgery, won the 800m at the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener against a number of other SEC teams.
• Clocked an indoor personal-best time of 2:09.01, which currently ranks as the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season.
• Ranks among the top-15 in the world so far this indoor season.
SEC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week: Tamara Myers, Arkansas
• Posted three wins during the seventh-ranked Razorbacks’ season-opening dual against Oklahoma State.
• Took top honors in the long jump and triple jump, with personal-best marks in both, and was a member of Arkansas’ first-place 4x400-meter relay.
• Winning effort in the triple jump of 12.95m/42-6 is the No. 1 mark in the SEC and ranks second in the NCAA. The jump also moved her into a tie for fourth place on the program’s all-time list and added more than a foot to her previous personal best.
• In the long jump, Myers currently is second in the SEC and fifth in the NCAA. Her jump of 6.10m/20-0.25 is the first 20-foot measurement of her career.
SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week: Larissa Debich, Auburn
• In her first collegiate meet, broke a 16-year-old school freshman record in the women’s pole vault with her clearance at 3.70m/12-1.50.
• Her performance shattered the previous record of 11-9.75, set by Hannah Johnson in 1998.
• The clearance is the second-best indoor mark in Auburn history and the top pole vault performance by an Auburn female vaulter since 2004.