TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Freshman sprint sensation Samantha Henry more than made up for the absence of All-American Kelly Baptiste in the 200 meters by clocking a new personal best time of 22.84 seconds in Friday’s prelim at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
Henry, who entered the meet with a PR of 23.18 recorded at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz., on April 14, won her heat and qualified for Sunday’s final with the third-fastest preliminary time Friday at Sam Bailey Stadium.
“I just wanted to go out there and do whatever it took to get into the final,” Henry said. “It feels good to run a PR, but my focus was to try to win the race to guarantee myself a spot in the final. That’s all I was trying to do. I got out excellent and I just turned it over.”
LSU head coach Dennis Shaver said Henry has the potential to develop into one of the SEC’s premier sprinters during her career as a Lady Tiger, but that she just needs to show that kind of effort and consistency each time she steps on the track.
“Samantha looked awfully good tonight,” Shaver said. “It’s one of those things where it’s important to perform like that on a consistent basis. The thing about Sam is that she’s been a little bit inconsistent this season, but I’m not at all surprised with her performance tonight.”
The Kingston, Jamaica, native will be joined in the 200-meter final by senior Sherry Fletcher and junior Brooklynn Morris. Fletcher took first in her heat with the fourth-fastest qualifying time of the evening at 23.10, while Morris qualified for Sunday’s final with the seventh-fastest time of the preliminary round at 23.26.
Baptiste, who entered the meet with the second-fastest 200-meter time in the SEC at 22.95, will focus her efforts on the 100-meter dash this weekend as she rests for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in two weeks. Baptiste is the SEC’s second-ranked performer in the 100 meters with a time of 11.22.
The Lady Tigers are currently in seventh place in the team standings with six points as senior Shaunette Davidson scored four points with a fifth-place finish in the heptathlon, while freshman Kim Williams scored two points with a seventh-place effort in the hammer throw.
Davidson, who started the day in third place with a Day 1 total of 3,282 points, finished the event with 5,034 points as she posted new personal best marks in both the javelin (95-5) and 800 meters (2:42.90), while also recording a jump of 18 feet, 7 ¾ inches in the long jump. Williams wrapped up the hammer throw competition with a mark of 175-10.
On the men’s side, the Tigers currently sit in eighth place with six points after the first day of finals as junior distance standout Joseph Simuchimba finished third in the men’s 10,000-meter run with a time of 30 minutes, 15.60 seconds.
Freshman Eric Radecker earned an 11th-place finish in the decathlon in his first career appearance at the SEC Outdoor Championships. The Metairie, La., native, who was unable to finish the 1,500 meters due to severe cramping, scored 5,554 points in the event with new personal best marks in the discus (100-3), pole vault (11-3 ¾) and javelin (147-11).
In addition to the three Lady Tigers who secured their spot in the 200-meter final, freshman LaTavia Thomas and senior Tanya Osbourne each qualified for Sunday’s final in the 800 meters, while sophomore hurdles standout Nickiesha Wilson advanced in the 400-meter hurdles.
Thomas – the reigning SEC indoor champion in the 800 – won her heat with the second-fastest prelim time at 2:06.59, while Osbourne followed with the sixth-fastest time of the day at 2:07.53. Wilson clocked the fastest time in her specialty event by nearly one second at 57.04.
A total of four Tigers also qualified for the finals of their respective specialty event as junior Richard Thompson (21.02) advanced in the 200 meters, freshman Jamaal James (1:49.67) and junior Reuben Twijukye (1:50.02) qualified in the 800 meters, and senior Isa Phillips (49.85) also advanced in the 400-meter hurdles.
“There were really no disappointments today, and there were also no real surprises” Shaver said. “The kids came out today and executed like we thought they would, and they did what they were expected to do. We’re looking for more of the same when we open up tomorrow.”
Saturday’s action is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. with the men’s discus and men’s long jump, while the afternoon’s first running events are slated to begin at 6 p.m. with the prelims of the men’s 1,500 meters. A brief opening ceremony is scheduled for 5:50 p.m.
SEC Outdoor Championships Results
Friday at Sam Bailey Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (All race distances in meters)
Men’s
10,000
1. Barnabas Kirui, Ole Miss, 30:07.05; 2. Peter Kosgei, Arkansas, 30:12.98; 3. Joseph Simuchimba, LSU, 30:15.60; 4. James Strang, Arkansas, 30:18.11; 5. Chris Barnicle, Arkansas, 30:23.72; 6. Matt Munoz, Arkansas, 30:26.11; 7. Andy Baksa, Tennessee, 30:48.15; 8. Tyler Hill, Arkansas, 31:04.07.
Hammer
1. Cory Martin, Auburn, 234-4; 2. Jake Dunkleberger, Auburn, 226-7; 3. Nate Rolfe, Georgia, 214-11; 4. Tyler Trout, South Carolina, 202-10; 5. Kyle Helf, Georgia, 198-11; 6. Richard Wooten, Tennessee, 198-5; 7. John Freeman, Georgia, 196-1; 8. James Maloney, Ole Miss, 182-7.
Decathlon
1. Jangy Addy, Tennessee, 7,461; 2. Michael Morrison, Florida, 7,316; 3. Joseph Queen, Mississippi State, 6,673; 4. Kurt Lee, Florida, 6,571; 5. Tommie Barrineau, Georgia, 6,513; 6. Curt McGill, South Carolina, 6,440; 7. Jager Livingston, Auburn, 6,314; 8. Daryl Aldridge, Alabama, 6,118.
Women’s
10,000
1. Jill Steffens, Georgia, 35:45.48; 2. Denise Bargiachi, Arkansas, 36:03.97; 3. Jacy Kruzel, Florida, 36:08.70; 4. Miranda Walker, Arkansas, 36:37.18; 5. Sara Petrick, Florida, 37:08.34; 6. Michelle Corrigan, Mississippi State, 37:15.60; 7. Taylor Miller, Kentucky, 37:33.45; 8. Jamie Geissler, Florida, 37:34.19.
Hammer
1. Jenny Dahlgren, Georgia, 227-0; 2. Ashley Muffet, Kentucky, 189-11; 3. Shanna Dickenson, Tennessee, 187-9; 4. Shawneise Williams, Florida, 187-5; 5. Chinelo Ubaka, Florida, 184-1; 6. Emily Bernhardt, Kentucky, 181-3; 7. Kim Williams, LSU, 175-10; 8. Valentina Srsa, Auburn, 167-0.
Heptathlon
1. Nia Ali, Tennessee, 5,490; 2. Sarah Gretzmacher, Georgia, 5,350; 3. Garnetta Holloway, Vanderbilt, 5,245; 4. Marrissa Harris, Mississippi State, 5,242; 5. Shaunette Davidson, LSU, 5,034; 6. Francis Vital, Ole Miss, 4,590; 7. Dorothy Youmans, Mississippi State, 4,497; 8. Etienne Chaplin, Arkansas, 4,452.