Auburn Track and Field Readies for SEC Indoor Championships
Fayetteville, Ark.(auburntigers.com) —The Auburn track and field teams will compete at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships this Friday and Saturday at Randal Tyson Track Center on the University of Arkansas campus. Traditionally one of the toughest meets in the country, the Tigers will face off against 13 nationally ranked teams, including six men’s and seven women’s programs.
Auburn has 18 men and 22 women competing at the championships, including a combined eight All-American. A relatively young squad, the men have 11 underclassmen and just six athletes that have previously competed at the conference indoor meet. The Auburn women feature a more experienced group, with 13 athletes that have participated at the meet.
The women including will be led by senior All-Americans Rachel Dincoff, Jessie Johnson, Valentina Muzaric, and Samantha Scarlett and junior Marshay Ryan.
Action each day will begin at 11 a.m. CT. and will be streamed live on SEC Network+ each day. Live streaming Friday will be from 3:55-8:15 p.m. CT and Saturday from 2:55-7:30 p.m. CT. On Sunday, a two-hour show will are on ESPN at 6 p.m. CT.
“We’ve got a good group, but they’re young, especially on the men’s side,” Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. “A lot of them will be competing in their first SEC meet. We have some upperclassmen who have been here before, so it will be important for them set the tempo and get things going.”
Auburn’s most decorated pole vaulter in program history, Johnson is currently ranked third in the SEC and tied for ninth nationally with a school record mark of 14-2 set two weeks ago in Albuquerque, N.M. Johnson was the SEC Indoor runner up in 2015.
Muzaric is also ranked third in the league in the shot put with a throw of 54-7.25 and is a three-time scorer at the meet. She was second in 2014, fourth in 2013 and sixth last year.
Scarlett will look to improve up back-to-back fourth place finishes in the women’s 60m hurdles. The Kingston, Jamaica, native is currently ranked third in the SEC with a time of 8.14 and was the SEC leader prior to last weekend.
Other women currently ranked among the top five in the league include Dincoff in the shot put (fifth, 53-9.25) and Ryan, the 2014 NCAA Indoor runner up in the triple jump (fifth, 43-4.5).
“The SEC Indoors are always a challenge and we’ll find out what this group is made of,” Spry said. “This will be a good chance to see how our athletes respond to this type of environment. The women will be more competitive because if their experience. We will see where we are and what we’re made of. We’re going to fight hard and see what happens.”
Heading up the men’s team will be All-Americans Shawn Johnson, Kahlil Henderson and Teray Smith.
Johnson is ranked third in the league and fifth nationally in the triple jump (53-10.5) and is also tied for third in the high jump, clearing 7-0.5. Johnson had a big meet two weeks ago at the Don Kirby Open, posting his season-best mark in the triple jump. Smith and junior hurdler Welington Zaza enter the meet eighth in the SEC in the 200m and 60m hurdles, respectively.
This will mark the eighth time the SEC Indoor Championships have been contested at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
