University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
SEC Indoor Championships
Ayers Second, Best Ninth Through Four Events of SEC Heptathlon
February 27, 2009 | Men's Track
Feb. 27, 2009
Tennessee sophomore Michael Ayers notched three lifetime-bests en route to landing in second place with 3,128 points after four events in the heptathlon Friday at the SEC Championships in Lexington. Ky. Freshman Matthew Best was almost as solid, posting a lifetime-best in one event, a season best in another and narrowly missing a new lifetime-best in a third event. Best finished day one in ninth place with 2,826 points.
"Mike had a really great first day," Tennessee head coach Bill Webb said. "He's continuing to put pressure on his competition and has put himself in a position to do well for the team tomorrow. Matt will need to have a great second day to score for us, but he is competing well."
Ayers and Best both notched lifetime-best performances in the 60m to open competition. Ayers placed second in 7.04 seconds, improving his previous top mark by .07 seconds. Best tied for ninth in 7.24 seconds, dropping .05 seconds from his previous personal best.
In the evening's second event, Ayers leaped 6.77m (22-2.5) in the long jump to place fourth, while Best posted a season-best mark of 6.59m (21-7.5) to place ninth.
In the shot put, Ayers posted another lifetime-best mark with a toss of 13.49m (44-03.25) to finish second overall and improve on his old top mark by 19 inches. Best earned a seventh-place finish with a toss of 12.11m (39-8.75).
Ayers continued his stellar evening with a lifetime-best clearance of 2.00m (6-6.75) in the high jump to finish in a three-way tie for first. Best posted a height of 1.88m (6-2), nearly reaching his personal-best height of 1.99m (6-2.25) to tie for seventh.
The heptathlon resumes Saturday at 2:30 ET with the 60m hurdles. The first individual event, the high jump, begins at 11:00 a.m. Live results are available at UTsports.com.
| TENNESSEE RESULTS | |||
| Heptathlon: #1 Men 60 Meter Dash | |||
| 1. Stoudemire, Eddie | South Carolina | 6.92 | 911 |
| 2. Ayers, Michael | Tennessee | 7.04 | 868 |
| 9. Best, Matthew | Tennessee | 7.24 | 799 |
| Heptathlon: #2 Men Long Jump | |||
| 1. McGill, Curt | South Carolina | 7.15m 23-05.50 | 850 |
| 4. Ayers, Michael | Tennessee | 6.77m 22-02.50 | 760 |
| 9. Best, Matthew | Tennessee | 6.59m 21-07.50 | 718 |
| Heptathlon: #3 Men Shot Put | |||
| 1. McGill, Curt | South Carolina | 14.03m 46-00.50 | 730 |
| 2. Ayers, Michael | Tennessee | 13.49m 44-03.25 | 697 |
| 7. Best, Matthew | Tennessee | 12.11m 39-08.75 | 613 |
| Heptathlon: #4 Men High Jump Heptathlon | |||
| 1. Pierce, Scott | South Carolina | 2.00m 6-06.75 | 803 |
| 1. Horn, Gray | Florida | 2.00m 6-06.75 | 803 |
| 1. Ayers, Michael | Tennessee | 2.00m 6-06.75 | 803 |
| 7. Best, Matthew | Tennessee | 1.88m 6-02.00 | 696 |
