Official Site of the Southeastern Conference

Female Runner of the Week
Shelise Williams, Jr.
Arkansas
Los Angeles, Calif.

-Williams ran the second leg of the 4x400-meter relay and the 400-meter leg on the distance medley relay at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational this weekend. She was a member of two relay teams that set school records in less than 24 hours.
-Williams split 52.2 as the 400-meter second leg of the distance medley relay on Friday and 52.02 as the second leg of the 4x400-meter relay on Saturday.
-The DMR quartet combined for a time of 11:06.56 to finish fourth. The time is an Arkansas school record, ranks No. 5 in the NCAA and No. 2 in the SEC.  The quartet also combined for a time of 3:33.18 to win the championship 4x400-meter relay. The time is the Arkansas school record, the NCAA and SEC leader and an improved NCAA provisional-qualifying time.

Female Field Athlete of the Week
Shara Proctor, Sr.
Florida
The Valley, Anguilla    

• Won both the women’s triple jump and long jump events with automatic-qualifying marks, school-record marks, SEC-leading marks and nation-leading marks.
• Won the long jump event with a nation-leading mark of 6.67m/21-10.75 and broke her own school record for the second consecutive week. It was the 12th-best women’s long jump in collegiate history and set a new Rector Field House record.
• Won the triple jump event with a personal-best leap of 13.88m/45-6.60. That broke the nearly 18-year-old school record of 13.40m/43-11.75 set in 1992. It goes down as the eighth-best women’s triple jump mark in collegiate history.
• Her long jump mark currently ranks eighth in the world this season, setting her home country of Anguilla’s national record, while her triple jump ranks 18th in the world and is her home country’s national record.

Female Freshman of the Week
Takeia Pinckney
LSU
Atlanta, Ga.    
   
Pinckney became the fastest freshman in the country this season with her performance in the 60-meter dash on Friday at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Pinckney, who entered the meet with a seasonal-best and personal-best time of 7.39 in the event, blistered the track with back-to-back times of 7.31 in both the prelims and finals to take third in the event in a field resembling an NCAA final. Her performance ranks No. 1 among freshmen in both the SEC and NCAA this season, while it ranks No. 3 overall in the SEC and No. 6 overall in the NCAA in 2010. Pinckney finished behind only the matching times of 7.29 set in the final by defending NCAA champion Lakya Brookins of South Carolina and All-America candidate Jeneba Tarmoh of Texas A&M.

Male Runner of the Week
Kirani James, Fr.
Alabama
Gouyave, Grenada
   
- James clocked the current fastest time in the world in the 400m dash with his time of 45.79
- James’ time was well under the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 46.15
- The freshman was hardly pushed, as the second place finisher was almost a full second behind at 46.43
- James’ mark leads the nation by .02 seconds, and leads the SEC by .69 seconds
- His time set a new standard for Alabama 400m runners, breaking a 10-year school record of 46.46 held by Cori Loving - also set in South Bend
- It was James first-ever open 400m race on an indoor track

Male Field Athlete
of the Week
Walter Henning, Jr.
LSU
Kings Park, N.Y.
   
The reigning SEC Male Field Athlete of the Week, Walter Henning was even more impressive in winning the 35-pound weight throw on Saturday at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational than he was in receiving the award following his effort at the New Mexico Invitational on Jan. 30. Henning not only set a new lifetime best and LSU school record for the second-straight week, but he also improved his NCAA-leading mark with a winning throw of 76 feet, 6 ½ inches at the New Balance Track & Field Center in New York. He is now the NCAA leader by nearly two feet as Steffen Nerdel of Memphis ranks No. 2 nationally with a top mark of 74-10 this season. Not only did Henning set a new personal best and LSU school record on Saturday, but he also shattered his own New Balance Collegiate Invitational meet record previously set at 72-8 ½ a year ago and set a new collegiate facility record at The Armory.

Male Freshman of the Week
Jeffery Demps
Florida
Winter Garden, Fla.   
   
• In the first collegiate indoor meet of his career, Demps placed second in the finals of the men’s 60-meter dash with the second-fastest time in school history at 6.61, just off the NCAA automatic-qualifying standard of 6.60.
• Had the fastest time of any competitor in the preliminary round with a time of 6.64, which at the time was the fourth-fastest time in school history.
• Demps’ time was the second best in the NCAA this season, as he finished second to the NCAA leader Rondel Sorrillo, who was first in the race at 6.60.
• The only freshman (indoors) with a time in the NCAA’s top eight in the 60m dash.
• Holds the second-fastest 60m time in the SEC this season.