AUBURN, Ala. – Akeem Bloomfield ran a 45.49 in the prelims to brake the Auburn record in the 400 meter at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championships on Friday in Nashville, Tenn. Five total athletes advanced past Friday’s prelims to the finals Saturday (25 Feb).
“Overall, I thought we had a great day,” Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. “We have some people that have a great chance to score some points for us tomorrow and we are just going to have to come out ready for a battle.”
“I am proud of Akeem with his school record. He looked really good in only his second 400m of the season. I look forward to watching him compete in the finals tomorrow.”
Jamaica native, Bloomfield finished with the second overall time in the prelims of the men’s 400m. The freshman broke the Auburn record in the event, set by Avard Moncur in 2001.
The Tigers had two other Jamaican athletes advance to the finals of the men’s 60 meter. Junior Odean Skeen ran an Auburn best 6.61 in the second heat, which currently stands as the seventh best time in the nation. Freshman Raheem Chambers finished eighth overall in the prelims with a mark of 6.70.
Jonielle Smith tied a career high in the 60m, finishing ninth and just missing the finals with a time of 7.31.
After finishing 12th in the men’s 60m, Bahamian Teray Smith, a senior at Auburn, ran a 20.92 to advance to the finals of the 200m, which was eighth overall in prelims.
Junior Wesley Curles won his section in the men’s mile with a time of 4:10.03. Curles time was sixth overall in the prelims.
“Wes Curles has just missed out on scoring the past two years in the mile,” Spry said. “I think he has a good chance of going out there and getting some points for us tomorrow.”
