Special to the News

Senior Raevan Harris and freshman Marcus Rowland have been honored by the Southeastern Conference with weekly track and field awards, the conference office announced Tuesday.

Harris was named Female Field Athlete of the Week, while Rowland earned the league’s Male Freshman of the Week award.

At the season-opening Kentucky Invitational last Saturday, Harris broke a 19-year-old school record, winning the high jump with a leap of 1.89 meters (6-2.25). She topped the Auburn indoor record of 6-2 set by Sissy Costner in 1990 while automatically qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Her mark, which also surpassed her previous outdoor best by one inch, currently ranks No. 2 in the nation.

Rowland had an impressive collegiate debut, winning the 60-meter dash at the Kentucky Invitational with a time of 6.66 seconds. His time, which provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Indoor Championships, ranks second in the NCAA this year and is third best in Auburn indoor history, behind only former Olympians Coby Miller and Marc Burns.

The Auburn track and field teams will return to action this Saturday at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.

Softball team picked to finish 4th in SEC
The Auburn softball team was predicted to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division in 2009 in a preseason vote by league coaches.

The coaches picked last season’s league champion Florida to repeat as conference champions in 2009.

“Being picked fourth will certainly motive this team as the season progresses,” Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. “I think with so many young players on our team, a lot of teams were looking at that when the votes were decided.”

The Tigers’ 2009 roster features just five returning upperclassmen, three seniors and two juniors, and one junior college transfer. Auburn has 15 underclassmen, with eight freshmen and seven sophomores.

The Tigers are coming off a 38-22 overall record and a third-place finish in the SEC West last season. Auburn advanced to the program’s fifth NCAA Regional in 2008.

Auburn opens the 2009 season Feb. 6-8, at the Florida International Tournament in Miami.

The Tigers open their home schedule with a 6 p.m. game against Georgia State on Feb. 11 and then host the Tiger Invitational Feb. 13-15.