Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Men's Track 7th, Women 12th at NCAA Indoor Champs
Sunday, March 11, 2001 | Track and Field
Some experts say that the NCAA Indoor Championships is the preview of the upcoming outdoor season. If that is correct, then this spring should be a lot of fun for those track lovers that follow the Florida track teams. The Gators turned in performances at this weekend's NCAA Indoor meet that will make the outdoor season a lot of fun to watch. The Gator men's team finished seventh with 26 points and the women's team finished 12th with 17 points at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Louisiana State won the men's title on the last race of the night with a score of 34 and UCLA won the women's championship with a total of 46.5 points. The top four teams on the men's side were separated by one point each..
"We have to be very happy with this strong Top 10 finish," men's coach Doug Brown said following the meet. "This gives us good momentum going into the outdoor season and we're looking forward to it."
The Gators finally got a break with one of the photo finishes. After last night's distance medley relay, Florida was edged out for second place by Arkansas. In today's meet, freshman Rickey Harris beat Ohio State's Andrew Pierce in the 400m final by .004 of a second to win Florida's first indoor 400m championship since Tyrone Kemp's championship in 1989. Harris's time of 45.78 not only gives him the national title, but it is the sixth fastest time run in the world this year and ties the Florida record. Pierce came into these championships owning the collegiate record in both the 200m and the 400m.
"I was hoping to have enough energy to get in there and I did," Harris said of the photo finish final race. "It was a good race for me."
"My hat goes off to the nine Gators that competed here this weekend," Brown said. "A special congratulations goes to Rickey Harris. For a freshman to be a national championship in this event is something special."
Niki Benjamin was the second qualifier going into the 60m finals. She lived up to that seeding by finishing second in the final and earning All-American honors. She was second to Jacksonville's Monique Tubbs who had a time of 7.29 seconds.
"I'm pleased with the results," Benjamin said of her finish in the short sprint. "I'll use this as a good spring board for the outdoor season."
Moise Joseph turned in the third fastest 800m time in Florida track and field history and still finished fifth in the finals. The freshman from Miami was had a time of 1:47.72 and scored four points for the team. The winner of the race was Patrick Nduwimana who ran 1:45.33, the second fastest time in the world this year.
Yolanda Thompson was eighth in the triple jump and earned one point for the Gator cause. She will earn All-American honors for the first time in her career. The same cannot be said for Laura Hawkins and Megan Westfall in the pole vault. The twosome did not score for the Gators.
Candice Scott narrowly missed out on her first-career All-America honor by finishing ninth in the weight throw. She quaified for the championship meet with a mark of 63-5.5 and had a throw today of 63-0.25. Erik Newby fouled on his first three attempts in the triple jump and did not score.
FINAL Top 10 Men's Team Scores:
1. LSU 34; 2. TCU 33; 3. Arkansas 32; 4. Alabama 31; 5. Stanford 28.5; 6. SMU 27; 7. FLORIDA 26; 8. Kansas 20; 9. Tennessee 19; 10. Mississippi 18.
FINAL Top 10 Women's Team Scores:
1. UCLA 53.5; 2. South Carolina 40; 3. Clemson 30; 3. Arkansas 30; 5. Arkansas 24; 6. Colorado 22; 7. Missouri 21; 7. UTEP 21; 7. Houston 21; 10 North Carolina 19.33 ... 12. Florida 17
END OF REPORT
