Florida Gators
Sea Ray Relays
Gator Track Teams Begin Sea Ray Relays Competition
Saturday, April 14, 2001 | Track and Field
The University of Florida track and field teams began competition yesterday at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. The meet began with the decathlon and will run through Saturday, ending with the traditional 4x400m relay. Senior hurdler was the highlight of Friday's action with his automatic qualification for the NCAA Championships in the 110m hurdles.
Jones ran a seasonal best 13.68 in the first heat of the finals and was fourth overall in the competition, behind two unattached athletes and another collegiate runner. Jones' time moves him to within .02 second of his lifetime personal best and to No. 3 on the all-time Florida list. Freshman Rickey Harris, who already has a provisional qualifying mark in this event was 10th place overall with a time of 14.09. Harris saved his best for the 400m hurdles where he posted a provisional mark of 50.53. After nearly missing a provisional time last week, Mike King got even closer with a time of 51.30 this week.
Erik Newby, an NCAA qualifier in the triple jump indoors, registered a provisional mark in the same event outdoors this weekend with a jump of 51-5. The final provisional qualifier for the men's team was Moise Joseph in the 800m. Joseph was the fifth-place finisher in the NCAA indoor meet last month. He finished today's 800m race with a time of 1:48.66.
The women's 800m run was dominated by Gators past and present. Five of the first six finishers were either current for former Florida athletes. The current Gator athletes were Kamille Bratton (third), Kristina Bratton (fourth) and Nona Allen (sixth). All were provisional qualifiers. Kamille Bratton had a time of 2:05.86, Kristina Bratton had a time of 2:05.91 and Allen finished in 2:06.58. Former Gator All-Americans Hazel Clark and Tamieka Grizzle were the first and second-place finishers.
Erin Merten nearly missed a provisional qualifying time in the 1,500m with her sixth place finish. Merten had a personal best time of 4:25.29. Freshman Mason Cathey had a time of 4:39.70 to finish 27th.
During the first two days of action, senior Will Mizell finished fifth in the decathlon. Mizell had a total of 7,051 points, missing out on the provisional qualifying mark by less than 100 points. Mizell competed well, taking second in the discus (137-1) and third in the 110m high hurdles (15.24). He also gained some points on the field with a fourth-place javelin of 165-3. Mizell's point total is a new personal best and moves him from sixth on the all-time Florida list to second.
Also in Friday night's late action were the 5,000m and 10,000m runs. Courtney Chambers was the 17th-place finisher in the 5,000m with a time of 15:23.10. Rob Evans was 12th in the 10,000m with a time of 31:59.45 while freshman teammate Carlos Hinojosa was 19th with a time of 32:57.94.
The meet continues through tomorrow evening. Featured tomorrow will be several more field events and all relay events.
UF Wins (1):
Men (1): Matt Vincent-HJ (6-9.75)
Women: none
UF Qualifiers (7):
Men (4)
Automatic: Stephen Jones-110mHH (13.68)
Provisional: Erik Newby-triple jump (15.98m/52-5); Rickey Harris-400m Hurdles (50.53); Moise Joseph-800m (1:48.66)
Women (7)
Automatic: none
Provisional: Kamille Bratton-800m (2:05.86); Kristina Bratton-800m (2:05.91); Nona Allen (2:06.58)
END OF REPORT
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