Florida Gators
Penn Relays
Gator Track Teams Finish Up Strong at Penn Relays
Saturday, April 28, 2001 | Track and Field
The University of Florida track and field teams finished up a busy weekend at the Penn Relays with three wins and two NCAA qualifiers, one of the qualifiers being an automatic qualifier. The Gators end the weekend with two automatic qualifiers and six wins.
Freshman Rickey Harris, the indoor NCAA champion in the 400m this year, earned an automatic qualifying mark in the 400m hurdles. Harris was the winner of the race in a time of 49.83 which is the fourth fastest time in Florida history and is ranked second in the nation. Harris improves his qualifying time in the event from 50.53 previously. Senior hurdler Mike King was sixth in his heat of the 400m hurdles with a time of 52.87.
The men's 4x400m relay team of Geno White, Aaron Armstrong, Moise Joseph and Harris was another of the three winners for the Gators. The team finished with an improved provisional time of 3:04.22 and defeated second place Auburn by .05 second. Florida led the charge of SEC teams that finished in places one through four.
"In 16 years of college coaching, I have never had a team win the 4x400m relay at the Penn Relays," Florida men's head coach Doug Brown said. "Rickey Harris ran a 44.8 split on the anchor leg and took it to those other teams."
The women's 4x400m relay team finished third overall with a time of 3:33.73. The team of Amber Robinson, Niki Benjamin, Nona Allen and Faith Rein already has an automatic qualifying time of 3:32.74, which they achieved at the Florida Relays.
The women's 4x800m relay team was the final winner of the weekend for the Gators. Kamille Bratton, Kristina Bratton, Melissa DeLeon and Erin Merten teamed up for the 8:24.25 clocking. The women's team had two other winning relays over the weekend. The 4x100m relay team automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships and the sprint medley relay team also won its championship division.
Stephen Jones was the top qualifier for the 110m hurdles going into today's finals. He struggled a bit today and finished seventh with a time of 14.00. The men's 4x800m relay team of Chris Duncan, Courtney Chambers, Ali Abiola and Rolando Ortiz was fourth overall with a time of 7:21.99.
The Gators host the Florida Field Events Classic at Percy Beard Track tomorrow at noon. The full teams for both the men and the women will have next week off before traveling to Columbia, S.C. for the SEC championships on May 11-13.
UF Wins (3)
Men (2): Rickey Harris-400m Hurdles (49.83); 4x400m relay (Geno White, Aaron Armstrong, Moise Joseph, Rickey Harris)-3:04.22
Women (1): 4x800m relay (Kamille Bratton, Kristina Bratton, Melissa DeLeon, Erin Merten)-8:24.25
UF Qualifiers (1)
Men (2)
Automatic: Rickey Harris-400m Hurdles (49.83)
Provisional: 4x400m relay (Geno White, Aaron Armstrong, Moise Joseph, Rickey Harris)-3:04.22
Women (0)
Automatic: none
Provisional: none
End of Report
