Florida Gators
NCAA Championships Day 1
Day One of Gator Track at NCAA Championships
Thursday, May 31, 2001 | Track and Field
The University of Florida track and field teams are competing in the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., this week. Today was the first day of competition. The Gators were involved in one final event today and six semifinal events. Florida had two individuals and one relay team advance to the finals of their events. Rickey Harris in the 400m hurdles for the men's team while Erin Merten and Kamille Bratton both made the 800m final for the women were the two Gators to individually qualify for the finals of their events.
"We've had some good breaks all year and today we didn't get them," UF men's coach Doug Brown said. "This shows how tough this meet can be."
The Gators' 4x100m relay team of Amber Robinson, Ebony Shotwell, Soley and Niki Benjamin won its heat with a time of 43.99 and will advance to the finals as the number three seed. LSU, who came into the meet tied with Florida for the fastest time in the nation will be the top seed with a new national leading 43.58.
Yolanda Thompson scored Florida's first points of the meet. Her long jump of 20-7.75 was seventh, putting two points on the scoreboard. Teammate Keyon Soley, who has been battling a knee injury all outdoor season, was 20th with a 19-3.25 mark.
"We're hanging in there," women's head coach Tom Jones said. "The relay team, which is really banged up, got around the track just like we needed them to do and they will go into the final as the third seed."
On the men's side, Harris will advance to Friday's final of the 400m hurdles as the second seed with a time of 50.04. Baylor's Bayano Kamani is the top seed. Just as they were coming into the competiton, Kamani and Harris will be the first and second seeds. Gator senior Mike King will not advance after finishing third in his heat with a time of 51.32. He was 13th overall in the preliminaries.
Aaron Armstrong ran 20.48, a personal best at Florida and seventh all-time at the University, in the semifinals of the 200m and will not advance to the finals, missing the eighth and final qualifying spot by .01 second. Tennessee freshman Justin Gatlin ran a time of 19.86, which would appear to beat former Gator John Capel's NCAA record by .01 second. Gatlin's time, however was run with a tailwind of over 3.0 meters per second and will not count for record purposes. It does advance him to the finals as the top seed. The top four seeds in the finals will be two Tennessee runners and two TCU runners.
"Aaron Armstrong runs a personal best and barely misses the final, those were some very fast races," Brown continued.
The women's 800m did not go as Florida had planned. There were four Gators in the three heats. Merten's 2:06.18 advances as the final qualifier for Friday's final. She was in the same heat with Kristina and Kamille Bratton. The three were bunched together in the middle of the pack with 200 meters to go before Kamille Bratton fell over the rail that had been placed in her lane and did not finish. Kamille Bratton, however was awarded a place in the finals after a protest over faulty equipment.
Kristina Bratton finished 12th overall in the preliminaries. Nona Allen was in the final semifinal heat and finished seventh in that heat. She was 19th overall. Moise Joseph ran a good race in the men's 800m semifinal, 1:48.56, but finished third in his heat, 10th overall and will not advance. The two automatic qualifiers from Joseph's heat will be the number two and five seeds in Friday's final.
"Nine years out of 10, Moise makes the finals with his time," Brown said. "He got boxed in a few times and still ran only two seconds off his personal best."
After running the leadoff leg of the 4x100m relay team, Robinson will not advance to the finals of the 200m after finishing in 23.39 in her heat. She was fifth in her heat, but her time was not fast enough to advance her to the finals.
"(Robinson) not making the final in the 200 (meters) is tough," Jones said. "She still ran well on the relay even though we haven't even run (the relay) competitively in two weeks."
Tomorrow, Florida will have competitors in the preliminary rounds of six events and the finals of three events. Stephen Jones will take part in the 110m hurdle trials, Faith Rein and Geno White will compete in the women's and men's 400m semifinals, Niki Benjamin will be in the trials of the 100m and the two 4x400m relay teams will run their semifinal heats.
There will be three final events run tomorrow, the men's high jump and long jump and the women's shot put. Matt Vincent is tied for ninth in the nation in the high jump while Maurice Lewis is seventh in the NCAA in the long jump for the Gators. Kimberli Barrett was the final competitor to make the championship in the shot put, ranking 19th.
Today's Florida Finishes
Women's Long Jump FINAL
Yolanda Thompson- 7th, 20-7.75; Keyon Soley- 20th, 19-3.25
Women's 4x100m Relay SEMIFINAL
Florida (Amber Robinson, Ebony Shotwell, Keyon Soley, Niki Benjamin)-43.99 (advances to final as heat winner)
Men's 400m Hurdles SEMIFINAL
Rickey Harris- 50.04 (advances to final as heat winner); Mike King- 51.32 (did not advance)
Women's 800m SEMIFINAL
Erin Merten- 2:06.19 (advances to final); Kristina Bratton- 2:06.74 (did not advance); Nona Allen- 2:11.09 (did not advance); Kamille Bratton- DNF
Men's 800m SEMIFINAL
Moise Joseph- 1:48.56 (did not advance)
Women's 200m SEMIFINAL
Amber Robinson- 23.39 (did not advance)
Men's 200m SEMIFINAL
Aaron Armstrong- 20.48 (did not advance)
Top 10 Men's Team Scores (after Day 1):
1. Oregon-16, 2. USC-10, 2. Notre Dame-10, 4. BYU-8, 4. UTEP-8, 4. Arkansas-8, 7. Texas A&M-6, 7. Tulane, 6, 9. Alabama-5, 9.Northern Iowa-5, Virginia-5, 9. Tennessee-5.
Top 10 Women's Team Scores (after Day 1):
1. Arizona-10, 1, Idaho-10, 3. Rice-8, 3. Colorado-8, 5. UCLA-6, 5. Arizona State-6, 7. Oklahoma, 5, 7. Seton Hall-5, 9. Illinois-4, 9. Mississippi State-4 ... 13. FLORIDA-2
End of Report
