Florida Gators
NCAA Championships Day 3
Bad Luck Plagues Gators at NCAA Track Meet
Saturday, June 2, 2001 | Track and Field
If it weren't for bad luck, the Florida track teams would have no luck at all. In the third of four days at the NCAA Championships, two Florida athletes fell in their races and another finished six places behind where he was projected to finish. Going into the meet, the Gators had a chance to have athletes represented in 10 events on the meet's final day. Instead, Florida athletes will be competing in four events with any hopes of a team championship gone.
On Friday, Florida competed in four final events. Rickey Harris scored two points for the men's team, giving the Gators a total of three on the weekend tying them for 43rd place. The women's team scored nine points in three final events today, totaling 11 for the championships and sitting in a tie for 11th place. For the third straight day, the host Oregon Ducks remain in first place of the men's team race with a total of 27 points. Baylor is in second with 24.50 and Tennessee is third with 21. Southern California holds a 13-point lead on rival UCLA in the women's team race. The Trojans have 40 points to UCLA's 27. Arizona is third with 24.
The first event on the track was the women's final of the 4x100m relay. The team of Amber Robinson, Ebony Shotwell, Keyon Soley and Niki Benjamin ran 44.29 for fifth place, earning All-America honors for all members of the tam. The event was won by LSU at 43.54, the seventh fastest time in the world this season. Southern California finished second. Yolanda Thompson finished seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 42-2.25 and scored two points for the team. The sophomore from Alexandria, Va., also finished seventh in the long jump two days ago.
Erin Merten finished sixth in the 800m final with a time of 2:06.68, earning her a second All-America honor of the season. Kamille Bratton, who fell in the semifinal heat but was awarded a spot in the final after a protest, was in fifth place with 200 meters to go before she fell in the exact same location on the track. She gathered herself to finish, but was ninth in the race at 2:19.70.
The bad luck continued for the Gators in the high hurdles. Stephen Jones, who was considered one of the top five in the event, hit the first hurdle hard and could not negotiate the second in his semifinal heat. Jones attempted to recover but did not finish the race.
Harris' seventh place finish in the 400m hurdles earned Florida's second and third points of the meet. Harris finished in a time of 50.59, well back of the winner Bayano Kamani of Baylor. Harris came out of the blocks well, but fell behind at the first hurdle after being passed by Kamani who was in the lane to Harris' left. He could not recover, but still finished fast enough to earn the third All-America honor of his freshman year. He finishes his freshman year with a national championship in the indoor 400m dash and an SEC Championship in the 400m hurdles.
Tomorrow's last day will feature Gators in two field event finals and Florida athletes in the men's 400m finals and the women's 4x400m relay championship. Jukina Dickerson, Florida's school record holder in the hammer throw enters the NCAA Championships ranked seventh. Erik Newby was the 19th and final athlete to make the championship field in the triple jump. After qualifying out of yesterday's semifinals, Geno White will be the third seed in the 400m finals and the women's 4x400m relay team will run in the day's last event.
Today's Florida Finishes
Women's Triple Jump FINAL
Yolanda Thompson- 42-2.25 (7th)
Men's 400m Hurdles FINAL
Rickey Harris- 50.59 (7th)
Women's 4x100m Relay FINAL
(Amber Robinson, Ebony Shotwell, Keyon Soley, Niki Benjamin)- 44.29 (5th)
Women's 800m FINALS
Erin Merten- 2:06.68 (6th); Kamille Bratton- 2:19.70 (9th)
Men's 110m Hurdles SEMIFINALS
Stephen Jones- Did not finish
Top 10 Men's Team Scores (after Day 3):
1. Oregon-27, 2. Baylor-24.5, 3. Tennessee-21, 4. Arkansas-20, 5. UTEP-19, 5. Stanford-19, 7. Texas A&M-18, 8. USC-16, 8. Georgia-16, 8. Utah State-16, 8. TCU-16 ... T-43. FLORIDA-3
Top 10 Women's Team Scores (after Day 3):
1. USC-40, 2. UCLA-27, 3. Arizona-24, 4. Arkansas-23, 6. Rice-16, 7. LSU-13, 7. Auburn-13. 7. Clemson-13, 10. Arizona State-12 ... T-11. FLORIDA-11.
End of Report
