Florida Gators
Penn Relays
T&F Notches Wins at Penn Relays
Saturday, April 26, 2003 | Track and Field
The University of Florida men's track and field team saw its 4x200m relay team win the preliminaries of the event, while the women's team notched a win in the 4x100m relay event in the second day of the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. Between the two teams, Florida came away with eight top-five finishes on the day.
The Gator team of Rickey Harris, Kyle Farmer, Ahmad Jasmine and Sekou Clarke won the 4x200m relay preliminary in 1:22.36, which is third- best in school history, and will advance to Saturday's final as the event's top team. In the 4x100m relay, Jasmine, Farmer, Mike Loyd and Clarke finished second in their heat in 40.01, which was good enough for fourth overall in the event.
Moise Joseph, Stefan Pastor, Shane Stroup and Steve Zieminski combined to finish fifth in the Distance Medley Relay Championship of America in 9:36.33, just one-hundredth of a second off the Florida school record. The shuttle hurdle relay team of Harris, Chris Carswell, Dwight Ruff and Josh Walker finished second in 54.90. The Gators finished their relay events Friday with a win in their heat of the 4x400m relay, as Ruff, Farmer, Clarke and Harris crossed the line in 3:07.04, which was sixth overall.
In individual events Friday, Walker finished fifth in his heat of the 110m hurdles in 14.19, while Carswell was sixth in his heat in a time of 14.27.
In late action Thursday night, freshman Daniel Parker finished 12th overall in the men's 5,000m championship event in 14:09.04, which bettered his regional qualifying time and moved him into eighth place in school history in the event.
For the women, Amber Robinson, Yolanda Thompson, Cameal Rhule and Niki Benjamin won the 4x100m relay championship in a time of 44.51, edging out runner-up St. Augustine's by a little less than a second and placing 10th in school history with that mark. Robinson, Benjamin, Novlene Williams and Kristin Bratton combined to finish fourth overall in the Sprint Medley Championship of America in 3:46.31.
Andrea Bliss finished second in her heat of the 100m hurdles in 13.25, placing third overall. Thompson was the Gators' top finisher in the triple jump, with her best jump coming at 12.53m/41-01.50, while Rhule grabbed the No. 5 spot in school history in the same event with her personal-best jump of 12.28m/40-03.50. In the Championship Discus event, Rachel Longfors finished fourth overall with a throw of 53.37m/175-01, and Dore DeBartolo came in ninth with a mark of 48.70m/159-09.
Thursday night's distance events concluded for the women's team with the 10,000m run. Carling Cookerly finished 19th overall in a time of 36:17.59, which moved her up to ninth in school history in the event.
Penn Relays will conclude Saturday.
UF Wins: 2
Men (1): 4x200m Relay prelims – Rickey Harris, Kyle Farmer, Ahmad Jasmine, Sekou Clarke – 1:22.36
Women (1): College 4x100m relay – Amber Robinson, Yolanda Thompson, Cameal Rhule, Niki Benjamin – 44.51
UF Regional Qualifying Marks: 11
Men (5): Chris Carswell – 110m hurdles, 14.27; Daniel Parker – 5,000m Championship, 14:09.04; Josh Walker – 110m hurdles, 14.19; 4x100m relay – Ahmad Jasmine, Kyle Farmer, Mike Loyd, Sekou Clarke, 40.01; 4x400m relay – Dwight Ruff, Kyle Farmer, Sekou Clarke Rickey Harris, 3:07.04
Women (6): Andrea Bliss – 100m hurdles, 13.25; Dore DeBartolo – discus championship, 48.70m/159-09; Rachel Longfors – discus championship, 53.37m/175-01; Cameal Rhule – triple jump, 12.28m/40'03.50; Yolanda Thompson – triple jump, 12.53m/41'01.50; 4x100m relay – Amber Robinson, Yolanda Thompson, Cameal Rhule, Niki Benjamin, 44.51
