Florida Gators
Florida Relays
Florida Relays Records Broken, UF Tallies More Wins
Saturday, March 27, 2004 | Track and Field
Kerron Clement and Rickey Harris both notched wins Friday for the Gators at the Coca-Cola Florida Relays while numerous records were broken throughout the day. Clement won the 400m hurdles, while Harris won the 400m dash. The men's 4x1500m relay team also notched a win on the evening, running the fastest time ever in the event at the Percy Beard Track.
Kerron Clement won the 400m intermediate hurdles in a personal-best time of 49.69, which is also sixth-best in school history. Dwight Ruff finished third in 50.42. Rickey Harris won the 400m dash, clocking in at 45.69 to finish just ahead of Reggie Witherspoon, who clocked in at 45.78 - the ninth fastest time in school history. Sekou Clarke finished sixth in 47.00, while Moise Joseph finished 22nd in 48.74. For the women, Amber Hickman clocked in at 56.04 to place 17th.
Josh Walker won the preliminaries of the 110m hurdles in 13.94, followed by Kerron Clement in second in 14.02. Harris clocked in at 14.22 to finish seventh in the prelims as Florida's last qualifier in the event. All three of those times were also regional qualifiers. Dwight Ruff also competed in the event, finishing tied for 17th in 14.74.
The men's 4x200m relay team of Sekou Clarke, Farmer, Witherspoon and Clement was the top collegiate finisher in second overall in the event, clocking in at 1:22.57.
Kyle Farmer finished ninth overall in the preliminaries of the 100m dash to qualify for Saturday's finals. In the men's 200m dash, Mike Morrison finished seventh in 21.33, and Alex Harris clocked in at 22.29 to finish 32nd. In the men's 800m, Andrew Martin finished 10th in 1:52.84, and Brandon Saltmarsh finished 17th in 1:55.27.
Daniel Parker, Steven Hassen, Steve Zieminski and Shane Stroup clocked in at 15:40.29 to win the final event of the night
Harris also competed in the long jump, finishing eighth with a jump of 7.25m/23-9.50. Ryan McIntyre finished ninth in the discus with a mark of 48.27m/158-4.
The women's 1600m sprint medley relay team of Tiandra Ponteen, Andrea Bliss, Novlene Williams and Kamille Bratton finished second in the event in 3:53.11. In individual sprint events, Bliss was the second overall qualifier in the 100m hurdles, clocking in at 13.17 to regionally qualify and improve her fourth-place time in school history.
In the 800m run, Amanda Schommer finished fourth in 2:10.98, while Kecia Johnson finished 16th in 2:14.82. Jodi Heyens clocked in at 2:16.78 to finish 23rd and Brigette Dyce finished 25th in 2:17.84. In the final running event of the night, the Florida women's 4x1500m relay finished fourth in 19:52.46.
Akera Lathan was the Gators' top finisher in the discus, placing eighth with a throw of 44.99m/147-7, followed by LaQuanda Cotten in 12th (43.00m/141-1) and Karen Freberg in 13th (42.85m/140-7). In the pole vault, Dara Altman and Dana VanWagner tied for ninth place, clearing 3.55m/11-7.75.
The Florida Relays conclude tomorrow.
Relays Records Broken (old record):
Girls Distance Medley Relay - Pope John Paul II High School, 12:08.17 (Our Lady of Lourdes, 12:22.59)
Girls 100m Dash 1A-2A - Ashley Gillis, Pompano Beach HS, 12.25 (K. Harrison, 12.31)
Girls 4x100m Relay 1A-2A - Pompano Beach HS, 48.42 (Americas, 49.40)
Boys Discus - Wes Stockbarger, Charlotte HS, 59.66m/195-9 (T. Gooden, 192-1)
Boys 100m Dash 3A-4A - Walter Dix, Coral Springs HS, 10.28 (W. Watkins, J. Capel, 10.40)
Women's 400m Hurdles - Lashinda Demus, South Carolina, 55.50 (Kim Batten, Reebok, 56.05)
Men's 4x1500m Relay - Florida, 15:40.29
UF Wins: 2
Men (2): Kerron Clement - 400m hurdles, 49.69; Rickey Harris - 400m dash, 45.69; 4x1500m relay, 15:40.29
NCAA Regional Qualifying Marks: 9
Men (8): Sekou Clarke - 400m dash, 47.00; Kerron Clement - 110m hurdles, 14.02, 400m hurdles, 49.69; Rickey Harris - 110m hurdles, 14.22, 400m dash, 45.69; Dwight Ruff - 400m hurdles, 50.42; Josh Walker - 110m hurdles, 13.94; Reggie Witherspoon - 400m dash, 45.78
Women (1): Andrea Bliss - 100m hurdles, 13.17
