T & F Teams Set To Compete At NCAA Indoor Championships
Thursday, March 10, 2005 | General
The No. 2 University of Florida men's track and field team will send nine athletes in 10 different events, while the fourth-ranked women's team will travel nine athletes in seven events to the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships March 11-12 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The men's squad enters the meet with sophomore Kerron Clement (La Porte, Texas) as the favorite in the 400m in addition to sophomore Mike Morrison (Willingboro, N.J.), who is second in the high jump and fourth in the long jump. For the women, senior Candice Scott (Port of Spain, Trinidad) is the favorite in the weight throw, while sophomore Tiandra Ponteen (St. Kitts) boasts the nation's best time in the 400m.
The men's squad finished tied for second at the NCAA indoor meet in 2004 with a program-best 38 points and will look to finish in the top 10 for the sixth time in the last 10 years.
"We got just about everybody in that we thought we would," Florida men's track and field head coach Mike Holloway said. "We're a little disappointed Shane Stroup and Dwight Ruff didn't get in, but we're looking forward to the challenge ahead of us. This might be the most balanced squad we've had. It's probably also the most confident team we've had. Everybody is healthy and well rested and we're ready to go."
The women's team also finished second in 2004 with a sum of 51 points and has ended the indoor meet in the top five in six of the past nine seasons.
"There are a lot of teams that have a chance to win this title," Florida women's track and field head coach Tom Jones said. "I expect us to perform very well. I would be very disappointed if we didn't finish in the top five."
For the men, Florida's total of entrants in 10 events ties for the third most of any team in the meet. Clement headlines the men's representatives as the 2005 SEC indoors champion in the 400 meters boasts the top time in the NCAA field in the 400m as he ran the second-fastest collegiate time ever earlier this season (45.29). He also owns the third best mark in the 200m (20.40) and will run on Florida's top-ranked 4x400m relay, which owns the nation's fastest time (3:03.95). Freshman Bernard Middleton (Jacksonville, Fla.) and juniors Stefan Pastor (Columbia, Md.) and Sekou Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica) will join Clement on the relay.
Morrison will look to earn All-America honors in both the long jump and high jump for the second straight season. He owns the second-best mark in the country in the high jump (2.25m/7-4.50) and the fourth-best leap in the long jump (7.86m/25-9.50).
Senior Josh Walker (Stone Mountain, Ga.), who finished third in the 60m hurdles last season, also owns the third-best mark in the event going into the meet with a time of 7.69. Senior Kyle Farmer (Columbia, Md.) will join Clement in the 200m as he posted the fifth-best time in the nation (20.73).
Freshman Richard Adu-Bobie (Orleans, Canada) will represent the Gators in the 60m after he clocked the 10th-best time in the country (6.67) at the Florida Last Chance Meet on March 3. Middleton will join Clement in the 400m after making the field with the 14th best time (46.50). Senior Steve Zieminski (Sarasota, Fla.) also will compete for the Gators after making the field in the mile due to his time at Florida's meet last week (4:01.26).
For the women, Scott will lead the charge as the reigning Southeastern Conference weight throw and shot put champion. She enters the NCAA Championships with the nation's top mark in the weight throw at 24.21m/79-05.25. Scott won the NCAA title in 2004 and 2002 in the weight throw.
Also headed to Fayetteville with the nation's best mark is Ponteen, who sped to a time of 51.47 in the 400m at the SEC Indoor Championships this season.
Competing with Scott in the weight throw competition will be junior All-American Rachel Longfors (Erhard, Minn), whose best toss of the year traveled 20.96m/68-09.25. Also in the throws department, senior Liz Wanless (Belleville, Ill.) will look to claim the first Division I All-American recognition of her career in the shot put. Wanless' career and season best came March 3 at the Florida Last Chance Meet. Her toss of 17.80m/58-04.75 moved her to second all-time at UF.
Representing the vertical jumpers will be senior All-American Krystle Moss (Alexandria, Va.), who will compete in the high jump after capturing her first SEC title on Feb. 27 with a season-best height of 1.81m/5-11.25.
The last athletes to compete for Florida on Saturday at 8:05 p.m. will be the 4x400m team of Ponteen,
Zanquandria Joseph (Boynton Beach, Fla.), Natalie Knight (Snellville. Ga.), and Nadine Palmer (Manchester, Jamaica). The group boasts the eighth-best mark in the country to date after blazing to a time of 3:33.88, the third fastest in school history. Abigail David (Port of Spain, Trinidad) will head to Fayetteville in the role of an alternate on the relay team.
The NCAA Indoor Championships kick off Friday, March 11 with competition slated to begin at 9 a.m. (CST). Live results can be found at www.ladybacks.com and the event will air on ESPN2 on Wednesday, March 16 at noon.
2005 NCAA Indoor Championships Schedule
Friday, March 11, 2005
9:00 a.m. Men's heptathlon 60-meter dash Final
* Men's heptathlon long jump Final
* Men's heptathlon shot put Final
* Men's heptathlon high jump Final
Noon Men's 35-lb. weight throw (@ Walker Pavilion) Prelim & Final
2:30 p.m. Women's high jump Final
Women's shot put Prelim & Final
3:45 p.m. National Anthem and Parade of Officials
4:00 p.m. Women's long jump Prelim & Final
4:30 p.m. Women's 800-meter run Prelim
4:45 p.m. Men's 800-meter run Prelim
5:05 p.m. Women's 60-meter hurdles Prelim
5:20 p.m. Men's 60-meter hurdles Prelim
5:35 p.m. Men's pole vault Final
5:40 p.m. Women's 400-meter dash Prelim
5:50 p.m. Men's 400-meter dash Prelim
6:00 p.m. Men's long jump Prelim & Final
6:15 p.m. Women's 60-meter dash Prelim
6:30 p.m. Men's 60-meter dash Prelim
6:45 p.m. Women's mile Run Prelim
7:05 p.m. Men's mile Run Prelim
7:20 p.m. Women's 200-meter dash Prelim
7:35 p.m. Men's 200-meter dash Prelim
7:50 p.m. Women's 5,000-meter run Final
8:10 p.m. Women's 60-meter hurdles Final
8:20 p.m. Men's 60-meter hurdles Final
8:30 p.m. Men's 5,000-meter run Final
8:50 p.m. Women's 200-meter dash Final
9:00 p.m. Men's 200-meter dash Final
9:10 p.m. Women's distance medley relay Final
9:30 p.m. Men's distance medley relay Final
Saturday, March 12, 2005
11:00 a.m. Men's heptathlon 60-meter hurdles Final
* Men's heptathlon pole vault Final
* Men's heptathlon 1,000-meter run Final
11:30 a.m. Women's pentathlon 60-meter hurdles Final
* Women's pentathlon high jump Final
* Women's pentathlon shot put Final
* Women's pentathlon long jump Final
* Women's pentathlon 800-meter run Final
2:00 p.m. Women's 20-lb. weight throw (@ Walker Pavilion) Prelim & Final
4:10 p.m. Women's triple jump Prelim & Final
4:30 p.m. Men's shot put Prelim & Final
4:45 p.m. Men's high jump Final
5:30 p.m. Women's pole vault Final
5:40 p.m. National Anthem and Parade of Officials
5:45 p.m. Men's triple jump Prelim & Final
6:15 p.m. Women's mile run Final
6:25 p.m. Men's mile run Final
6:35 p.m. Women's 800-meter run Final
6:45 p.m. Men's 800-meter run Final
6:55 p.m. Women's 400-meter dash Final
7:05 p.m. Men's 400-meter dash Final
7:15 p.m. Women's 60-meter dash Final
7:25 p.m. Men's 60-meter dash Final
7:35 p.m. Women's 3,000-meter run Final
7:50 p.m. Men's 3,000-meter run Final
8:05 p.m. Women's 1,600-meter relay Final
8:20 p.m. Men's 1,600-meter relay Final
* Times CST
