Florida Gators
Florida Relays
Parker, Lechebo, Presnick Claim Wins On 2nd Day of Coca-Cola Florida Relays
Friday, March 25, 2005 | Men's Track and Field
Junior Daniel Parker (Orlando, Fla.) won the 3,000m steeplechase and posted a regional qualifying time, while junior Cory Presnick (Inverness, Fla.) and freshman Henok Lechebo (Toronto, Ontario) each won events to lead Florida on the second day of competition at the 62nd annual Coca-Cola Florida Relays presented by GRU on Thursday at James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Track Field.
The Gators, who finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championships, are competing in the first outdoor meet of the season.
"Daniel, Cory and Henok each had good days for us," Florida coach Mike Holloway said. "Daniel getting a regional qualifying time in the steeplechase was big and we hope that it gives us some momentum going into the final two days of Florida Relays."
Parker will compete at the NCAA Regionals after posting a qualifying time of 9:06.51 to win the 3,000m steeplechase by nearly 10 seconds. Junior teammate Adam Sisler (Odessa, Fla.) finished in the top five for the Gators as he took fifth in 9:30.30.
Presnick won the 10,000m for the second straight year as he led for the bulk of the race before winning in 31:20.04. Senior Alex Phipps (Gainesville, Fla.) came in second in 31:42.48.
Lechebo captured first in the 5,000m as he beat the field by more than 15 seconds in leading most of the race to win in 14:48.24. The Gators posted three of the top four finishes as senior Brent Schneider (Pensacola, Fla.) took third in 15:08.29 and freshman Ryder Leary (Yulee, Fla.) came in fourth in 15:09.82.
Junior Shane Stroup (Highland, Md.) barely missed an NCAA regional qualifying time as he finished second to former teammate Moise Joseph in the 1,500m with a time of 3:48.88 as Joseph won in 3:47.29.
Freshman Kurt Lee (Spring Hill, Fla.) finished second in the decathlon with 6,013 points after entering the day in fifth place in the event. He took first in the pole vault with a mark of 4.66m/15-3.50 to earn 807 points and was second in the 1,500m with a time of 4:39.71 to pick up 682 points.
Action at the Florida Relays continues Friday with the men's discus set for a 9 a.m. start. Live results of the meet can be found at www.GatorZone.com
Florida Relays Records Broken: none
Florida Wins (3):
3,000m steeplechase: Daniel Parker, 9:06.51
5,000m: Henok Lechebo, 14:48.24
10,000m: Cory Presnick, 31:20.04
