Florida Gators
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Women's Track and Field Advance Three and One Relay Team at Day One of NCAA Championships
Thursday, June 9, 2005 | Women's Track and Field
The 20th ranked University of Florida women's track and field team advanced three athletes and one relay team Wednesday at the first day of competition at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
“This was a very good day for us,” head coach Tom Jones said. “We're where I thought we would be. We got a good start, now we have to keep it rolling.”
The Gators were led by junior All-American Rachel Longfors (Erhard, Minn.) who qualified first for Friday's discus final with a fling of 54.34m/178-03 and sophomore All-American Tiandra Ponteen (St. Kitts) who won her quarterfinal heat of the 400-meter in a time of 51.85
“It's always nice to qualify first which Rachel did,” Jones said. “Tiandra ran a smart race. I told her to focus on winning her heat and not to put too much emphasis on her time.”
Longfors wasted no time in taking the lead Wednesday as her best throw came on her first attempt leading off flight two of the three flighted event. Longfors quest for a national championship continues Friday in the final set for a 12:00 p.m. start.
Ponteen had the second-fastest time overall and advanced to Friday's 7:40 p.m. 400m semi-final easily as her heat winning time bested the rest of her field by well over a second. UCLA's Monique Henderson qualified first in a time of 51.56.
“The 400 final is really shaping up to be an elite level race,” Jones said. “Tiandra and Henderson are two elite athletes and that event is really going to take on the prestige of an international or Olympic final. Both of them are of that caliber.”
The 4x100m relay team of freshman Lakecia Ealey (Albany, Ga,), junior All-American Nadine Palmer (Manchester, Jamaica), freshman Kia Raf (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), and freshman All-American Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) finished second in their preliminary heat Wednesday. The Gators easily qualified for Friday's final with a time of 43.87, the fastest time by non-heat winner and the fourth fastest time overall.
“The 4x100m-relay team did a real nice job,” Jones said. “Friday's final is going to be a real challenge for us but I think we are ready.”
UF's time on Wednesday was just .01 of their season-best time of 43.86 and is good enough for fourth all-time in UF history. It is also the fastest time that the quartet of Ealey, Palmer, Raf, and Knight has ever run. Friday's final is set for a 6:40 p.m. start.
Palmer also finished fifth in her heat in the 100m dash clocking in at 11.69 which was good enough to advance to the semi-finals but failed to advance any farther as she clocked 11.75 to finish 17th in round two.
“Nadine advanced one round which is a step in the right direction for her,” Jones said. “She gets out of the blocks great but gets a little tight in the last 30 meters. We can work on that for next season.”
The 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships continue tomorrow. Florida athletes will be in action in the hammer throw, the high jump, and the 200-meter dash.
Advancing to Finals
4x100m relay-team
Rachel Longfors-Discus
Advancing to Semi-Finals
Nadine Palmer-100m
Tiandra Ponteen-400m
*all times are PST
