Former T&F Standouts Clement, Williams End Year Ranked In Top 5 In World
Wednesday, October 4, 2006 | Track and Field
Former University of Florida All-Americans Kerron Clement (2004-05) and Novlene Williams (2003-04) highlighted the growing list of former Gators leaving their mark on the track and field world by ending the competitive season ranked among the top five athletes in the world in their respective events.
Clement, the two-time defending U.S. champion in the 400m hurdles, capped the 2006 season with the top mark in the 400m hurdles in the world (47.39) for the second-straight year. Williams ended 2006 with the No. 3 ranking in the world in the 400m by the IAAF after several top-flight performances during the year.
Several other Gators also fared well during the 2006 season: Erin Gilreath (2002-03), No. 8 in the world in hammer throw; Hazel Clark (1997-99), No. 1 in the U.S. in the 800m; Liz Wanless (2005), No. 3 in the U.S. in the shot put; Kristin Heaston (1996-98), No. 5 in the U.S. in the shot put.
Clement ran the top time in the world in the 400m hurdles in 2006 when he captured his second-straight U.S. title in the event with a time of 47.39. He also picked up the second world record of his career by running the leadoff leg of the 4x400m relay that broke the indoor world record with a time of 3:01.96. He also ran the anchor leg of the world's fastest outdoor 4x400m relay in 2006 with a time of 2:59.86 at the Texas Relays in April.
Williams clocked the fourth-fastest time of the year in the world in the 400m with a mark of 49.63 in Shanghai. She also ran the anchor leg of the world's top 4x400m relay in 2006 as the Americas relay team captured gold in the event at the IAAF World Cup with a time of 3:19.84.
Gilreath, the American record holder in the hammer throw, ended the 2006 season ranked eighth in the world by the IAAF in the event. She finished just shy of capturing her second consecutive U.S. title in the event by taking second. Gilreath owned a best of 71.20m/233-7 in the hammer throw in 2006.
Clark claimed the third U.S. title of her career in the 800m at the 2006 U.S. Outdoor Championships after winning the crown in 2005 and 2000. She concluded the track and field season ranked No. 11 in the world by the IAAF and had a top time 1:59.10 in the 800m.
Wanless owned a personal best of 18.59m/61-0 in the shot put in 2006 and finished third at the U.S. Outdoor Championships, while also ending the year ranked third in the U.S.
Heaston achieved a 2006 best of 18.24m/59-10.25 in the shot put, ending the year ranked 17th in the world by the IAAF.
Other Gators who competed during the 2006 season include former Olympic gold medalist Bernard Williams (2000), who took seventh at the U.S. Outdoor Championships in the 100m and clocked a best of 10.17 in that event during the year. Former Gator NCAA champion Rickey Harris ( 2001-04) ended the year ranked 14th in the U.S. in the 400m hurdles, while former All-American Dwight Ruff (2003-05) was tied for 18th in the U.S. in the 400m hurdles. Former NCAA champion Tiandra Ponteen (2004-05) was slowed by injuries and clocked a top time of 51.43 in the 400m (40th in the world), while former All-American Andrea Bliss (2003-04) also tied for 40th in the world in the 100m hurdles with a mark of 12.97.
