Florida Gators
Tyson Invitational
Women?s T&F Closes Tyson Invitational with a Bang
Sunday, February 12, 2006 | Women's Track and Field
While the snow fell outside the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., junior All-American Nadine Palmer (Manchester, Jamaica) and sophomore All-American Lakecia Ealey (Albany, Ga.) of the University of Florida women's track and field team heated up the track in the 200m, both grabbing season-best times in the event at the second and final day of competition at the prestigious Tyson Invitational.
With just two meets remaining on the schedule prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships March 10-11, the Gators have met 16 NCAA 'B' standards this season and claimed five on the weekend at the Tyson Invitational, which featured athletes representing nine teams ranked in the latest Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. On Saturday, freshman sensation Shannon Leinert (Wildwood, Mo.) notched her second-straight 800m NCAA 'B' standard time to push the UF season total to 18. The 4x400m relay tandem of sophomore Abigail David (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago), freshman Nene Kamate (Jamaica, N.Y.), Palmer and junior Dominique McLeggan (Weston, Fla.) reached the NCAA provisional time in the foursome's first run as a group this season.
“I am very proud of our 200m runners, Nadine Palmer and Lakecia Ealey,” UF women's head coach Tom Jones said. “Lakecia ran a great race in the 200m even though she was a little nervous heading into the race. Nadine really did a great job of keeping in the front of the pack, and I am proud of the time she got. Our 4x400m team ran a great race and for them to get the time they had, it really is something special.”
Palmer made her push to the front of the pack in the first turn and was neck-in-neck with heat winner Latasha Kerr of Texas heading into the final turn. However, Kerr edged Palmer at the end of the heat, clocking in at 23:69 to win the heat. Palmer finished in the 12th overall with a Florida-best time of 23.93 in the event this season.
Ealey raced to a time of 24.04 in the 200m and placed 15th despite having competed in the 60m consolation final earlier in the afternoon. Leinert ran 2:08.66 in the championship heat of the 800m Saturday, which is the second NCAA provisional of her career. She finished fifth in the field.
“Shannon Leinert had a nice race again this week, and I think that she can run in 2:06 or 2:07 at the conference race now that she has gotten this level of competition under her belt,” Jones explained. “She got caught up in traffic and couldn't really move up in the pack very well, and her fifth-place finish is a great one in that race. She has really done a great job the past two weeks of getting good times and running strong.”
In the anchor position, McLeggan erased a large deficit that preceded her and was just behind the other two anchors from Louisiana Tech and Illinois heading into the final stretch of the 4x400m relay. The Florida team's time of 3:38.18 was well under the NCAA 'B' standard of 3:41.20.
“I think that Dominique McLeggan was a star this weekend,” Jones said. “To run mainly short-distance sprints through her earlier career and anchor this relay team to one of the best times in the country is something special. She did a great job this weekend.”
In the 3,000m, sophomore Lindsay Sundell (Northport, N.Y.) placed second in the event with a clocking of 9:42.28, which is a new PR in the event. Also placing a runner-up finish was sophomore pole vaulter Natalie Moser (Tampa, Fla.), who cleared the bar at 3.82m/12-6.25. Freshman Lori Bowen (Surfside, Fla.) recorded her collegiate-best mark in the pole vault, clearing 3.67m/12-0.50 to finish ninth.
Senior Amanda Schommer (Vero Beach, Fla.) also notched a top-five finish on the afternoon, clocking a 2:11.00 flat in the 800m which placed her fifth in the field.
“We are looking to just do our best at the SECs in a couple of weeks,” Jones added. “We will taper it a little to get everyone some rest, and we will just go into the meet trying to get better as we have done the entire season. I thought we had a good weekend this weekend, and we accomplished some very good things at the Tyson Invitational.”
The Gators will receive a 13-day break from competition prior to hosting the SEC Indoor Championships Feb. 24-26. Action from the Stephen C. O'Connell Center will begin with the heptathlon and pentathlon competitions on Friday, Feb. 24. It marks the second time in four years that UF has hosted the meet, which features athletes from all 12 teams in the SEC – arguably the best track and field conference in the country. Live results from the three-day competition can be found online at www.GatorZone.com.
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