Florida Gators
SEC Championships
Men's T&F Takes Third At SEC Indoors; Morrison Wins High-Point Award
Monday, February 27, 2006 | Men's Track and Field
Junior All-American Mike Morrison (Willingboro, N.J.) claimed the Commissioner's Trophy as the high-point scorer to lead No. 12 Florida to third place on Sunday at the 2006 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators finished with 100 points behind top-ranked Arkansas (141) and No. 7 Tennessee (106). It marked the 25th top-three finish at the indoor meet in school history and the eighth in the last 10 years.
The Gators were second until the Vols scored 16 points in the pole vault to move ahead 106-92 with only the 4x400m relay left to be contested.
Morrison captured the high-point award by scoring 22 points to edge LSU's Kelly Willie (20.50). Morrison won both the long jump and the high jump during the weekend in becoming the first athlete to accomplish that feat in the last 36 years.
Senior All-American Shane Stroup (Highland, Md.) also fared well for the Gators as he was barely edged out in the mile before storming back on the final leg of the distance medley relay to bring Florida the SEC title in the event. The Gators also had a runner-up finish in the 4x400m relay to highlight the afternoon.
“This is our time of year and we want to be at our best,” Florida men's coach Mike Holloway said. “In order to do that, we need to compete well and we did that this weekend. I was pleased with our effort and pleased with our ability to compete. We're known as a program that gets it done at big meets and we accomplished that.”
Morrison gave the Gators back-to-back Commisioner's Trophy winners as world record holder Kerron Clement won the award in 2005. Morrison became the first athlete since UF's Ron Coleman in 1970 to claim both the high jump and long jump titles at the SEC indoor meet.
“I just tried to relax and perform the little things we've been working on all year. I'm really proud of my team and proud of myself,” Morrison said.
After winning the long jump title on Saturday, Morrison breezed to his third straight conference high jump crown following indoor and outdoor wins in 2005. He secured the victory at 2.15m/7-0.50, but then cleared a career best 2.27m/7-5.25 – a mark that ties for the second best in Florida history and ties for the second best in the nation this year. It gave UF its 12th indoor high jump title – the most of any school in the SEC. Following the event, the Gators trailed Tennessee for second place with 32 points to the Vols' 34.
Freshman Dennis Martin (Anderson, S.C.) followed Morrison's performance with an eighth-place finish in the 55m hurdles with a time of 7.49.
The Gators scored two more points in the 55m when sophomore All-American Richard Adu-Bobie (Orleans, Canada) crossed the line in 6.35 to finish seventh.
Stroup almost became the first Gator to win the mile in 10 years after pulling his usual late-race heroics. In last for much of the race, with 400m remaining, Stroup picked up his pace and moved into second with only 200m remaining. On the last lap, Stroup went stride for stride with Arkansas' Said Ahmed, but couldn't over take him as Ahmed won in 4:01.15. Stroup was just 0.06 behind in 4:01.21 – a career-best time, the third fastest in school history and the 10th best in the nation this year.
Senior All-American Sekou Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica) ran the second-fastest indoor time of his career to finish third in the 400m with an NCAA provisional mark of 47.23. The time also ranks as the 16th fastest in the nation in 2006. Sophomore All-American Bernard Middleton (Jacksonville, Fla.) was right behind in a season-best and provisional 47.50 to take fourth.
Junior Brandon Saltmarsh (Lake Mary, Fla.) clocked a time of 1:52.88 to finish fourth in the 800m with freshman teammate Carlos Phillips (Orlando, Fla.) on his heels in fifth with a time of 1:52.89.
Florida inched within three points of the Vols following the 200m as freshman Willie Perry (Lenoir, N.C.) paced a trio of Gators with a third-place finish in an NCAA provisional time of 21.29. Clarke took seventh in 21.57 and Middleton was eighth in 21.69 to give the Gators nine points in the event.
Indoor sophomore Steven Hassen (Ocala, Fla.) picked up the first SEC points of his career by coming on strong in the final stages of the 5,000m to finish with an NCAA provisional time of 14:13.67. The mark was the fifth-best in UF history.
The field events began concluding following the 5,000m and indoor freshman Wes Stockbarger (Port Charlotte, Fla.) matched his sixth-place finish in the weight throw on Saturday by taking sixth in the shot put on Sunday. His mark of 17.55m/57-7 achieved on his first and last throw was a career best.
Led by Stroup's fantastic final leg, the Gators captured the distance medley relay title for the second time in school history with a time of 9:44.82. Freshman Justin Taylor (St. Augustine, Fla.) ran the opening leg, followed by freshman Chris Gilchrist (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Phillips and Stroup. Stroup eliminated a sizable gap between himself and Ahmed and overtook the mile champion down the stretch. The time was an NCAA provisional mark and the eighth-fastest in the nation this year.
Florida surpassed the Vols followed the triple jump as freshman Dominick Bailey (Blythewood, S.C.) took sixth with a mark of 15.07m/49-5.75, while senior Alex Harris (Tampa, Fla.) was on his heals in seventh with a leap of 15.07m/49-5.50. The five points gave UF a 92-90 lead over Tennessee for second with only the pole vault and 4x400m remaining.
Unfortunately for the Gators, Tennessee overtook the Gators in the vault with 16 points to move into second with 106 points.
Florida still finished strong as the 4x400m relay of Clarke, Morrison, Perry and Middleton took second with an NCAA provisional time of 3:10.74 to close the meet.
The Gators will return to the track on Thursday when UF hosts the Florida Fast Times at the O'Connell Center. The first event is slated for an 11 a.m. start and live results will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships
Day Three
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Team Scoring
1. Arkansas, 141; 2. Tennessee, 106; 3. Florida, 100; 4. LSU, 77; 5. South Carolina, 63.50; 6. Georgia, 48.50; 7. Alabama, 43; 8. Auburn, 38; 9. Mississippi, 25; 10. Kentucky, 21.
SEC High-Point Scorer:
Mike Morrison
SEC Champions (3):
High Jump: Mike Morrison
Long Jump: Mike Morrison
DMR: Justin Taylor, Chris Gilchrist, Carlos Phillips, Shane Stroup
