Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Perry Fourth In 200m; Morrison 5th In Long Jump; Men Ninth After Day 1 At NCAA Indoors
Saturday, March 11, 2006 | Men's Track and Field
Freshman Willie Perry (Lenoir, N.C.) captured fourth in the 200m, while junior All-American Mike Morrison (Willingboro, N.J.) took fifth in the long jump to lead the No. 8 University of Florida men's track and field team on the first day of competition of the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The men enter the final day of the meet in ninth place with nine points. Arkansas leads the race for the team title with 24 points after the first day.
Perry clocked the sixth-fastest time in the world in 2006 (20.62) to take fourth in the 200m, while Morrison set an indoor personal best to finish fifth in the long jump with a mark of 7.87m/25-10.
“I thought we had a good day,” Florida men's coach Mike Holloway said. “For Willie Perry to come in here and take fourth in this field – he did a wonderful job. We lined up and competed hard and I'm proud of the guys.
“Sekou Clarke making the finals of the 400m was huge and he continued his success he had at SECs. We would have liked to have Shane Stroup in the final of the mile and thought Mike Morrison could put a few more points on the board, but he did set an indoor PR and we've got three opportunities tomorrow. We'll line up and see if we can get it done.”
The Gators will have three more chances to score points on the final day. Senior All-American Sekou Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica) shaved more than six tenths of a second off his career best to post the fifth-fastest time in the prelims of the 400m to advance to Saturday's final. Morrison will compete in the high jump on Saturday and the Gators will run in the 4x400m relay.
Despite running in the slower of the two final heats, Perry cruised to the fastest time in his heat (20.62), which placed him fourth in the event – one of the fastest 200m events ever. The time ranks as the fourth fastest in Florida history with Perry becoming the first Gator freshman since John Capel in 1999 to earn All-America honors in the 200m. The honor also gives UF 11 in the 200m in the last 10 years. In the prelims of the 200m, Perry clocked the world's then-eighth fastest time in 2006 with a mark of 20.85.
Morrison started slowly in the long jump before breaking his indoor PR on his third leap with a mark of 7.87m/25-10. The leap ranks as the fourth best in school history and was just 0.25 inches shy of his outdoor PR.
Following his second jump of 7.53m/24-8.50, Morrison was in eighth place and on the bubble to make the final. But on his third attempt, he propelled himself into fourth with his leap and made finals. Morrison came within inches of improving during finals with leaps of 7.44m/24-5, 7.84m/25-8.75 and 7.79m/25-6.75, but he was passed and took fifth just one centimeter shy of fourth and five centimeters shy of third.
Morrison became just the second Gator to earn three indoor All-America honors after taking fifth as both a freshman and sophomore. It also gave him 11 in his career – just one shy of tying the Florida record of 12 held by Daymon Carroll (1997-00), Rickey Harris (2001-04) and Dennis Mitchell (1985-89).
Clarke shaved more than six tenths of a second off his previous personal best to move on to Saturday's 400m final at 6:55 p.m. Running in one of the fastest 400m races in the world this year, Clarke came on strong down the stretch to take second behind LSU's Xavier Carter. Carter's time of 45.53 was the fastest in the world in 2006, while Clarke's time ranks 11th. The mark also is the fourth fastest in UF history.
Senior All-American Shane Stroup (Highland, Md.) competed in the prelims of the mile and finished 13th overall, but did not advance to Saturday's final. Stroup, who still earned All-America honors in the event, clocked a time of 4:04.24 to take seventh in his heat, but he needed a mark of 4:03.16 or better to make the final.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will conclude Saturday evening. Live results of the meet can be found at www.ncaasports.com.
Men's Team Scores
1. Arkansas 24; 2. Florida State, 20; 2. Oregon, 20; 4. BYU, 16; 5. LSU, 14; 5. Tennessee, 14; 7. Baylor, 11; 8. Nebraska, 10; 9. Florida, 9; 10. Iona, 8; 10. Texas A&M, 8; 10. Idaho, 8.
Men's All-Americans (3)
Mike Morrison – Long Jump
Willie Perry – 200m
Shane Stroup - Mile
Men Advancing To Finals (1)
Sekou Clarke – 400m
