Florida Gators
Florida Fast Times
Stockbarger Leads No. 12 Men's T&F At Florida Fast Times
Thursday, March 2, 2006 | Men's Track and Field
Indoor freshman Wes Stockbarger (Port Charlotte, Fla.) recorded the ninth-best throw in school history and an NCAA provisional mark in the shot put to lead the No. 12 University of Florida men's track and field team on Thursday at the Florida Fast Times meet at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Stockbarger posted an NCAA provisional and career best by nearly two feet to win the shot put. His mark of 18.07m/59-3.50 is the ninth best in Florida history and the 32nd best in the nation this year. He was the only Gator to reach the NCAA B standard on the day.
“We didn't do anything really special,” Florida men's coach Mike Holloway said. “Wes and Richard Adu-Bobie got a little better, but we didn't do anything to help us get better for the national meet next week.”
Senior Sekou Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica) missed out on a provisional in the 200m by 0.08 in winning the event in 21.56.
Freshman Carlos Phillips (Winter Park, Fla.) clocked a personal best 1:51.64 to win the 800m, though his time was above the NCAA provisional of 1:50.10.
Sophomore All-American Richard Adu-Bobie (Orleans, Canada) came within 0.02 seconds of securing an NCAA provisional mark in the 55m as he ran a prelim time of 6.26 before failing to finish in the finals.
Senior Alex Harris (Tampa, Fla.) picked up the seventh win of his career by soaring 7.27m/23-10.25 in the long jump. Unfortunately, Harris came up shy in his attempt to improve on his NCAA provisional mark and he likely won't make the field at next week's NCAA Indoor Championships.
Freshman Dennis Martin (Anderson, S.C.) came up just shy in his quest for a provisional in the 55m hurdles. In the prelims, he ran 7.43 – just 0.05 away from the NCAA B standard – before finishing sixth in the finals with a time of 7.46.
Senior Garrett Penton (Clermont, Fla.) finished second for the Gators in the pole vault with a mark of 4.90m/16-0.75, while freshman Eugene Martin (Gainesville, Fla.) tied his career best with a leap of 2.05m/6-8.75 to tie for second.
Clarke, sophomore All-American Bernard Middleton (Jacksonville, Fla.) and junior Brandon Saltmarsh (Lake Mary, Fla.) will each travel to Ames, Iowa, for the Cyclone National Qualifier on Saturday. The meet will mark the last opportunity to secure NCAA times before the national meet March 10-11 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Results of the meet can be found at www.cyclones.com.
The full list of NCAA qualified participants will be released at 8 p.m. EST Monday, March 6.
