Florida Gators
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UTEP Invitational
T&F's Moser Breaks School Record in Pole Vault at UTEP
Saturday, April 15, 2006 | Women's Track and Field
University of Florida women's track and field sophomore Natalie Moser (Tampa, Fla.) broke the school record in the pole vault in leading the team at the UTEP Invitational Saturday in El Paso, Texas. Overall, the Gators notched nine more NCAA East Regional qualifying marks to up their season total to 31.
Moser cleared the bar at an NCAA regional qualifying standard of 4.10m/13-5.25 on her second attempt to move her name to the top of the all-time school list. Meanwhile, sophomore All-American Lakecia Ealey (Albany, Ga.) notched the second qualifying time of the season in the 100m, and freshman Shawneise Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) earned her first-ever trip to the NCAA East Regional with a qualifying mark in the hammer throw, while freshman Jenna Utecht (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) earned an NCAA regional qualifying mark in the high jump for the first time this season. Senior All-American Rachel Longfors (Erhard, Minn.) tallied her third-straight regional mark in the discus, and the 4x100m relay team of Ealey, fellow All-Americans Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) and Nadine Palmer (Manchester, Jamaica) and Dominique McLeggan (Weston, Fla.) crossed the finish line in a seasonal-best time. Knight and Palmer each added a second qualifying time in the 200m, while freshman Nene Kamate (Jamaica, N.Y.) earned her second NCAA regional qualifying time in the 100m hurdles this season.
“I thought our athletes competed very well today, and we had a good weekend overall,” UF women's head coach Tom Jones said. “Lakecia battled back from an injury last weekend and had several good times today, while I'm just so proud of Natalie Moser for her accomplishment in the pole vault. We also got a couple of improvements on some already solid NCAA regional times, so it was a good experience for us out here in El Paso.”
Ealey clocked a time of 11.57 in the 100m race, coming up just shy of her previous PR time set earlier this season at the Diet Pepsi Classic. Later in the day, she was the leadoff of the 4x100m relay squad that notched a UF seasonal-best time of 44.90. Ealey joined Knight, McLeggan and Palmer for the first time in 2006 to accomplish the feat.
Williams earned her first trip to a postseason meet with a PR mark of 54.40m/178-6 in the hammer throw, joining teammate Jyn Wynn (Douglasville, Ga.) on the list to travel to Greensboro, N.C., in May. Longfors earned her third regional qualifying mark of the season in the discus with a throw of 54.38m/178-5.
Utecht also will be making her first appearance in the postseason at the NCAA East Regional meet after qualifying with a mark of 1.75m/5-8.75 in the high jump. Kamate crossed the finish line with a PR clocking of 13.60, placing second in the event. It is her second regional qualifying time in the event this season.
Other top-five finishers included Knight and Palmer in the 200m, sophomore Kathy Harris (Miami, Fla.) in the 800m, junior Candace Cabey (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in the triple jump, freshman Sarah Pastoriza (Miami, Fla.) in the javelin and sophomore Abigail David (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago) in the 400m.
Knight finished second with an NCAA regional qualifying and seasonal-best time of 23.42 in the 200m, with Palmer finishing close behind in fifth after clocking 23.83 in the event. Cabey placed second in the triple jump with a wind-aided mark of 12.76m/41-10.50. Harris was fifth in the 800m race after crossing the finish line in 2:17.04, and David matched her finish in the 400m with a time of 55.59. Pastoriza earned a fourth-place finish in the javelin with a mark of 40.99m/134-5.
As a whole this past week, the Gators broke two school records and had 11 more NCAA qualifying times and marks added after coupling the results from the Mt. SAC Relays on Thursday.
“We had a very good weekend, and I'm proud of our athletes for their accomplishments,” Jones added. “We will continue to work on getting better at our next meet in a couple of weeks.”
The women's squad will take a break next weekend before competing in the annual Penn Relays April 26-29.
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