Florida Gators
SEC Championships
Kruzel Takes Fifth in 10K, Pair of Athletes Advance on Day Two of SECs
Saturday, May 13, 2006 | Women's Track and Field
University of Florida women's track and field freshman Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) put the Gators on the scoreboard with a fifth-place finish in the 10,000m, while a pair of runners advanced to the finals in their respective events as freshman Shannon Leinert (Wildwood, Mo.) and sophomore All-American Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) moved on to the finals of the 800m and 200m, respectively, to lead the Gators in the second of the four days of competition at the 2006 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark.
Kruzel earned four points in the 10,000m with a fifth-place and NCAA regional provisional clocking of 34:57.88. Her time stands as fourth in school history and is the fastest in the event since Tom Jones became head coach in 1993.
“That was a great race, but it wasn't unexpected of Jacy after she did so well at the Penn Relays a couple of weeks ago,” Jones said. “For a freshman to come in and turn in a top-five time in school history is really something special. I am very proud of her for stepping up and turning in a great time at a very competitive meet when her teammates needed her to score points. This is the best time that any athlete has turned in the 10,000m since I have been at Florida, and that is just a testament to how great her run was tonight.”
Leinert clocked an outdoor PR time of 2:08.14 in the 800m and placed eighth in the preliminary round to advance to Sunday night's finals. Leinert's time improved her standing to 14th in the East Region, moving up from 20th with her previous mark of 2:09.06. Meanwhile, Knight finished second in her heat with a time of 23.61 after running out of lane 9 and holding a lead through two turns on South Carolina's All-American Shalonda Solomon, who finished first in the prelims with a time of 22.91.
“Shannon Leinert is a real talent, and she did a great job in advancing in a very competitive 800m race,” Jones added. “It's incredible to me how she keeps getting better and better from meet-to-meet. It's amazing that Natalie Knight was able to advance in the 200m since she had a rib that had been knocked out of place earlier this week before we left Gainesville. It had been bothering her the entire day yesterday and all of today, and she had a great time despite that.”
Georgia leads the team scoring with 34 points, followed by Auburn with 16 and Alabama with 13. The Gators have four points and stand in ninth heading into the third day.
In an earlier 800m heat, senior Amanda Schommer (Vero Beach, Fla.) bettered her regional qualifying time of 2:09.64 set earlier this season en route to finishing fourth in the heat with an outdoor personal-best time of 2:08.67. Schommer is now 18th in the East Region after coming into the weekend in 24th.
“It's a shame for Amanda that she had a big PR time in the 800m and didn't advance to Sunday,” Jones said. “She had a great race tonight, but it just goes to show you that in the SEC, particularly in the conference championship meet, sometimes even the best times aren't enough to move on.”
The hammer throw was the day's opening event, and three Gators placed 12, 13 and 15 in the field. Freshman Shawneise Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) finished 12th with a mark of 52.95m/173-9 in her first-ever SEC Outdoor meet. It is the second-best mark of the season for Williams in the hammer.
Senior Sara Cooper (Bayonet Point, Fla.) was right behind Williams with a mark of 52.35m/171-9, while classmate Jyn Wynn (Douglasville, Ga.) competed despite breaking her toe in mid-April and not entering any meets since the Spec Towns Invitational April 8. Wynn launched her first attempt 51.38m/168-7 but fouled on her other two preliminary round throws.
“We are in a different position after the first day since we have had so much success in the hammer in years past,” Jones said. “We are just really beat up right now, and Jyn had one week of preparation after spending the last four off her feet. Shawneise did a nice job, and we are just going to keep working with those two as we get them ready for the East Regional in a couple of weeks.”
Saturday's competition kicks off with the women's discus throw at 2 p.m. EST. Live results from the meet can be found online at www.ladybacks.com.
2006 SEC Outdoor Champoinships
Day Two
Friday, February 12
Women's Team Scoring:
1. Georgia, 34; 2. Auburn, 16; 3. Alabama, 13; 4. Arkansas, 11; 5. Vanderbilt, 10; t-6. Kentucky, 9; t-6. Mississippi State, 9; 8. South Carolina, 6; 9. Florida, 4; 10. LSU, 3; 11. Ole Miss, 2; 12. Tennessee, 0.
Advancing to Finals (2):
Natalie Knight – 200m
Shannon Leinert – 800m
