Altman Sets School Mark to Lead Seven Gators Into NCAA Championships Field
Sunday, May 28, 2006 | Women's Track and Field
The University of Florida women's track and field team made the most of its opportunities on Saturday as UF had five individuals and two relay teams qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in nine final events on the second day of the NCAA East Regional, held in Greensboro, N.C. Senior Dara Altman (Tampa, Fla.) saved her best for last in setting the new school-record in the pole vault coupled with a second-place finish, while classmate Jyn Wynn (Douglasville, Ga.) got the team off to a great start in Saturday's opening event by finishing third in the hammer. The 4x100m relay team, sophomore All-American Lakecia Ealey (Albany, Ga.), freshman Shannon Leinert (Wildwood, Mo.), senior All- American Rachel Longfors (Erhard, Minn.) and the 4x400m relay team followed suit and will move onto Sacramento, Calif., after automatically qualifying for nationals in their respective events at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.
Wynn found herself in fifth through the first throw of the finals round but moved up to third in the standings with her fifth attempt, a toss of 60.83m/199-7, giving the Gators their first six points of the two-day meet. The 4x100m relay tandem of Ealey, senior All-American Nadine Palmer (Manchester, Jamaica), junior Nene Kamate (Jamaica, N.Y.) and sophomore All-American Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) advanced into the NCAA Outdoor Championships field after finishing third in the finals, while Altman followed that performance up minutes later by qualifying for her first NCAA championships event. Leinert shaved nearly three-hundredths off her PR time set Friday in the prelims with a third-place finish in the 800m finals. Ealey made it a perfect two-for-two after qualifying in the 100m dash later in the evening, and Longfors will appear in her fourth NCAA Outdoors Championships meet in the discus after placing third in the field on Saturday. The 4x400m relay team of Palmer, Kamate, sophomore All-American Zan Joseph (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and junior Dominique McLeggan (Weston, Fla.) closed the event with the Gators' seventh and final qualifying spot for the nationals.
“I thought the athletes on our team did a super job today,” UF women's head coach Tom Jones said. “From a performance standpoint, I don't think we could have asked for a better day all-around. I'm very excited about the two relays qualifying. We were looking for them to step up, and they both did a tremendous job in turning in some of the fastest times in school history. Rachel Longfors came back from a back injury and placed third in the discus and will keep getting healthy as she prepares for another NCAA meet. Shannon Leinert had an awesome performance in the 800m to finish third with a big PR after an excellent race yesterday. I'm very proud of her.”
The Gators finished sixth with 42.50 points, their fourth-straight top- five finish at the NCAA East Regional. South Carolina won the event with 78.50 points, followed by Miami (71), Georgia (50.50), North Carolina (41) and Florida State (44).
Just after the 4x100m relay team's accomplishment was announced over the loudspeakers, Altman cleared the bar at 4.16m/13-7.75 to reset UF's standard in the pole vault, passing teammate and sophomore Natalie Moser (Tampa, Fla.)'s mark of 4.15m/13-5.25 at the UTEP Invitational earlier this season. The senior's mark is over six inches better than her previous personal-record of 4.00m/13-1.50 set twice this season at the Penn Relays (4/26) and Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships (5/15).
In the 100m finals, Ealey earned the first individual bid of her two-year career for the Orange and Blue after clocking an 11.40 to finish fifth in the field. Heading into this weekend, Ealey had been ranked sixth in the region. Longfors etched a mark of 51.67m/169-6 during the discus competition, securing her team-best fourth berth to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Wynn's mark of 60.83m/199-7 is the second-longest throw of her four-year career and the best since this season's Diet Pepsi Classic (April 1), where she PR'd at 61.37m/201-4. In the 4x100m relay, Ealey got the Gators off to a fast start before passing the baton to Palmer in second place. Knight carried the stick across the finish line at the 44.11 mark, leaving Georgia Tech in fourth 44.23 after finishing behind the Yellow Jackets' foursome on Friday. UF's Saturday time is seventh in school history.
“Lakecia Ealey qualifying individually set a personal goal of her's, and she had the fifth-best time in school history to go along with it,” Jones said. “She had a heck of a race. For Dara Altman to be a senior and set the school record in the pole vault so that she could keep move her final season on by one more meet is just phenomenal. I think that Jyn Wynn coming in and placing third in the hammer after having a down SEC meet and coming off a broken toe really set the tone for us today, and I'm proud of her for showing some leadership.”
Leinert made her move in the second lap of the 800m finals, taking over first place at one point on the back stretch before coming around the final turn and surpassing fourth- and fifth-place finishers Dominique Sanon of Rutgers and Briene Simmons of Penn State. Leinert clocked a personal-best time of 2:06.67 and is the only freshman on the UF roster to appear in both the NCAA Indoor Championships and NCAA Outdoor Championships.
In the final event of the meet, the 4x400m relay team earned UF's seventh bid to the NCAA meet by turning in a seasonal-best time of 3:31.52, the fifth-fastest clocking in school history. Palmer got the Gators off to a good start out of the blocks, handing the baton over to David with a lead. McLeggan stayed step-for-step with Evelyne-Cynthia Nikao of Florida State, who crossed the finish line in second (3:31.43).
Moser tied for eighth in the pole vault, earning the team one-half point with a height of 3.81m/12-6. Narrowly missing the cut for finals in the hammer was freshman Shawneise Williams (Gainesville, Fla.). Williams won the event's first flight with a PR mark of 55.38m/181-8, coming on her third and final attempt in the series. Through the first two flights, Williams was third overall and held onto the ninth position in the standings until St. John's Egwu Blessing edged her out with a mark of 55.76m/182-11 to advance into the finals.
“We knew that we had a very good chance of scoring more points at the Regional meet than we did at SECs,” Jones added. “I thought that today was a big accomplishment for this group. I am excited by the way the athletes performed today.”
Altman, Ealey, Leinert, Longfors, Wynn, the 4x100m relay team and the 4x400m relay team will return to action at the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 7-10 in California's capital city of Sacramento. UF now awaits the fate of a handful of athletes looking to receive at-large bids to the NCAA field, which will be announced early next week at www.ncaasports.com.
Women's Team Scores
1. South Carolina, 78.50; 2. Miami, 71; 3. Georgia, 50.50; 4. North Carolina, 49; 5. Florida State, 44; 6. Florida, 42.50; 7.Penn State, 36; 8. UNC-Charlotte, 26; 9. Georgia Tech, 23; 10. Pittsburgh, 21; 10. Villanova, 21.
Women Automatically Advancing to the NCAA Championships (7):
Dara Altman – Pole Vault
Lakecia Ealey – 100m
Shannon Leinert – 800m
Rachel Longfors - Discus
Jyn Wynn – Hammer
Lakecia Ealey, Nadine Palmer, Dominique McLeggan, Natalie Knight – 4x100m relay
Nadine Palmer, Abigail David, Zan Joseph, Dominique McLeggan – 4x400m relay
- UF -
Wynn found herself in fifth through the first throw of the finals round but moved up to third in the standings with her fifth attempt, a toss of 60.83m/199-7, giving the Gators their first six points of the two-day meet. The 4x100m relay tandem of Ealey, senior All-American Nadine Palmer (Manchester, Jamaica), junior Nene Kamate (Jamaica, N.Y.) and sophomore All-American Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) advanced into the NCAA Outdoor Championships field after finishing third in the finals, while Altman followed that performance up minutes later by qualifying for her first NCAA championships event. Leinert shaved nearly three-hundredths off her PR time set Friday in the prelims with a third-place finish in the 800m finals. Ealey made it a perfect two-for-two after qualifying in the 100m dash later in the evening, and Longfors will appear in her fourth NCAA Outdoors Championships meet in the discus after placing third in the field on Saturday. The 4x400m relay team of Palmer, Kamate, sophomore All-American Zan Joseph (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and junior Dominique McLeggan (Weston, Fla.) closed the event with the Gators' seventh and final qualifying spot for the nationals.
“I thought the athletes on our team did a super job today,” UF women's head coach Tom Jones said. “From a performance standpoint, I don't think we could have asked for a better day all-around. I'm very excited about the two relays qualifying. We were looking for them to step up, and they both did a tremendous job in turning in some of the fastest times in school history. Rachel Longfors came back from a back injury and placed third in the discus and will keep getting healthy as she prepares for another NCAA meet. Shannon Leinert had an awesome performance in the 800m to finish third with a big PR after an excellent race yesterday. I'm very proud of her.”
The Gators finished sixth with 42.50 points, their fourth-straight top- five finish at the NCAA East Regional. South Carolina won the event with 78.50 points, followed by Miami (71), Georgia (50.50), North Carolina (41) and Florida State (44).
Just after the 4x100m relay team's accomplishment was announced over the loudspeakers, Altman cleared the bar at 4.16m/13-7.75 to reset UF's standard in the pole vault, passing teammate and sophomore Natalie Moser (Tampa, Fla.)'s mark of 4.15m/13-5.25 at the UTEP Invitational earlier this season. The senior's mark is over six inches better than her previous personal-record of 4.00m/13-1.50 set twice this season at the Penn Relays (4/26) and Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships (5/15).
In the 100m finals, Ealey earned the first individual bid of her two-year career for the Orange and Blue after clocking an 11.40 to finish fifth in the field. Heading into this weekend, Ealey had been ranked sixth in the region. Longfors etched a mark of 51.67m/169-6 during the discus competition, securing her team-best fourth berth to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Wynn's mark of 60.83m/199-7 is the second-longest throw of her four-year career and the best since this season's Diet Pepsi Classic (April 1), where she PR'd at 61.37m/201-4. In the 4x100m relay, Ealey got the Gators off to a fast start before passing the baton to Palmer in second place. Knight carried the stick across the finish line at the 44.11 mark, leaving Georgia Tech in fourth 44.23 after finishing behind the Yellow Jackets' foursome on Friday. UF's Saturday time is seventh in school history.
“Lakecia Ealey qualifying individually set a personal goal of her's, and she had the fifth-best time in school history to go along with it,” Jones said. “She had a heck of a race. For Dara Altman to be a senior and set the school record in the pole vault so that she could keep move her final season on by one more meet is just phenomenal. I think that Jyn Wynn coming in and placing third in the hammer after having a down SEC meet and coming off a broken toe really set the tone for us today, and I'm proud of her for showing some leadership.”
Leinert made her move in the second lap of the 800m finals, taking over first place at one point on the back stretch before coming around the final turn and surpassing fourth- and fifth-place finishers Dominique Sanon of Rutgers and Briene Simmons of Penn State. Leinert clocked a personal-best time of 2:06.67 and is the only freshman on the UF roster to appear in both the NCAA Indoor Championships and NCAA Outdoor Championships.
In the final event of the meet, the 4x400m relay team earned UF's seventh bid to the NCAA meet by turning in a seasonal-best time of 3:31.52, the fifth-fastest clocking in school history. Palmer got the Gators off to a good start out of the blocks, handing the baton over to David with a lead. McLeggan stayed step-for-step with Evelyne-Cynthia Nikao of Florida State, who crossed the finish line in second (3:31.43).
Moser tied for eighth in the pole vault, earning the team one-half point with a height of 3.81m/12-6. Narrowly missing the cut for finals in the hammer was freshman Shawneise Williams (Gainesville, Fla.). Williams won the event's first flight with a PR mark of 55.38m/181-8, coming on her third and final attempt in the series. Through the first two flights, Williams was third overall and held onto the ninth position in the standings until St. John's Egwu Blessing edged her out with a mark of 55.76m/182-11 to advance into the finals.
“We knew that we had a very good chance of scoring more points at the Regional meet than we did at SECs,” Jones added. “I thought that today was a big accomplishment for this group. I am excited by the way the athletes performed today.”
Altman, Ealey, Leinert, Longfors, Wynn, the 4x100m relay team and the 4x400m relay team will return to action at the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 7-10 in California's capital city of Sacramento. UF now awaits the fate of a handful of athletes looking to receive at-large bids to the NCAA field, which will be announced early next week at www.ncaasports.com.
Women's Team Scores
1. South Carolina, 78.50; 2. Miami, 71; 3. Georgia, 50.50; 4. North Carolina, 49; 5. Florida State, 44; 6. Florida, 42.50; 7.Penn State, 36; 8. UNC-Charlotte, 26; 9. Georgia Tech, 23; 10. Pittsburgh, 21; 10. Villanova, 21.
Women Automatically Advancing to the NCAA Championships (7):
Dara Altman – Pole Vault
Lakecia Ealey – 100m
Shannon Leinert – 800m
Rachel Longfors - Discus
Jyn Wynn – Hammer
Lakecia Ealey, Nadine Palmer, Dominique McLeggan, Natalie Knight – 4x100m relay
Nadine Palmer, Abigail David, Zan Joseph, Dominique McLeggan – 4x400m relay
- UF -
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