20 Current and Former T&F Standouts Ranked Among U.S. and World's Finest In 2006
Thursday, January 4, 2007 | General
Twenty current and former University of Florida men and women's track and field athletes were featured prominently in both the world and U.S. rankings to cap the 2006 season as released in the January edition of Track & Field News.
Former Gator Novlene Williams (2003-04) led the way with a No. 2 world ranking in the 400m, while Hazel Clark (1997-99) and Erin Gilreath (2002-03) claimed top honors in the U.S. in the 800m and hammer throw.
On the men's side, two-time defending U.S. 400m hurdle champion Kerron Clement (2004-05) was ranked fourth in the world and second in the U.S. in the same event, while current Gators Mike Morrison (Willingboro, N.J.) and Willie Perry (Lenoir, N.C.) were both ranked among the top U.S. athletes in their respective events.
Three other current Gator athletes appeared in the 2006 rankings: sophomore Shannon Leinert (Wildwood, Mo.) and junior Lindsay Sundell (Fort Salonga, N.Y.). Leinert ran the 29th-best time in the U.S. in the 800m with a mark of 2:05.80 while Sundell clocked the 32nd-fastest time in the U.S. in the 3,000m steeplechase at 10:21.11. Despite his youth, freshman Mike Morrison (Chesapeake, Va.) tied his elders with the 39th-best mark in the U.S. in the pole vault during 2006 with a top clearance of 5.35m/17-6.50 - the No. 1 mark in the nation among the high school ranks.
Williams, a five-time All-American at UF, earned the No. 2 world ranking in the 400m by resetting her personal record during 2006 by nearly a full second in going from 50.53 in 2005 to 49.63. She also ran the second leg of the world's ninth fastest 4x400m relay in 2006 for Jamaica with a mark of 3:26.85.
For the second consecutive year, Clement owned the top mark in the world in the 400m hurdles as he won his second-straight U.S. outdoor title in crossing the finish line in 47.39. He also tied for the eighth-fastest mark in the world in the 400m during the year (44.71) and picked up the second world record of his career by running the leadoff leg of the 4x400m relay that broke the indoor world record with a time of 3:01.96. He ran the anchor leg of the world's fastest outdoor 4x400m relay in 2006 with a time of 2:59.86 at the Texas Relays in April.
Former Gators Clark and Gilreath both finished with a No. 1 ranking in the U.S. in 2006. Clark, a 13-time All-American at UF, earned the top ranking in the 800m with a best of 1:59.10 during the year. She finished ranked 10th in the world in the event. Gilreath, the American record holder in the hammer throw, finished the year ranked first in the U.S. for the second straight year with a top mark of 71.20m/233-7.
Despite nagging injuries throughout the 2006 season, Morrison ended the year by tying for the eighth-best U.S. mark in the high jump at 2.27m/7-5.25. The 13-time All-American owned the 12th-best leap in the U.S. in 2006 in the long jump with a personal best of 7.96m/26-1.50.
Perry claimed the U.S. junior titles in both the 100m and 200m in 2006 and turned in personal best times of 10.12 in the 100m and 20.42 in the 200m. His mark in the 100m tied for the 11th fastest in the U.S. and tied for 25th best in the world in 2006, while his 200m time tied for 14th in the U.S. and was 30th in the world.
Florida's men's relay teams also fared well in the U.S. lists in 2006 with the 4x200m clocking the ninth-best time (1:23.48) during the year with the 4xMile coming in 15th (16:45.88), the 4x100m in 17th (39.46), the distance medley relay in 27th (9:43.87) and the 4x400m in 29th (3:07.01).
For the UF women, Florida was near the top of the list in four relay events. In the 4x100m, UF had the 17th fastest time in the U.S. at 44.11. In the 4x200m, UF had the 11th fastest time in the world at 1:35.20. In the 4x400, the Gators' time of 3:31.52 was good for 16th best in the U.S. In the sprint medley relay, the Gators' time of 3:53.57 was the 18th-fastest time in the U.S.
Representing Florida in the women's shot put, four-time All-American Kristin Heaston (1996-98) and All-American Liz Wanless (2005) finished ranked third and fourth respectively in the U.S. Heaston's best mark of the year was 18.24/59-10.25 while Wanless threw a best of 18.59/61-0, a mark that was 20th best in the world.
Tiandra Ponteen (2004-05), the Southeastern Conference's 2005 Women's Indoor Runner of the Year, finished 2006 tied for the 33rd fastest time in the world in the 400m at 51.16. Dara Altman (2003-06), UF's record holder in the outdoor pole vault, finished tied for the 21st best mark in the U.S. in the event at 4.16m/13.7-75. Rachel Longfors (2002-06), UF's record holder in the discus, had the 16th-best mark in the U.S. in the event with a distance of 56.09/184-0 despite battling injuries in 2006. All-American Jyn Wynn (2003-06) finished the year with the 25th-best mark in the U.S. in the hammer throw with a distance of 61.37/201-4.
Former Olympic gold medalist Bernard Williams (2000) was ranked ninth in the 100m by Track & Field News in the U.S. after registering a top mark of 10.17 during the year.
Two-time NCAA champion Rickey Harris (2001-04) closed out the year with a top time of 49.57 in the 400m hurdles - 14th best in the U.S. Dwight Ruff (2003-05) ended the season tied for 18th in the U.S. in the 400m hurdles with a best time of 49.82. Florida 1,500m record holder Shane Stroup (2003-06) came in tied for 22nd in the U.S. in the 1,500m with a 2006 best of 3:40.85 and had the 32nd-best mark in the nation in the mile (4:01.21).
Former Florida decathlete Kayne Dakoski (2005-06) had the 28th-best sum in the decathlon in the U.S. in 2006 with a total of 7,303 points, while former pole vaulter Brian DaCunha (2000-03) tied for the 39th-best mark at 5.35m/17-6.50.
The men's squad kicks off the season with the Florida Intercollegiate next Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, while the women's team will compete for the second time this season. The meet, which is free for fans to attend, is slated to begin at 11 a.m. with the women's weight throw with running events to start at 1:30 p.m. with the men's 55m hurdles.
