Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Smith, Stockbarger Earn All-America Honors On Final Day of NCAA Indoor Championships
Sunday, March 11, 2007 | Men's Track and Field
Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) became just the third freshman in school history to earn All-America honors in the 400m, while sophomore Wes Stockbarger (Port Charlotte, Fla.) became the first athlete in 15 years to earn All-America honors in the shot put for the University of Florida men's track and field team on the final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Florida tied for 51st with three points as Wisconsin won the men's crown with 40 points.
Smith joined world-record holder Kerron Clement (2004) and Rickey Harris (2001) as the third freshman in Florida history to earn indoor All-America honors in the 400m by taking seventh in 46.50, while Stockbarger became the first athlete in school history to earn indoor All-America honors and outdoor All-America honors in two different throwing events as he took eighth in a competitive shot put (19.22m/63-0.75).
“I'm very proud of the effort that Calvin and Wes gave today,” Florida men's coach Mike Holloway said. “As a whole, the meet was disappointing, but we had some good performances as well as two athletes who were out with illnesses. The older Mike Morrison was out today with a respiratory infection and the younger Mike Morrison had food poisoning and had to withdraw from the heptathlon.
“We're going to start preparing for the outdoor conference, regional and national meets,” Holloway said. “I believe that this is a top-10 team and our goal is to get the University of Florida back to where it belongs.”
Competing in the first of two 400m heats, Smith finished third in his heat and seventh overall with a time of 46.50. Running from lane No. 3, Smith was in third at the midway point immediately behind Illinois' Lesiba Masheto. Smith closed the gap and was within striking distance of second with 50m remaining, but couldn't quite surpass Masheto, who finished second in the heat and fifth overall (46.14). Columbia's Erison Hurtault edged Smith for sixth with a time of 46.48 in the second heat. Smith's All-America honor in the 400m was the seventh for the Gators in as many years and the ninth in school history.
Stockbarger finished eighth in a competitive shot put in which 13.50 inches separated eighth from fourth place. Competing in the first flight, Stockbarger took the early lead with a toss of 19.22m/63-0.75 on his first attempt – the second-best mark of his career. He wound up finishing third in his flight and was sixth entering the finals after the second flight.
Going for a big toss, Stockbarger fouled on all three of his attempts in finals and was passed by a pair of athletes to finish in eighth. He became the just the second athlete in school history to earn All-America honors in the indoor shot put and the first since Matt Simson did so four consecutive years from 1991-94. In less than a year, Stockbarger went from a PR of 18.07m/59-3.50 to a best of 19.44m/63-9.50 – his winning throw at the 2007 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships.
Freshman Mike Morrison (Chesapeake, Va.), who completed the four first-day events of the heptathlon despite a bout of food poisoning, withdrew from the competition on Saturday due to continued illness. He would have entered the day in 13th place with 2,916 points. Senior Mike Morrison (Willingboro, N.J.) finished ninth in the long jump on Friday despite competing with a respiratory infection, but wasn't healthy enough to compete in the high jump on Saturday.
Florida will take a week off before beginning outdoor competition in Tuscon, Ariz., at the Jim Click Shoot-Out March 23-24.
Top-10 Team Scoring
1. Wisconsin, 40; 2. Florida State, 35; 3. Texas, 34; 4. Stanford, 28; 5. Auburn, 25; 6. Michigan, 23; 7. Arkansas, 22; 7. Washington, 22; 9. Northern Iowa, 21.50; 10. Baylor, 21; 10. Tennessee, 21; 10. LSU, 21; T51. Florida, 3.
All-Americans (3 Athletes, 3 Events)
Mike Morrison – Long Jump
Calvin Smith – 400m
Wes Stockbarger – Shot Put
