Florida Gators
Florida State Relays
Nadler Notches Regional Time, 10th-Best Steeplechase Mark In UF History
Saturday, March 31, 2007 | Men's Track and Field
Junior Enoch Nadler (Keystone Heights, Fla.) led a 1-2-3 finish for the University of Florida men's track and field team with the fifth-best time in the nation in the 3,000m steeplechase as the Gators competed at the Florida State Relays on Friday at the Mike Long Track Complex.
Nadler won the 3,000m steeplechase with an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 8:58.92, while junior teammate Jose Garcia (Miami, Fla.) was second and junior Ryder Leary (Yulee, Fla.) came in third. Junior Steven Hassen (Ocala, Fla.) capped the evening with a runner-up finish in the 5,000m.
“We've talked about building momentum for the outdoor championship season and the performances we saw today were a step in that direction,” Florida men's coach Mike Holloway said. “Enoch, Jose, Afolabi and Emmanuel all had big PRs and I'm very proud of them. But the key is that we can't get complacent. We've got to keep working hard and getting better.”
In the steeplechase, Nadler posted the second regional mark of his career in winning the event in 8:58.92 – the 10th-fastest time in school history and a lifetime best by nearly seven seconds. The time ranks as the fifth-fastest in the nation and is fourth in the Southeastern Conference this season. Garcia notched a runner-up finish by crossing the finish line in 9:13.49 – a PR by more than seven seconds. Leary came in third in 9:27.12 with freshman Sean Blaney (Kissimmee, Fla.) fifth with a time of 9:33.27 in his Florida debut.
In his first competition of the 2007 season and his first outdoor meet since 2004, Hassen battled through illness and finished second in the 5,000m with a time of 14:47.50. In the first meet of his UF career, sophomore Chris Mullaney (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) took sixth in the 5,000m in 15:13.20.
Sophomores Afolabi Aromire (Springdale, Md.) and Emmanuel Dzata (Montgomery, Ala.) both recorded PRs in the 400m dash earlier in the day. Aromire clocked a time of 48.18 to finish fifth with his mark 0.09 faster than his previous best of 48.27. Dzata captured eighth in 48.94 – nearly a full second better than his previous top time.
The Gators will wrap up competition at the Florida State Relays on Saturday. Live results can be found at www.halfmiletiming.com.
