Florida Gators
Iowa State Classic
Knight Leads No. 7/13 T&F To Strong Start At Iowa State Classic
Saturday, February 16, 2008 | Track and Field
Senior Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) posted a season-best time of 23.68 to win the women's 200m at the Iowa State Classic on Friday night, kicking off the weekend in a fine fashion for the No. 7/13 University of Florida track & field team.
“We talked this week about consistency and about getting better each time out, and I thought we did that tonight,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We got off to a good start in the hurdles, and that gave us the spark to put up some good individual performances tonight. We've talked about the need for people to step up in certain areas, and that was the case for us tonight.”
Knight earned her third victory in the 200m in as many meets, each coming in an NCAA provisional-qualifying time. She missed her personal best by just .07 en route to winning the event by nearly three-tenths of a second.
“The big thing for Natalie Knight is that she's become a lot more trusting as the year has gone on,” Holloway said. “She's trusting what we say as coaches, she's trusting the program and she's trusting in her God-given ability. All of that has combined to make her a leader and great performer for this team.”
Senior Lakecia Ealey (Albany, Ga.) finished two spots behind Knight with a time of 23.97.
Sophomore Wondy Pierre-Louis (Naples, Fla.) leapt his way into eighth place on Florida's all-time indoor men's long jump list on the opening night of the Iowa State Classic, finishing third with a mark of 7.52m/24-8.25. The effort earned Pierre-Louis the first NCAA provisional standard of his career.
Senior Shawneise Williams (Archer, Fla.) registered a fifth-place mark of 19.83m/65-0.75 in the women's weight throw to bring UF's count of NCAA provisional marks to three on Thursday.
Indoor sophomore Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.) led the way for the Gators' distance squad on Thursday, taking fifth in the men's 5,000m with a time of 14:30.79. The mark bettered Criscione's career-best in the event by close to eight seconds.
The UF men captured five of the top 11 places in the 200m, led by a fourth-place finish by sophomore Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.), who stopped the watches at 21.35. Junior Willie Perry (Lenoir, N.C.) finished fifth at 21.40, senior Bernard Middleton (Jacksonville, Fla.) and freshman Deonte Thompson (Belle Glade, Fla.) tied for ninth at 21.64 and junior R.J. Anderson (Big Pine Key, Fla.) placed 11th at 21.70.
A trio of Gator men also finished among the top 16 in the first round of the 60m hurdles, qualifying for tomorrow's semifinal. Junior Dennis Martin (Anderson, S.C.) led the way, qualifying fourth with a time of 7.94, while junior Kallinka Pitt (Largo, Fla.) finished sixth in the prelim at 8.01 and senior Joe Taylor (West Palm Beach, Fla.) took 12th at 8.17.
Florida will be back in action on Saturday when the Iowa State Classic resumes at 10:25 a.m. ET with the non-seeded heats of the 3,000m.
- UF -
