T&F To Compete At Penn and Drake Relays This Week
Thursday, April 24, 2008 | Track and Field
The University of Florida track & field team will be represented at two of the nation's most tradition-rich meets this weekend, as one part of the team will make the trek north for the Penn Relays, while another group of Gators will get their first taste of the competition site for the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the Drake Relays.
UF will get an early start to the weekend, as a group of the Gators' distance runners will help kick off the Penn Relays on Thursday evening. Seniors Ryder Leary (Yulee, Fla.) and Lindsay Sundell (Ft. Salonga, N.Y.) are scheduled to compete in the men's and women's steeplechase, respectively, while a trio of Florida men – senior Steven Hassen (Ocala, Fla.), junior Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.) and junior Scott Hans (Middlebury, Fla.) – are slated for the men's 5,000m later in the evening. Florida will wrap up Thursday's competition with the women's 10,000m, in which juniors Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) and Sara Petrick (Apollo Beach, Fla.) will aim for NCAA automatic or provisional-qualifying times.
Florida competitors will be in action at both locations beginning on Friday, as events kick off at the Penn Relays at 9 a.m. ET and get under way at the Drake Relays at 11:45 a.m. ET. Senior Lakecia Ealey (Albany, Ga.) will highlight the day for the women in Philadelphia with the running of the 100m, while both the men's 4x100m and 4x400m relays will take part in prelims that afternoon. Junior Adam Montague (Townsville, Australia) and sophomore Evelien Dekkers (Etten-Leur, The Netherlands), both of whom are ranked in the top 10 nationally in the javelin, will headline the UF contingent in Des Moines that day.
On Saturday morning, the Gators will wrap up competition at the Drake Relays, as seniors Shawneise Williams (Archer, Fla.) and Chinelo Ubaka (Tallahassee, Fla.) will represent the Orange and Blue in the women's hammer throw and junior Scott Clayman (Jacksonville, Fla.) is slated for the men's discus competition. The finals of both men's relays will take place on Saturday afternoon at the Penn Relays, while juniors Dennis Martin (Anderson, S.C.) and Kallinka Pitt (Largo, Fla.) will also compete in the men's 110m hurdles.
Live results for both events will be available via www.GatorZone.com.
- UF -
