Florida Gators
Penn Relays
Gators Conclude Penn Relays With Season-Best Effort In Men's 4x100m
Saturday, April 26, 2008 | Track and Field
A season-best time in the men's 4x100m relay highlighted the final day of the Penn Relays for the No. 4 (men)/7 (women) University of Florida track & field team on Saturday, as the Gators moved into the nation's top five in the event.
The Gators got the afternoon underway with a fourth-place finish in the 4x100m relay Championship of America, clocking a season-best and NCAA regional-qualifying time of 39.33. The effort by sophomore Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville, Fla.), freshman Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.), junior Willie Perry (Lenoir, N.C.) and sophomore Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) ranks fifth in the NCAA this season, and fell just four one-hundredths of a second shy of cracking UF's all-time top 10 list.
“Those four guys did a great job today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “They had been having some trouble on the passes, but they corrected those today and that was the key to running fast. Before the race, we talked about being aggressive, and I challenged them to that today. They certainly came through today with a good time.”
The only Gators to compete in an individual event at the Penn Relays on Saturday, juniors Kallinka Pitt (Largo, Fla.) and Dennis Martin (Anderson, S.C.) faced a nasty -2.1 headwind in the final of the men's 110m hurdles, but managed fifth and sixth-place finishes, respectively. Pitt crossed the line in a time of 14.27, while Martin stopped the watches at 14.33.
Senior Eric Alberter (Belleville, Ill.), freshman LaMarr Davis (Knightdale, N.C.), freshman Solomon Taylor (Ocala, Fla.) and sophomore Carlos Phillips (Winter Park, Fla.) added an eighth-place finish in the 4x800m in the latter stages of the afternoon, clocking in at 7:35.50 in a tight competition in which less than four seconds separated the first and eighth-place teams.
Trio Of Gators Wrap Up Competition At Drake Relays
DES MOINES, Iowa – Senior Chinelo Ubaka (Tallahassee, Fla.) took 10th in the women's hammer throw to lead a trio of University of Florida track & field athletes on Saturday as the Gators concluded the Drake Relays.
Ubaka earned her second NCAA regional-qualifying mark of the year with a toss of 54.86m/180-0, earning her second top-10 finish in as many meets. Classmate Shawneise Williams (Archer, Fla.) placed 14th with a heave of 51.29m/168-3.
Junior Scott Clayman (Jacksonville, Fla.) capped the meet for the UF men with a 19th-place finish in the discus, recording a top mark of 42.08m/138-1.
“This weekend was a test of wills due to the nasty conditions, and hard competition was the most we could ask of anyone,” Florida throws coach Steve Lemke said. “We learned some things about ourselves, and about competing in less than ideal weather, and those lessons will be valuable as the season continues.”
The Gators will take the track again on Saturday in Oxford, Miss., at the Mississippi Open. Results will be available via www.GatorZone.com.
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