Florida Gators
NCAA East Regional
UF Men's Track & Field Second, Women Third At NCAA East Regional
Sunday, June 1, 2008 | Track and Field
The University of Florida track and field squads wrapped up competition at the NCAA East Regional in Tallahassee on Saturday, matching last year's finishes as the men's squad finished second, while the women's team placed third.
Nine athletes and all three relays secured berths in the upcoming NCAA Outdoor Championships in DesMoines, Iowa from June 11-14, adding to Friday's productive outing where five athletes secured berths.
In the process, the Gators won six events on the day, three by each squad.
“We had a great weekend overall, I'm very proud of both teams,” said head coach Mike Holloway. “We stress being a quality team across the board, they went out and got the job done today. To win six events and compete well in a lot of other events, speaks volumes of both of these teams.”
The women's squad finished with 82 points for the weekend, compared to scoring 49 points in finishing third a year ago. They 60 points on the second day of competition alone, getting contributions from every area, getting wins from the 4x100-meter relay, Lakecia Ealey in the 100-meter dash and Mariam Kevkhishvhili in the shot put. They finished just behind Virginia Tech and Penn State in the team competition.
The men's team scored 52 points on the final day of competition, giving them 68 points for the weekend to finish behind champion Florida State. The Gators got victories from Carlos Phillips in the 800-meter run, the 4x400-meter relay and from Wes Stockbarger in the discus.
Florida got off to a blazing start on the track, defending its title in the women's 4x100-meter relay. Abigail David, Lakecia Ealey, Dominique McLeggan and Natalie Knight circled the oval in a time of 43.79 seconds, their second fastest time of the year. In a furious finish, Knight held off South Carolina anchor Gabrielle Glenn to give UF its first victory of the NCAA Regional.
Ealey returned to the track just over an hour later and won her second title of the day, taking the 100-meter dash in a comfortable time of 11.43. Ealey, who ran the fastest time of the preliminary rounds, held off Shayla Mahan of South Carolina in what became a two-person race, run into a headwind of 1.6 meters per second.
After finishing eighth in the 100-meter final, Knight finished second in the 200-meter dash, running a time of 23.17 with the aid of a slight wind. McLeggan finished sixth in the 400-meter dash final, running a time of 54.05.
Lindsay Sundell shaved nearly a second off of her season best en route to a second place finish in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Sundell held of Liz Haglund of Villanova for her runner-up finish, completing the race in a time of 10:17.86.
The men fared well on the track as well, highlighted by a victory by Carlos Phillips in the half-mile.
Phillips continued his meteoric rise, out-kicking Felix Kitur of VMI to win the men's 800-meter run in a time of 1:46.70. Phillips' time ranks fourth in UF history and is the third fastest time run by an American in 2008. The sophomore took over a second off his previous personal record of 1:48.23, set in yesterday's qualifying.
The men's foursome of Chris Rainey, Terrell Wilks, Jeremy Hall and Bernard Middleton finished fourth in the short relay, despite running out of lane one, clocking a time of 39.64, just off their season best.
In a competitive men's 100-meter final, Hall responded by running a 10.18 into a headwind to finish second, edging defending NCAA champion Walter Dix of Florida State for the runner-up spot. Wilks finished fifth in a time of 10.33, giving the men's squad 12 crucial points in the event.
A day after running a personal best of 13.66 in the 110-meter hurdles, Kallinka Pitt finished sixth in the men's final. Pitt was in a three-way race for fourth place, but clipped the final hurdle and stumbled, crossing the finish line in 14.01.
The men's squad closed out the action on the track with a thoroughly impressive victory in the 4x400-meter relay, clocking a time of 3:04.36. Bernard Middleton led off with a 46.3 opening leg and handed to Calvin Smith who extended the Gator lead with a blazing 44.6 split. LaMarr Davis and Eric Alberter held off hard-charging South Carolina to secure the victory.
In the field, Mariam Kevkhishvhili claimed victory in the shot put, registering a throw of 57 feet ? inch on her second throw that went unmatched by her opponents. Kevkhishvhili recorded five of the top six throws overall on the competition.
Shara Proctor finished second in the women's triple jump, coming up with a mark of 44-4 in a competition where less than five inches separated second from fifth.
Wes Stockbarger picked up a victory in the discus, edging Clendon Henderson of Liberty. Stockbarger, who finished second in the shot put on Friday, came up with a winning toss of 196-6 on his second throw of the competition.
Elsewhere in the field, Justin Semeyn finished in a tie for seventh in the pole vault with a clearance of 16-7 ?.
Florida Regional Champions
Men
800m – Carlos Phillips (1:46.70)
4x400m – Bernard Middleton, Calvin Smith, LaMarr Davis, Eric Alberter (3:04.36)
Discus – Wes Stockbarger (196-6)
Women
100m - Lekecia Ealey (11.43)
4x100m - Abigail David, Lakecia Ealey, Dominique McLeggan, Natalie Knight (43.79)
Shot Put – Mariam Kevkhishvhili (57-0 ?)
Final Team Scoring
Men (Top 10)
1, Florida State, 88 ?; 2, Florida 68; 3, Georgia, 50; 4, South Carolina, 42; 5, Clemson, 38; 6, Virginia Tech, 30; 7, Liberty, 22; 8, North Carolina State, 21; 9, Georgia Tech, 20; 10, Villanova, 19.
Women (Top 10)
1,Virginia Tech 92; 2, Penn State, 91; 3, Florida 82; 4, Florida State 44; South Carolina 44; 6, Miami, 37; 7, North Carolina, 28; 8, Cornell, 18; Jacksonville 18; 10, Connecticut, 16.
2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Men's All-East Region Team^
| Event | Student-Athlete | Region Finish | Distance/Time | English |
| 100-meter Dash | Jeremy Hall | 2. | 10.18 | |
| 100-meter Dash | Terrell Wilks | 3. | 10.33 | |
| 110-meter Hurdles | Kallinka Pitt | 6. | 14.01 | |
| 4x100-meter Relay | Jeremy Hall, Terrell Wilks, Calvin Smith, Bernard Middleton | 4. | 39.64 | |
| 4x400-meter Relay | Bernard Middleton, Calvin Smith, LaMarr Davis, Eric Alberter | 1. | 3:04.36 | |
| 800-meter Run | Carlos Phillips | 1. | 1:46.70 | |
| Discus Throw | Wes Stockbarger | 1. | 59.90m | 196-06 |
| Javelin | Adam Montague | 2. | 69.01m | 226-05 |
| Pole Vault | Justin Semeyn | 7. | 5.06m | 16-07.25 |
| Shot Put | Wes Stockbarger | 2. | 18.68m | 61-03.50 |
2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Women's All-East Region Team^
| Event | Student-Athlete | Region Finish | Distance/Time | English |
| 100-meter Dash | Lakecia Ealey | 1. | 11.43 | |
| 100-meter Dash | Natalie Knight | 8. | 11.95 | |
| 200-meter Dash | Natalie Knight | 2. | 23.17 | |
| Steeplechase | Lindsay Sundell | 2. | 10:17.86 | |
| 400-meter Dash | Dominique McLeggan | 6. | 54.04 | |
| 4x100-meter Relay | Abigail David, Lakecia Ealey, Dominique McLeggan, Natalie Knight | 1. | 43.79 | |
| 4x400-meter Relay | Dominique McLeggan, Lakecia Ealey, Abigail David, Zan Joseph | 7. | 3:37.06 | |
| 5000-meter Run | Rebecca Lowe | 2. | 16:14.47 | |
| Javelin | Evelien Dekkers | 2. | 51.23m | 168-01 |
| Long Jump | Shara Proctor | 6. | 6.05m | 19-10.25 |
| Pole Vault | Daisy Glasser | 6. | 3.81m | 12-06.00 |
| Shot Put | Mariam Kevkhishvili | 1. | 17.39m | 57-00.75 |
| Triple Jump | Shara Proctor | 2. | 13.51m | 44-04.00 |
| ^ All-Region team consists of top eight event finishers at East Region Championship | ||||
