Florida Track and Field Athletes Embark on U.S. Olympic Trials
Thursday, June 26, 2008 | Track and Field
Eight current University of Florida track and field athletes and 13 former Gators will travel to the 2008 United States Olympic Track and Field Team Trials, to take place June 27-July 6 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., with the hopes of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Sophomore sprinter Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville, Fla.), senior sprinter Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.), junior thrower Adam Montague (Townsville, Australia), senior pole vaulter Natalie Moser (Tampa, Fla.), sophomore mid-distance runner Carlos Phillips (Winter Park, Fla.), sophomore sprinter Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.), senior thrower Wes Stockbarger (Port Charlotte, Fla.) and senior distance runner Lindsay Sundell (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) each will participate in the 2008 qualifying event.
The competition status for Hall, Knight, Moser, Stockbarger and Sundell is still pending as they turned in “B” qualifying standards for the Olympic Trials. Athletes with an “A” standard are included in the event. “B” standard athletes will be included (based on rank of qualifying standard) to fill out the desired field size.
The former Florida athletes participating in the event include: John Capel (100m, 200m), Hazel Clark (800m), Kerron Clement (400 hurdles), Erin Gilreath (hammer throw), Alex Harris (triple jump), Rickey Harris (400 hurdles), Kristin Heaston (shot put), Rachel Longfors (discus) Mike Morrison (long jump), Amber Robinson (100m), Joshua Walker (100 hurdles), Liz Wanless (shot put) and Bernard Williams (100m, 200m).
Phillips will be the first Gator to compete at the event, participating in the quarterfinals of the 800-meter run, beginning at 11:20 p.m. EDT Friday. The semifinals take place Saturday at 7:40 p.m. EDT with the finals slated for 11:25 p.m. Monday. Phillips captured the NCAA East Region Championship in the 800-meter run this past May in a personal-record time of 1:46.70 and earned All-America honors in that event at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He was a 2008 NCAA Indoor All-American in the 800-meter run and earned outdoor All-America honors in 2007 as part of the team's 4x400-meter relay.
Hall is scheduled to begin competition in the 100-meter dash with the qualifying round at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and the quarterfinals at 8:01 p.m. that same day. The semifinals are slated for 5:30 p.m. Sunday with the finals at 7:49 p.m. that day. Hall ran the third leg of UF's 4x100 relay that finished third at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships with the fourth-fastest time in school history (38.84). He also finished sixth nationally in the 100m final in a time of 10.36, making him the first Gator to earn All-America honors in that event since 2005.
Smith, an 11-time All-American, will participate in the quarterfinals of the 400-meter dash beginning at 7:24 p.m. Sunday. The semifinals are slated for 7:25 p.m. Monday with the finals set for 11:15 p.m. Thursday, July 3. Smith earned three All-America honors at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships earlier this month, finishing fifth in the 400m, while running the anchor leg of the third-place 4x100-meter relay and the second leg of the eighth-place 4x400 relay.
Sundell is preparing to compete in the steeplechase beginning with the event's semifinals on Monday at 10:40 p.m. The finals of that event will commence at 12:45 a.m. Thursday, July 3. Sundell finished second in that event at the 2008 NCAA East Regional in a time of 10:17.86 to earn All-East Region honors for the second consecutive year.
Moser looks to begin competition in qualifying for the pole vault at 10:10 p.m. Thursday, July 3, with the finals of that event set for 6:40 p.m. Sunday, July 6. Moser was the 2007 SEC Indoor Pole Vault Champion and an Indoor All-American in that event in 2007.
Stockbarger commences the qualifying round of the discus at 10:30 p.m. Thursday July 3. The finals are Sunday, July 6 at 5:20 p.m. Stockbarger won his second consecutive NCAA East Region discus title in May with a toss of 196-6/59.89m. He is a three-time All-America selection in the throwing events.
Montague begins his quest in the javelin at 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 4 and the finals of that event are slated for 7:15 p.m. Sunday, July 6. Montague finished third in the javelin at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He was the 2007 NCAA East Regional champion in that event and earned All-America recognition at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Knight is scheduled to begin competition in the 200m on Saturday, June 5 with the quarterfinals at 2:50 p.m. and the semifinals at 5:50 p.m. The event's final round is set for 7:40 p.m. Sunday, July 6. Knight was an All-American in the 200-meter dash at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing sixth in the event. She is a seven-time All-America honoree.
Complete coverage of current and former University of Florida athletes competing in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials will be available daily at www.GatorZone.com.
| Current University of Florida Track and Field Athletes Competing in US Olympic Trials |
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| Schedule of Current Florida Track and Field Athletes in the U.S. Olympic Trials |
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| Friday, June 27 |
| 11:20 p.m. EDT – Carlos Phillips, 800-meter run quarterfinals |
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| Saturday, June 28 |
| 5:30 p.m. EDT – Jeremy Hall, 100-meter dash qualifying (status pending) |
| 7:40 p.m. EDT – Carlos Phillips, 800-meter run semifinals * |
| 8:01 p.m. EDT – Jeremy Hall, 100-meter dash quarterfinals * (status pending) |
| Sunday, June 29 |
| 5:30 p.m. EDT – Jeremy Hall, 100-meter dash semifinals * (status pending) |
| 7:24 p.m. EDT – Calvin Smith, 400-meter dash quarterfinals |
| 7:49 p.m. EDT – Jeremy Hall, 100-meter dash finals * (status pending) |
| Monday, June 30, 2008 |
| 7:25 p.m. EDT – Calvin Smith, 400-meter dash semifinals * |
| 10:40 p.m. EDT – Lindsay Sundell, steeplechase semifinals |
| 11:25 p.m. EDT – Carlos Phillips, 800-meter dash finals * |
| Thursday, July 3 |
| 10:10 p.m. EDT – Natalie Moser, pole vault qualifying (status pending) |
| 10:30 p.m. EDT – Wes Stockbarger, discus qualifying (status pending) |
| 11:15 p.m. EDT – Calvin Smith, 400-meter dash finals * |
| 12:45 a.m. EDT – Lindsay Sundell, steeplechase finals * |
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| Friday, July 4 |
| 8:30 p.m. EDT – Adam Montague, javelin qualifying |
| 10:20 p.m. EDT – Natalie Knight, 200-meter dash qualifying (status pending) |
| Saturday, June 5 |
| 2:50 p.m. EDT – Natalie Knight, 200-meter dash quarterfinals * (status pending) |
| 5:50 p.m. EDT – Natalie Knight, 200-meter dash semifinals * (status pending) |
| Sunday, July 6 |
| 5:20 p.m. EDT – Wes Stockbarger, discus finals * (status pending) |
| 6:40 p.m. EDT – Natalie Moser, pole vault finals * (status pending) |
| 7:15 p.m. EDT – Adam Montague, javelin finals * |
| 7:40 p.m. EDT – Natalie Knight, 200-meter dash finals * (status pending) |
| * = contingent on advancing |
| Former University of Florida Track and Field Athletes Competing in US Olympic Trials |
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| QM = qualifying mark |
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