Gators Set To Host Tom Jones Memorial Invitational Saturday
Friday, January 23, 2009 | Track and Field
In honor of former long-time Florida head women's track and field coach Tom Jones, the Gators will play host to the second-annual Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on Saturday in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. It will mark Florida's lone home meet of the 2009 indoor season.
The meet commences at 11 a.m. EST with the field events, while the running events begin at 1 p.m. EST. Admission is free and open to the public and the first 1,000 fans will receive 2009 Gator Track and Field posters. Fans also can register to win prizes throughout the meet.
Participating teams in the meet include: Auburn, Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, Florida State, Jacksonville (women only), Miami, South Carolina and UCF (women only).
“We've got some very good teams coming in this weekend,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We've talked to our team about putting their best foot forward and putting on a good show for our fans that are coming out this weekend. We're excited about it. We've also got some great post-collegians coming in to compete this weekend, so it's going to be a great competition all the way around.”
The Gators are coming off a successful weekend at the Kentucky Invitational Jan. 16-17 in Lexington, Ky., also the site of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships. Junior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia), the 2008 NCAA Indoor Shot Put Champion, earned an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark in the shot put with a throw of 55-10.50 /17.03m. To date, her heave is the best mark in that event in the country this season.
Florida athletes earned seven NCAA provisional-qualifying marks and captured five events at last weekend's meet.
“I was extremely pleased with what I saw from our team last weekend in Kentucky,” Holloway said. “Across the board, in every event, we went out there, were very professional, lined up and got the job done.”
To date, the Florida men's 4x400-meter relay has recorded the fastest time in the nation after Carlos Phillips (Winter Park, Fla.), RJ Anderson (Big Pine Key, Fla.), Lamarr Davis (Knightdale, N.C.) and Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) captured the event at the Kentucky Invitational in a provisional-qualifying time of 3:09.14. Smith's time of 47.04 in the 400-meter dash also currently ranks second in the nation and first in the Southeastern Conference.
Florida athletes lead the SEC in five different event areas – women's shot put, men's 400m, men's 4x400m relay, men's long jump and men's shot put.
REMEMBERING TOM JONES
After a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer, Tom Jones passed away on March 21, 2007, in Gainesville, at the age of 62.
Jones oversaw the Florida women's program for nearly half of its existence, serving as head coach for 15 of the program's 35 seasons. Hired prior to the 1992 cross country campaign, Jones guided 71 athletes to 245 All-America honors on the track, while his teams posted a combined 15 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
Jones led his squads to six Southeastern Conference titles (1997 indoor & outdoor, 1998 outdoor, 2002 indoor, 2003 outdoor, 2004 indoor), while helping his athletes claim 77 SEC individual or relay titles.
The University of Florida is home of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. For all of the latest information on Gator Track and Field, log on to www.GatorZone.com.
Tom Jones Memorial Invitational – Saturday, January 24, 2009
Women's Weight Throw – 11 a.m. (AUTO: 21.00m; PROV: 18.75m)
- Fidela James
Men's Long Jump – 12 p.m. (AUTO: 7.85m; PROV: 7.50m)
- Gray Horn
Women's Long Jump – 12 p.m. (AUTO: 6.35m; PROV: 6.10m)
- Madara Apine
- Michelle Jenije
- Janicia McFadden
- Shara Proctor
Men's Pole Vault – 12 p.m. (AUTO: 5.50m; PROV: 5.20m)
- Eric Foran
- Justin Semeyn
Women's Pole Vault – 12 p.m. (AUTO: 4.20m; PROV: 3.95m)
- Alex Black
- Daisy Glasser
- Lauren Menke
- Natalie Moser
- Claire Spurling
Women's High Jump – 12 p.m. (AUTO: 1.85m; PROV: 1.78m)
- Jenna Utecht
Men's High Jump – 12 p.m. (AUTO: 2.24m; PROV: 2.14m)
- Eugene Martin
Women's 55-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) – 1 p.m. (AUTO: 7.57; PROV: 7.86)
- Bree Bennett
Men's 55-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) – 1:15 p.m. (AUTO: 7.17; PROV: 7.38)
- Jarius Cooper
- Gray Horn
- Dennis Martin
- Kallinka Pitt
- William Wynne
Women's 55-Meter Dash (Prelims) – 1:30 p.m. (AUTO: 6.74; PROV: 6.92)
- Daniela Griffin
- Madison McNary
- Shara Proctor
Men's 55-Meter Dash (Prelims) – 1:45 p.m. (AUTO: 6.14; PROV: 6.25)
- Jeremy Hall
- Terrell Wilks
Men's Mile Run – 2:05 p.m. (AUTO: 4:00.30; PROV: 4:04.80)
- Sean Blaney
- Jeremy Criscione
- Anthony Morales
- Justin Taylor
Women's Mile Run – 2:20 p.m. (AUTO: 4:38.60; PROV: 4:48.60)
- Genevieve LaCaze
- Hailey Neal
- Kaitlin Shiver
Men's 55-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 2:40 p.m. (AUTO: 7.17; PROV: 7.38)
- Contingent on qualifying – Cooper, Horn, Martin, Pitt, Wynne
Women's 55-Meter Hurdles (Finals) – 2:55 p.m. (AUTO: 7.57; PROV: 7.86)
- Contingent on qualifying – Bennett
Men's 55-Meter Dash (Finals) – 3:05 p.m. (AUTO: 6.14; PROV: 6.25)
- Contingent on qualifying – Hall, Wilks
Women's 55-Meter Dash (Finals) – 3:15 p.m. (AUTO: 6.74; PROV: 6.92)
- Contingent on qualifying – Griffin, McNary, Proctor
Men's 400-Meter Dash – 3:25 p.m. (AUTO: 46.55; PROV: 47.65)
- Preston Wilson
Men's Shot Put – 3:30 p.m. (AUTO: 19.30m; PROV: 17.75m)
- Beau Burroughs
- Gray Horn
- Kemal Mesic
Women's Shot Put – 3:30 p.m. (AUTO: 16.90m; PROV: 15.20m)
- Fidela James
- Mariam Kevkhishvili
- Keely Medieros
Women's 400-Meter Dash – 3:50 p.m. (AUTO: 52.70; PROV: 54.70)
- Cierra Cummings
- Paige Morton
- Ashley Usery
Men's 3,000-Meter Run – 4:15 p.m. (AUTO: 7:55.80; PROV: 8:06.30)
- Michael Anderson
- Jeremy Criscione
- Justin Taylor
Men's 800-Meter Run – 4:30 p.m. (AUTO: 1:48.60; PROV: 1:51.10)
- LaMarr Davis
- Carlos Phillips
- Ethan Philpot
Men's Triple Jump – 4:30 p.m. (AUTO: 16.10m; PROV: 15.40m)
- Joshua Postell
Women's Triple Jump – 4:30 p.m. (AUTO: 13.30m; PROV: 12.65m)
- Michelle Jenije
Women's 800-Meter Run – 4:40 p.m. (AUTO: 2:05.40; PROV: 2:09.40)
- Hailey Neal
Women's 3,000-Meter Run – 5:35 p.m. (AUTO: 9:15.80; PROV: 9:34.80)
- Charlotte Browning
- Ali Crabb
- Laura Garrow
- Jacy Kruzel
- Julie Northrup
- Sara Petrick
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay – 6:20 p.m. (AUTO: 3:08.10; PROV: 3:12.00)
- Florida A – Christian Taylor, Carlos Phillips, William Wynne, Calvin Smith
- Florida B – Preston Wilson, LaMarr Davis, Terrell Wilks, RJ Anderson
- Florida C – Gray Horn, Dennis Martin, Jeremy Hall, Ethan Philpot
Women's 4x400-Meter Relay – 6:40 p.m. (AUTO: 3:34.20; PROV: 3:41.20)
- Florida A – Alishea Usery, Ije Iheoma, Danielle Williams, Paige Morton
- Florida B – Bree Bennett, Ashley Usery, Cierra Cummings, Charlotte Browning
FLORIDA'S 2009 NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS
- Mariam Kevkhishvili – Women's Shot Put - 55-10.5/17.03m
FLORIDA'S 2009 NCAA PROVISIONAL QUALIFIERS
- Dennis Martin – Men's 60m Hurdles – 7.89
- Keely Medieros – Women's Shot Put - 51-2.25/15.60m
- Kemal Mesic – Men's Shot Put - 62-0.50/18.91m
- Calvin Smith – Men's 400m Dash – 47.04
- Christian Taylor – Men's Long Jump - 25-4/7.72m
- William Wynne – Men's 60m Hurdles – 7.88
- Men's 4x400m Relay – 3:09.14
END OF REPORT
