Gators Begin NCAA Championship Quest on Wednesday
Monday, June 8, 2009 | Track and Field
The University of Florida begins its NCAA Championship quest on Wednesday when it opens participation in the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, hosted by the University of Arkansas at its John McDonnell Field.
The NCAA Championships begin at 12:30 p.m. EST Wednesday and continue at 3:30 p.m. EST Thursday, 4 p.m. EST Friday and 1 p.m. EST Saturday. Live results for the entire meet will be available at: http://www.flashresults.com/2009_Meets/outdoor/NCAA/
The Gators head into the NCAA Championships ranked No. 2 in the nation on the men's side and No. 14 nationally on the women's side, according to the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Poll, released Monday by the New Orleans-based organization.
Florida has 22 berths and opportunities to score at the upcoming NCAA Championships, including 14 opportunities on the men's side. The Gator men captured their first NCAA East Regional title since 2004, when they picked up the team victory two weeks ago in Greensboro, N.C. The Florida women are the 2009 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Champions.
The Gators enter the meet ranked No. 1 in the nation in two individual events – the women's shot put and the men's 4x100-meter relay.
Junior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) is the 2009 SEC Outdoor Shot Put Champion and the 2009 NCAA East Regional Shot Put Champion. Additionally, she was the 2009 NCAA Indoor Champion and holds the nation's No. 1 outdoor toss with a mark of 59-2.75/18.05m.
Florida's 2009 SEC Outdoor Champion 4x100-meter relay holds the nation's top time, having clocked a 38.74. The squad consists of Dennis Martin (Anderson, S.C.), Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.), Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.) and Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville , Fla.).
Hall and Wilks also will compete in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes, while Smith – the 2009 SEC Outdoor Men's Runner of the Year – competes in the 400-meter dash and the 4x400-meter relay.
Other notables competing include SEC javelin champion Evelien Dekkers (Etten Leur, Netherlands), SEC decathlon champion Gray Horn (Wapakoneta, Ohio) and NCAA East Regional pole vault champion Natalie Moser (Tampa, Fla.).
Last season, the Florida women finished ninth overall, while the men were 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
For all of the latest information on Florida track and field, please log on to www.GatorZone.com or for up-to-the-minute information, please click to www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – JUNE 10-13, 2009)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10
Men's Decathlon – 12:30 p.m. EST
- Gray Horn
Men's Shot Put Qualifying – 4 p.m. EST
- Beau Burroughs
- Kemal Mesic
Women's Shot Put Qualifying – 5:15 p.m. EST
- Mariam Kevkhishvili
- Keely Medeiros
Men's 4x100-Meter Relay Semifinals – 6:15 p.m. EST
- Dennis Martin, Calvin Smith, Terrell Wilks, Jeremy Hall
Women's Javelin Qualifying – 6:30 p.m. EST
- Evelien Dekkers
Men's 800-Meter Run Preliminaries – 6:45 p.m. EST
- Carlos Phillips
Men's 100-Meter Dash Preliminaries – 7:15 p.m. EST
- Jeremy Hall
- Terrell Wilks
Women's 400-Meter Dash Preliminaries – 8 p.m. EST
- Alishea Usery
Men's 400-Meter Dash Preliminaries – 8:15 p.m. EST
- Calvin Smith
Women's Pole Vault Qualifying – 8:15 p.m. EST
- Natalie Moser
Women's Long Jump Qualifying – 8:30 p.m. EST
- Shara Proctor
Men's 100-Meter Dash Semifinals – 8:40 p.m. EST
- Jeremy Hall
- Terrell Wilks
Women's 5,000-Meter Run Semifinals – 9:40 p.m. EST
- Genevieve LaCaze
THURSDAY, JUNE 11
Men's Decathlon – 3:30 p.m. EST
- Gray Horn
Women's Long Jump Finals – 5:45 p.m. EST
- Shara Proctor
Women's Shot Put Finals – 5:45 p.m. EST
- Mariam Kevkhishvili
- Keely Medeiros
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Preliminaries – 6:50 p.m. EST
- Kallinka Pitt
- William Wynne
Men's Shot Put Finals – 7:15 p.m. EST
- Beau Burroughs
- Kemal Mesic
Men's 200-Meter Dash Preliminaries – 7:25 p.m. EST
- Jeremy Hall
- Terrell Wilks
Men's 800-Meter Run Semifinals – 8:25 p.m. EST
- Carlos Phillips
Men's 200-Meter Dash Preliminaries – 8:45 p.m. EST
- Jeremy Hall
- Terrell Wilks
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay Semifinals – 9:40 p.m. EST
- Florida
FRIDAY, JUNE 12
Women's Triple Jump Qualifying – 4 p.m. EST
- Shara Proctor
Men's Triple Jump Qualifying – 5:30 p.m. EST
- Christian Taylor
Women's Javelin Finals – 6:30 p.m. EST
- Evelien Dekkers
Men's 4x100-Meter Relay Finals – 7:15 p.m. EST
- Dennis Martin, Calvin Smith, Terrell Wilks, Jeremy Hall
Women's Pole Vault Finals – 8 p.m. EST
- Natalie Moser
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Semifinals – 8:05 p.m. EST
- Kallinka Pitt
- William Wynne
Women's 400-Meter Dash Semifinals – 8:15 p.m. EST
- Alishea Usery
Men's 400-Meter Dash Semifinals – 8:25 p.m. EST
- Calvin Smith
Men's 100-Meter Dash Finals – 8:45 p.m. EST
- Jeremy Hall
- Terrell Wilks
Women's 5,000-Meter Run Finals – 9:15 p.m. EST
- Genevieve LaCaze
SATURDAY, JUNE 13
Women's Triple Jump Finals – 1 p.m. EST
- Shara Proctor
Men's Triple Jump Finals – 1 p.m. EST
- Christian Taylor
Women's 400-Meter Dash Finals – 1:05 p.m. EST
- Alishea Usery
Men's 400-Meter Dash Finals – 1:12 p.m. EST
- Calvin Smith
Men's 800-Meter Run Finals – 1:28 p.m. EST
- Carlos Phillips
Men's 200-Meter Dash Finals – 1:42 p.m. EST
- Jeremy Hall
- Terrell Wilks
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Finals – 1:59 p.m. EST
- Kallinka Pitt
- William Wynne
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay Finals – 2:44 p.m. EST
- Florida
END OF REPORT
