Gators Open 2010 Campaign in the Bluegrass
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 | Track and Field
The University of Florida track and field teams, both coming off of top-10 finishes at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, begin their 2010 campaigns this weekend when the Gators travel to Lexington, Ky., to participate in the annual two-day Kentucky Invitational hosted by the University of Kentucky at its E.J. Nutter Fieldhouse. Live results will be available at ukathletics.com and alltraxtiming.com.
The event begins at 6 p.m. ET Friday with a number of field events and continues Saturday beginning at 10:30 a.m. with the remainder of the field events and the running events beginning at 12:30 that day.
“I'm very excited about the season,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “On both sides of the program, we have a great mixture of youth and experience, so I'm looking forward to the new athletes competing this weekend, just to see where they are and how we compete.”
Florida commences its season with top-10 rankings on both the men's and women's sides according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's 2010 preseason poll. The Gator men, who were the national runners-up at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships, enter this weekend's meet with a No. 2 national ranking, while the women are sixth nationally.
Five athletes who won at least one national championship last season return to the Gators this year. Senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) headlines that list after capturing both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships last season in the women's shot put, also winning Southeastern Conference titles in both those events. Sophomore jumper Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.), who won the 2009 Cliff Harper Trophy for the league's high points scorer at the SEC Indoor Meet, returns after capturing the 2009 NCAA Indoor Triple Jump title. Sprinters Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville, Fla.), Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) and Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.) were part of the school's NCAA Outdoor Championship 4x100-meter relay team in 2009.
The Gators begin their indoor campaign at the Kentucky Invitational for the second consecutive season. Participating teams at the event include: Alabama, Auburn, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia, Georgia Tech, host Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Miami, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, Tennessee, UCF, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky.
Complete results and a recap of each day of competition in the Kentucky Invitational will be available at www.GatorZone.com/trackfield. For all of the latest up-to-the-minute updates, please follow Gator Track and Field on Twitter @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
Kentucky Invitational Schedule of Events (Jan. 15-16, 2010)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Men's Weight Throw - 6 p.m. (AUTO: 21.50m; PROV: 19.50m)
• Jeremy Postin
Men's High Jump - 6 p.m. (AUTO: 2.24m; PROV: 2.14m)
• Gray Horn
Women's Triple Jump - 6 p.m. (AUTO: 13.30m; PROV: 12.65m)
• Daniela Griffin
• Jenicia McFadden
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Women's High Jump - 10:30 a.m. (AUTO: 1.85m; PROV: 1.78m)
• Rebecca Goldring
• Alexis Muniz
Men's Pole Vault - 11:30 a.m. (AUTO: 5.50m; PROV: 5.20m)
• Eric Foran
• Max Lang
Men's Shot Put - 12 p.m. (AUTO: 19.30m; PROV: 17.75m)
• Gray Horn
• Kemal Mesic
Women's Shot Put - 12 p.m. (AUTO: 16.90m; PROV: 15.20m)
• Mariam Kevkhishvili
• Keely Medieros
Women's 60m Hurdles Semis - 12:30 p.m. AUTO: 8.14; PROV: 8.43)
• Amani Bryant
• Paige Morton
Men's 60m Hurdles Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 7.70; PROV: 7.91)
• Jarius Cooper
• William Wynne
Women's 60m Dash Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 7.26; PROV: 7.44)
• Daniela Griffin
• Jenicia McFadden
• Madison McNary
• Shara Proctor
• Alishea Usery
Men's 60m Dash Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
• Jeremy Hall
• Gray Horn
• Jeremy Rankin
Men's 60m Hurdles Finals - 1:50 p.m. (AUTO: 7.70; PROV: 7.91)
(contingent on advancing)
• Jarius Cooper
• William Wynne
Women's 60m Hurdles Finals - 1:55 p.m. AUTO: 8.14; PROV: 8.43)
(contingent on advancing)
• Amani Bryant
• Paige Morton
Men's 60m Dash Finals - 2 p.m. (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
(contingent on advancing)
• Jeremy Hall
• Gray Horn
• Jeremy Rankin
Women's 60m Dash Finals - 2:05 p.m. (AUTO: 7.26; PROV: 7.44)
(contingent on advancing)
• Daniela Griffin
• Jenicia McFadden
• Madison McNary
• Shara Proctor
• Alishea Usery
Women's 400m Run - 2:15 p.m. (AUTO: 52.40; PROV: 54.40)
• Ije Iheoma
• Michelle Stegall
• Ashley Usery
• Lanie Whittaker
• Danielle Williams
Men's 400m Run - 2:35 p.m. (AUTO: 46.15; PROV: 47.25)
• LaMarr Davis
• John Mitchell
• Ethan Philpot
Women's 200m Dash - 3:35 p.m. (AUTO: 23.20; PROV: 23.90)
• Ije Iheoma
• Madison McNary
• Michelle Stegall
• Alishea Usery
• Lanie Whittaker
Men's 200m Dash - 3:50 p.m. (AUTO: 20.83; PROV: 21.23)
• Ije Iheoma
• Madison McNary
• Michelle Stegall
• Alishea Usery
• Lanie Whittaker
Women's 4x400m Relay - 4:50 p.m. (AUTO: 3:33.00; PROV: 3:40.00)
• Florida “A” (Whittaker, Al. Usery, Williams, Stegall)
• Florida “B” (Iheoma, Bryant, As. Usery, Morton)
Men's 4x400m Relay - 5:05 p.m. (AUTO: 3:06.50; PROV: 3:10.40)
• Florida “A” (McQuay, Toppin, Smith, C. Taylor)
• Florida “B” (Wynne, Wilson, Davis, Hall)
• Florida “C”
END OF REPORT
