Florida Gators
Kentucky Invitational
Kevkhishvili Charts Record-Setting Day at Kentucky Invitational
Sunday, January 17, 2010 | Track and Field
Florida's three-time NCAA Champion thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) turned in the finest indoor performance of her collegiate career, breaking the Georgian National Record and the UF indoor school record in the women's shot put to highlight the Gators' participation in the Kentucky Invitational on Saturday at E.J. Nutter Fieldhouse.
In total, Florida athletes recorded two NCAA automatic-qualifying marks, posted four provisional-qualifying marks and won three events over the course of two-day Kentucky Invitational.
“I thought it was a very solid weekend for our team,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We definitely have some things that we need to work on but, overall, I thought it was a good opener and gave us the opportunity to shake off some rust. We'll get back and get in two good weeks of training before the Texas A&M Challenge.”
Kevkhishvili, who on Thursday was named to the preseason watch list for The Bowerman – track and field's highest honor, broke her own Florida school record with an NCAA automatic-qualifying toss of 18.47m/60-7.25, which also set her country's shot put record and marked a new E.J. Nutter Fieldhouse facility record.
Kevkhishvili's mark goes down as the best indoor shot put measure in the world so far this year, topping Nadine Kleinert of Germany, who recorded a mark of 18.30m on Dec. 20, 2009, according to IAAF.org. It also is the fourth-best mark in collegiate history.
“Wow,” Holloway said of Kevkhishvili's performance. “Mariam is just Mariam. She recorded the fourth-best finish in collegiate history today. She and Coach [Steve] Lemke have such a great relationship and click so well; I think this is just a by-product of that. But, knowing Mariam as I do, I know she's not satisfied and she wants to continue to improve and get better.”
For Kevkhishvili, who has won eight consecutive indoor competitions dating back to the 2008 season, it marked the first time she has thrown better than 18 meters in an indoor collegiate meet. The toss broke her previous school record of 17.94m/58-10.25 and shattered the facility record of 18.00m set by former Tennessee standout Cleopatra Borel in 2004 as a post-collegian. Three of Kevkhishvili's six throws went further than 18.32 meters and all five throws that landed inside the sector met the automatic-qualifying standard.
“Mariam's fall training gave every indication that it was going to be a really good year for her,” said Steve Lemke, Florida's assistant coach for throws. “It was nice to see her open the season with such a strong series of throws and set her country's national record. It's still the first meet and there are still many things to work on, but she's off to a great start.”
The Florida men's 4x400-meter “A” relay capped off a strong weekend, recording the fourth-best indoor time in school history with an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark of 3:06.40. The new-look relay consisted of Tony McQuay (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.), Jovon Toppin (Port of Spain, Trinidad) and Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.).
The women's 4x400-meter “A” relay ran the school's fastest time in that event since 2005, placing second and clocking a time of 3:39.96. The squad consisted of Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), Alishea Usery (St. Louis, Mo.), Danielle Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.)
“We expected a great performance from our men's 4x4,” Holloway said. “Anytime you get those four guys on the track together, you know they're going to run fast. I thought our women's 4x400 did a great job tonight, running the fastest time we've had in the relay since 2005.”
Usery recorded an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark in the preliminaries of the women's 60-meter dash, clocking a time of 7.44. She followed that up with a third-place finish in the event's finals in a provisional-qualifying time of 7.41. Usery also was seventh in the women's 200-meter dash, an event in which she qualified for the NCAA Championships as a freshman last season.
Sophomore thrower Keely Medeiros (Luziania, Brazil) placed third overall in the women's shot put with an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of 16.15m/53-0, marking a new personal record.
Junior Eric Foran (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) captured the men's pole vault with a leap of 4.90m/16-0.75. He won the event in a jump off with two other competitors to claim his third career victory as a collegiate competitor.
Sophomores Jarius Cooper (Palm Coast, Fla.) and William Wynne (Marietta, Ga.) each advanced to the finals of the men's 60-meter hurdles with Cooper placing fifth (8.16) and Wynne seventh (8.18) overall, while Smith (Lutz, Fla.) charted a third-place finish in the men's 200-meter dash in a time of 21.25, just missing the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard.
Middle distance runner Lamarr Davis (Knightdale, N.C.) was just shy of his indoor personal best of 48.40 in the men's 400-meter run, placing seventh in a time of 48.41.
Sprinters Chris Rainey (Lakeland, Fla.) and Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville, Fla.) each advanced to the finals of the men's 60-meter dash with Rainey finishing ninth overall.
Florida has a week off from competition before returning to action on Jan. 29-30 at the Texas A&M Challenge in College Station, Texas. That event will feature teams solely from the Big 12 Conference, the Pacific-10 Conference and the SEC.
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POST-MEET NOTES
? Florida's participation in the Kentucky Invitational marked the second consecutive year in which the Gators have opened their indoor season at that event.
? Senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili set a new school indoor record, facility record and Georgian national record in the women's shot put with a toss of 18.47m/60-7.25. That mark currently ranks No. 1 in the world this indoor season, according to IAAF.org.
o Kevkhishvili's mark goes down as the fourth-best in collegiate history.
o Kevkhishvili has won eight consecutive indoor competitions dating back to the 2008 season.
? The Florida men's 4x400-meter relay charted the fourth-fastest indoor time in school history, clocking a 3:06.40.
? The Florida women's 4x400-meter relay charted the school's fastest time in that event since 2005 with an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 3:39.96.
? Junior pole vaulter Eric Foran captured the men's pole vault event with a leap of 4.90m/16-0.75, winning the jump off against two other collegiate competitors to claim his third career victory and his first since May 3, 2008 at the Mississippi Open.
? Sophomore thrower Keely Medeiros charted an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark in the women's shot put with a personal-best throw of 16.15m/53-0.
? Sophomore sprinter Alishea Usery ran provisional-qualifying times in both the preliminaries and the finals of the women's 60-meter dash.
FLORIDA EVENT WINNERS
? Eric Foran – Men's Pole Vault – 4.90m/16-0.75 (jump off – 4.95m) P
? Mariam Kevkhishvili – Women's Shot Put – 18.47m/60-7.25 A
? Men's 4x400-meter “A” relay – 3:06.40 A
NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS
? Mariam Kevkhishvili – Women's Shot Put – 18.47m/60-7.25 A
? Men's 4x400-meter “A” relay – 3:06.40 A
NCAA PROVISIONAL QUALIFIERS
? Keely Medeiros – Women's Shot Put – 16.15m/53-0 P
? Alishea Usery – Women's 60m Dash Semis – 7.44 P
? Alishea Usery – Women's 60m Dash Finals – 7.41 P
? Women's 4x400-meter “A” relay – 3:39.96 P
Kentucky Invitational (Jan. 15-16, 2010)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Women's High Jump - 9:30 a.m. (AUTO: 1.85m; PROV: 1.78m)
21. Alexis Muniz – 1.63m/5-4.25
--. Rebecca Goldring - NH
Men's Pole Vault - 11:30 a.m. (AUTO: 5.50m; PROV: 5.20m)
1. Eric Foran – 4.90m/16-0.75 (jump off – 4.95)
11. Max Lang – 4.30m/14-1.25
Men's Shot Put - 12 p.m. (AUTO: 19.30m; PROV: 17.75m)
17. Gray Horn – 11.23m/36-10.25
Women's Shot Put - 12 p.m. (AUTO: 16.90m; PROV: 15.20m)
1. Mariam Kevkhishvili – 18.47m/60-7.25 A, F, SR, Georgian National
3. Keely Medeiros – 16.15m/53-0 P
Women's 60m Hurdles Semis - 12:30 p.m. AUTO: 8.14; PROV: 8.43)
17. Paige Morton – 8.75 q
33. Amani Bryant – 9.10
Men's 60m Hurdles Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 7.70; PROV: 7.91)
3. William Wynne – 7.99 q
8. Jarius Cooper – 8.25 q
Women's 60m Dash Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 7.26; PROV: 7.44)
3. Alishea Usery – 7.44 q P
23. Shara Proctor – 7.76
33. Daniela Griffin – 7.89
39. Jenicia McFadden – 8.04
Men's 60m Dash Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
4. Chris Rainey – 6.79 q
18. Jeremy Hall – 6.93 q
30. Gray Horn – 7.13
Men's 60m Hurdles Finals - 1:50 p.m. (AUTO: 7.70; PROV: 7.91)
5. Jarius Cooper – 8.16
7. William Wynne – 8.18
Women's 60m Hurdles Finals - 1:55 p.m. AUTO: 8.14; PROV: 8.43)
16. Paige Morton – 8.89
Men's 60m Dash Finals - 2 p.m. (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
9. Chris Rainey – 6.84
15. Jeremy Hall – 6.94
Women's 60m Dash Finals - 2:05 p.m. (AUTO: 7.26; PROV: 7.44)
3. Alishea Usery – 7.41 P
Women's 400m Run - 2:15 p.m. (AUTO: 52.40; PROV: 54.40)
16. Ije Iheoma – 56.52
19. Lanie Whittaker – 57.67
23. Danielle Williams – 57.67
24. Michelle Stegall – 57.98
26. Ashley Usery – 58.38
Men's 400m Run - 2:35 p.m. (AUTO: 46.15; PROV: 47.25)
7. Lamarr Davis – 48.41
20. John Mitchell – 49.63
32. Ethan Philpot – 50.40
Women's 200m Dash - 3:35 p.m. (AUTO: 23.20; PROV: 23.90)
7. Alishea Usery – 24.15
Men's 200m Dash - 3:50 p.m. (AUTO: 20.83; PROV: 21.23)
3. Calvin Smith – 21.25
10. Christian Taylor – 21.79
11. Preston Wilson – 21.86
Women's 4x400m Relay - 4:50 p.m. (AUTO: 3:33.00; PROV: 3:40.00)
2. Florida A – 3:39.96 P
(Ije Iheoma, Alishea Usery, Danielle Williams, Lanie Whittaker)
9. Florida B – 3:50.25
(Michelle Stegall, Ashley Usery, Amani Bryant, Paige Morton)
Men's 4x400m Relay - 5:05 p.m. (AUTO: 3:06.50; PROV: 3:10.40)
1. Florida A – 3:06.40 A
(Tony McQuay, Calvin Smith, Jovon Toppin, Christian Taylor)
END OF REPORT
