Gators Ranked Among Nation's Top Five This Week
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | Track and Field
The Florida men's and women's track and field programs each rank among the nation's top five this week, according to the latest U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, the New Orleans-based organization announced Tuesday.
The Gator men are now ranked No. 3 in the nation, while the Florida women rank fifth nationally, according to the latest poll.
The men's team moved up two spots to No. 3 after a number of strong performances at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet this past weekend, including an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark in the men's triple jump by sophomore Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.), the defending NCAA indoor triple jump champion.
Other personal-bests that counted towards Florida's ascension in the men's poll include a pair of personal-record times in the 60-meter dash by Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Chris Rainey (Lakeland, Fla.). Sprinter Tony McQuay (West Palm Beach, Fla.) charted a pair of NCAA provisional-qualifying times in the 200m and 400m, while jumpers Omar Craddock (Kileen, Texas) and Frankie Hammond (Hollywood, Fla.) also turned in provisional marks.
The women's squad rocketed up to No. 5 from the No. 9 slot a week ago thanks to three NCAA automatic-qualifying marks, including the No. 3 all-time collegiate mark in the women's shot put by senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) and school-record and nation-leading marks by senior jumper Shara Proctor (The Valley, Anguilla) in the women's long jump and triple jump.
Other personal-bests and provisional-qualifying times that helped the women's ascension include a personal-best shot put mark by sophomore thrower Keely Medeiros (Luziana, Brazil), the school's best 4x400-meter relay time since 2005 and an event win in the women's 400m by freshman Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.)
The first three weeks of regular national-ranking updates include marks achieved in 2009 (preseason data) and in 2010 (current data). Preseason marks are phased out as athletes and relays achieve marks that better their preseason standing while current marks are phased in with the arrival of freshmen and the improvement of other squad members.
For more on the rankings and links to guideline and rationale information visit
http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings
Florida returns to action next weekend when it sends split squads to the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, and the Washington Invitational in Seattle. Complete coverage will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
For all of the latest information on Florida track and field, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/trackfield or follow the team's Twitter account @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
USTFCCA MEN'S TOP-25 POLL (FEB. 9)
| 1 | Texas A&M |
| 2 | Florida State |
| 3 | Florida |
| 4 | Oregon |
| 5 | LSU |
| 6 | Nebraska |
| 7 | Arizona State |
| 8 | Arkansas |
| 9 | Oklahoma |
| 10 | Texas Tech |
| 11 | Stanford |
| 12 | Virginia Tech |
| 13 | Indiana |
| 14 | Baylor |
| 15 | Penn State |
| 16 | California |
| 17 | Minnesota |
| 18 | Auburn |
| 19 | South Carolina |
| 20 | New Mexico |
| 21 | Kentucky |
| 22 | Georgia |
| 23 | Oklahoma State |
| 24 | Washington State |
| 25 | Arizona |
USTFCCCA WOMEN'S TOP-25 POLL (FEB. 9)
| 1 | Texas A&M |
| 2 | BYU |
| 3 | LSU |
| 4 | Oregon |
| 5 | Florida |
| 6 | Tennessee |
| 7 | Clemson |
| 8 | Villanova |
| 9 | Penn State |
| 10 | Florida State |
| 11 | Arkansas |
| 12 | Louisville |
| 13 | South Carolina |
| 14 | Southern Illinois |
| 15 | Nebraska |
| 16 | UTEP |
| 17 | Auburn |
| 18 | Arizona |
| 19 | Oklahoma |
| 20 | West Virginia |
| 21 | Virginia Tech |
| 22 | Baylor |
| 23 | Washington |
| 24 | Indiana State |
| 25 | Indiana |
END OF REPORT
