Florida Gators
Tyson Invitational
Four NCAA Automatic Marks for Track & Field on Friday
Saturday, February 13, 2010 | Track and Field
The Florida track and field team charted four NCAA automatic-qualifying marks/times and two school records fell on Friday for the Gators, who were participating in three meets across the country – the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, and the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash.
“I thought, in terms of our team, that we were very solid today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “When you look at the big picture, we're getting better across the board. When you're competing hard, sometimes you're going to make mistakes and we had some of that today. But, in the big picture, our team is doing a lot of really good things and I'm very proud of our team and the direction we are going.”
Freshman sprinter Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.), the reigning Southeastern Conference Male Freshman of the Week, won the men's 60-meter dash at the Tyson Invitational in a time of 6.59, tying him for the school record in that event with current teammate Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.).
Demps, who broke his own personal-record of 6.61 set last weekend in Blacksburg, Va., set an NCAA automatic-qualifying time in the process to automatically punch his ticket to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships. Demps now leads the nation in the men's 60-meter dash and ranks 12th in the world.
“When you talk about Jeff Demps, we knew what a special athlete he was,” Holloway said. “The big thing about Jeff is that he is healthy and has been able to practice and condition on a consistent basis. We're very excited about what he can do.”
Sophomore distance runner Rebecca Lowe (Vancluse, Australia) shattered the school record in the women's 5,000-meter run at the Husky Classic with a personal-record and NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 15:59.46. Lowe toppled the previous school-record of 16:24.40 and her own previous PR of 16:27.07. Six athletes in the race ran sub-16 minutes and there were eight automatic-qualifying times among the highly-competitive field.
“I'm proud of Rebecca for breaking the school record,” said Todd Morgan, assistant coach for distance. “It was a competitive field and Rebecca put herself right in the middle and got done what she wanted to do, which was get an NCAA automatic time. Now, we need to get back to work and get ready for SECs in two weeks.”
Senior sprinter Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) clocked the fourth-fastest indoor 400-meter time in school history at 45.98 to automatically punch his ticket to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships.
Smith, a 13-time All-American, bested his previous personal-record indoor time of 46.04 to finish third among a talented 400-meter field and qualify for his second event at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships. Smith helped the 4x400-meter relay team automatically-qualify for the NCAA Championships in the team's first meet of the season, the Kentucky Invitational.
“Those are three exceptional athletes and that's what we expect from them,” Holloway said. “They're capable of doing big things for us and they showed that tonight. Rebecca Lowe is showing that she is healthy and she's one of the best distance runners in the country. That was a big run by Calvin today that was a few seconds off his PR indoors.”
Senior jumper Shara Proctor (The Valley, Anguilla), the two-time reigning SEC Female Field Athlete of the Week, turned in her third consecutive NCAA automatic-qualifying mark in the women's long jump, finishing with a leap of 6.51m/21-4.25 to place third overall in the competition and second among collegiate competitors.
Redshirt freshman thrower Jeremy Postin (Andover, Kan.) turned in a huge personal-record toss in the men's weight throw, placing 11th overall and ninth among collegians with a toss of 18.57m/60-11.25. Postin's throw goes down as the third-best all-time in school history.
Sophomore thrower Keely Medeiros (Luziana, Brazil) also turned in a personal-record weight throw toss of 17.64m/57-10.50 to place eighth overall in the event.
“Both Keely and Jeremy put themselves in a nice position today to expect good things at the SEC meet in two weeks,” said Steve Lemke, assistant coach for throws. “Keely is very new to the event and she's improving all the time, and Jeremy is in his first year competing collegiately and doing very well. Both did a good job today with a very deep field of competitors.”
Freshman sprinter Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.) turned in an NCAA provisional-qualifying time in the 400m for the second consecutive week, finishing ninth in 46.91.
Freshman sprinter Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.) also charted an NCAA provisional-qualifying time in the women's 400m for the second week in a row, finishing 14th in 54.21, while sophomore sprinter Alishea Usery (St. Louis, Mo.) was a provisional-qualifier in the prelims of the women's 60m dash at 7.41.
Activities continue for members of the Florida track and field team at all three sites on Saturday. Complete coverage will be available at www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
TYSON INVITATIONAL (Fayetteville , Ark. – Friday, Feb. 12, 2010)
Women's 400m Dash – 1 p.m. ET (AUTO: 52.40; PROV: 54.40)
14. Lanie Whitaker – 54.21 P
63. Ugonna Ndu – 57.49
Women's Pole Vault – 1 p.m. ET (AUTO: 4.25m; PROV: 4.00m)
6. Daisy Glasser – 3.76m/12-4
7. Caitlin Schuessler – 3.76m/12-4
Men's 400m Dash – 2 p.m. ET (AUTO: 46.15; PROV: 47.25)
3. Calvin Smith – 45.98 A
9. Tony McQuay – 46.91 P
44. Jovon Toppin – 48.57
48. Preston Wilson – 49.05
Men's 60m Hurdles Preliminaries– 3:30 p.m. ET (AUTO: 7.70; PROV: 7.91)
T18. Jarius Cooper – 8.00
Women's 800m Run – 4 p.m. ET (AUTO: 2:05.00; PROV: 2:09.00)
12. Ashley Usery – 2:17.93
19. Mandy Perkins – 2:20.96
Women's 60m Dash Preliminaries – 4:40 p.m. ET (AUTO: 7.27; PROV: 7.44)
18. Alishea Usery – 7.41 P
39. Madison McNary – 7.59
Men's 60m Dash Preliminaries – 5:10 p.m. ET (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.74)
2. Jeff Demps – 6.62 q
18. Terrell Wilks – 6.79
26. Chris Rainey – 6.81
Men's Mile Run – 5:55 p.m. ET (AUTO: 3:59.00; PROV: 4:03.50)
22. Josh Izewski – 4:27.23
Women's Long Jump Invitational – 8:30 p.m. ET (AUTO: 6.38m; PROV: 6.13m)
3. Shara Proctor – 6.51m/21-4.25 A
Men's Long Jump Invitational – 8:30 p.m. ET (AUTO: 7.85m; PROV: 7.50m)
6. Christian Taylor – 7.64m/25-0.75 P
Men's 60m Dash Finals – 9:35 p.m. ET (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.74)
1. Jeff Demps – 6.59 A
IOWA STATE CLASSIC (Ames, Iowa – Friday, Feb. 12, 2010)
Women's Weight Throw – 2:30 p.m. ET (AUTO: 21.00m; PROV: 18.75m)
8. Keely Medeiros – 17.64m/57-10.50
Men's Weight Throw – 6 p.m. ET (AUTO: 21.50; PROV: 19.50)
11. Jeremy Postin – 18.57m/60-11.25
29. David Triassi – 16.71m/54-10
HUSKY CLASSIC (Seattle, Wash. – Friday, Feb. 12, 2010)
Women's 5,000-Meter Run – 9 p.m. ET (AUTO: 16:07.50; PROV: 16:44.50)
6. Rebecca Lowe – 15:59.46 A
SUMMARY
FLORIDA EVENT VICTORIES ON FRIDAY (1)
? Jeff Demps – Men's 60m Dash Finals – 6.59 A
FLORIDA NCAA AUTOMATIC-QUALIFYING MARKS ON FRIDAY (4)
? Jeff Demps – Men's 60m Dash Finals – 6.59 A
? Rebecca Lowe – Women's 5,000m – 15:59.46 A
? Shara Proctor – Women's Long Jump – 6.51m/21-4.25 A
? Calvin Smith – Men's 400m Dash – 45.98 A
FLORIDA NCAA PROVISIONAL-QUALIFYING MARKS ON FRIDAY (4)
? Tony McQuay – Men's 400m Dash – 46.91 P
? Christian Taylor – Men's Long Jump – 7.64m/25-0.75 P
? Alishea Usery – Women's 60m Dash Preliminaries – 7.41 P
? Lanie Whittaker – Women's 400m Dash – 54.21 P
END OF REPORT
