Florida Gators
Virginia Tech Elite Meet
Track and Field's Proctor Bests Nation-Leading Mark
Saturday, February 6, 2010 | Track and Field
The blustery winter conditions in Blacksburg, Va., on Friday were no match for a sizzling hot performance by Florida's Shara Proctor (The Valley, Anguilla), as the senior jumper turned in the second-best mark in the world this year in the indoor long jump to highlight the opening day of the Virginia Tech Elite Meet at Rector Field House.
The Virginia Tech Elite meet, featuring a handful of top teams from both the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference, took place amidst temperatures in the low 30s and up to 6.5 inches of snow.
In total, Florida picked up two event victories, notched one NCAA automatic-qualifying mark and tallied five NCAA provisional-qualifying marks/times.
“We had a very good day today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We've reinforced to our team the importance of focus and effort and I think we saw a lot of that today. If you look across the board tonight, in just about everything we did, there was improvement. I am very, very pleased with the team as a whole today.”
Proctor, the reigning SEC Female Field Athlete of the Week, won the women's long jump with a nation-leading mark of 6.67m/21-10.75, which bettered her previous-best mark of 6.60m/21-8 and broke her own school record for the second consecutive week. It was the 12th-best women's long jump in collegiate history.
Proctor, whose mark is second only in the world to the mark of 6.69m turned in by the Ukraine's Viktoriya Rybalko last week, set a Rector Field House facility record and charted an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark for the second week in a row.
“The big thing about Shara is that she and Coach [Brian] O'Neal have put together a plan and the plan is to get a little bit better each week,” Holloway said. “She's consistently doing that. She had the No. 12 jump in NCAA history tonight. That's a huge jump and I think everybody has taken notice of what she has been able to accomplish this season.”
Sprinter Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.), competing in his first meet of the 2010 season, charted an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 6.64 in the preliminaries of the men's 60m dash, before clocking the second-fastest time in school history in the finals with a time of 6.61 to place second. Fellow sprinter Chris Rainey (Lakeland, Fla.) was fourth in the 60m finals in an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 6.70.
Freshman sprinter Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.) won the women's 400-meter dash invitational, charting an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 54.06, just missing Florida's all-time top 10 in the women's indoor 400m.
Freshman sprinter Tony McQuay (West Palm Beach, Fla.) placed second in the men's 400-meter dash in a time of 46.90, while junior Lamarr Davis (Knightdale, N.C.) turned in one of the top times of his career in that event, winning his heat and placing fourth overall in 48.54.
Freshman Josh Evans (Irvington, N.J.) and sophomore Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) each advanced to the finals of the men's 60-meter hurdles, recording personal-best times. In the finals, Evans was fourth in 8.21, while Horn was fifth in 8.22. Freshman hurdler Ugonna Ndu (Newark, N.J.) just missed a trip to the finals of the women's 60-meter hurdles, placing ninth overall in a collegiate-best time of 8.82.
Men's weight throwers Jeremy Postin (Andover, Kan.) and David Triassi (Jacksonville , Fla.) each turned in strong performances. Postin recorded his second consecutive toss better than 18 meters at 18.08m/59-4, while Triassi posted a personal-best throw of 17.44m/57-2.75. Postin already holds the fifth-best throw in school history, while Triassi's performance on Friday went down as the eight-best in school history.
Freshman distance runner Derek Wehunt (Odessa, Fla.) posted one of his top career mile times, placing seventh in the men's mile in 4:15.96.
The final day of the Virginia Tech Elite Meet commences at 11 a.m. ET Saturday at Rector Field House. Complete results and a recap 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, for up-to-the minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
Virginia Tech Elite Meet (Blacksburg, Va. – Friday, Feb. 5, 2010)
Women's Long Jump (AUTO: 6.38m; PROV: 6.13m)
1. Shara Proctor – 6.67m/21-10.75 A
Men's Long Jump (AUTO: 7.85m; PROV: 7.50m)
3. Christian Taylor – 7.36m/24-1.75
Women's Weight Throw (AUTO: 21.00m; PROV: 18.75m)
7. Keely Medeiros – 17.02m/55-10.25
Women's Pole Vault (AUTO: 4.25m; PROV: 4.00m)
T8. Daisy Glasser - 3.72m/12-2.50
10. Claire Spurling – 3.57m/11-8.50
Women's 60m Hurdles Prelims (AUTO: 8.14; PROV: 8.43)
9. Ugonna Ndu – 8.82
14. Amani Bryant – 8.99
Men's 60m Hurdles Prelims (AUTO:7.70; PROV: 7.91)
5. Josh Evans – 8.26 q
7. Gray Horn – 8.45 q
Women's 60m Dash Prelims (AUTO:7.26; PROV: 7.44)
9. Madison McNary – 7.66
19. Danielle Williams – 7.86
Men's 60m Dash Prelims (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
1. Jeff Demps – 6.64 P q
T4. Chris Rainey – 6.74 q
6. Jeremy Rankin – 6.74 q
9. Jeremy Hall – 6.79
10. Terrell Wilks – 6.79
Women's 400m Invitational (AUTO: 52.40; PROV: 54.40)
1. Lanie Whittaker – 54.06 P
6. Alishea Usery – 55.40
11. Michelle Stegall – 57.88
Men's 400m Invitational (AUTO: 46.15; PROV: 47.25)
2. Tony McQuay – 46.90 P
4. Lamarr Davis – 48.54
Men's Weight Throw (AUTO: 21.50m; PROV: 19.50m)
8. Jeremy Postin – 18.08m/59-4
9. David Triassi – 17.44m/57-2.75
Men's Mile Run (AUTO: 3:59.00; PROV: 4:03.50)
7. Derek Wehunt – 4:15.96
Men's 60m Hurdles Finals (AUTO:7.70; PROV: 7.91)
4. Josh Evans – 8.21
5. Gray Horn – 8.22
Men's 60m Dash Finals (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
2. Jeff Demps – 6.61 P
4. Chris Rainey – 6.70 P
7. Jeremy Rankin – 6.74
Women's 800m (AUTO: 2:05.00; PROV: 2:09.00)
16. Ashley Usery – 2:22.18
Women's High Jump (AUTO: 1.85m; PROV: 1.78m)
13. Alexis Muniz – 1.64m/5-4.50
Women's 200m Open (AUTO: 23.20; PROV: 23.90)
5. Danielle Williams – 24.96
15. Ije Iheoma – 25.52
Men's 200m Open (AUTO: 20.83; PROV: 21.23)
6. Jeremy Rankin – 21.80
FLORIDA EVENT VICTORIES
? Shara Proctor – Women's Long Jump - 6.67m/21-10.75 A
? Lanie Whittaker – Women's 400m Dash – 54.06 P
FLORIDA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS
? Shara Proctor – Women's Long Jump - 6.67m/21-10.75 A
FLORIDA PROVISIONAL QUALIFIERS
? Jeff Demps – Men's 60m Dash Prelims – 6.64 P
? Jeff Demps – Men's 60m Dash Finals – 6.61 P
? Tony McQuay – Men's 400m Dash – 46.90 P
? Chris Rainey – Men's 60m Dash Finals – 6.70 P
? Lanie Whittaker – Women's 400m Dash – 54.06 P
END OF REPORT
