Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Gators Claim Two NCAA Individual Championships on Friday
Saturday, June 12, 2010 | Track and Field
Florida's Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Mariam Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) each claimed individual national titles on Friday to highlight the third day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in front of a packed house of 11,972 fans at historic Hayward Field.
Florida currently is in second place in the men's team standings with 28 total points. Texas A&M leads the men's competition with 36 points, while Southern Cal is third with 26.5 points. Oregon tops the women's leaderboard with 30 team points, while Iowa State is second with 28. The Gator women are tied for seventh with 16 points.
“I am very, very pleased with how we performed today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “It all started with Mariam [Kevkhishvili] winning her fifth NCAA title. It's not always easy to come in as the favorite, but she did a great job today. I am especially proud of Jeff [Demps]. We had a plan, he stuck to it and to win the NCAA 100-meter title by that kind of a margin is a big accomplishment. I'm also very happy with Calvin [Smith] for sticking in there and getting a big five points for the team. Now it's on to tomorrow and it should be a lot of fun.”
Demps clocked a time of 9.96 (+2.5) to capture the 2010 NCAA 100-meter dash championship. The 2010 NCAA Indoor 60-meter champion, Demps won the school's first 100-meter title since Bernard Williams won in 2000. His time of 9.96 would have been a new school record had the race not been heavily wind-aided (+2.5).
It marked the seventh time in the last 10 years that the 100-meter dash champion has come from the Southeastern Conference.
“It was a great race today,” Demps said. “I executed well and came out with the win. I know my team needed the points and I just came out to get the 10 points to try to help us win the team title.”
Kevkhishvili became just the second athlete in NCAA history to claim five women's shot put national championships (indoors and outdoors combined). She captured the 2010 NCAA outdoor championship on Friday with a toss of 18.11m/59-5, tying for the women's school record with five NCAA Championships (any event). Candice Scott also had five NCAA individual championships during her Gator career.
“I am happy to win my fifth NCAA title,” Kevkhishvili said. “I wasn't really happy with my throw, but I'm glad I was able to score 10 points and help my team today.”
Kevkhishvili is just the second woman in NCAA history to claim both the NCAA indoor and outdoor women's shot put titles in back-to-back seasons, joining Regina Cavanaugh of Rice who accomplished the feat in 1985 and 1986. Kevkhishvili concludes her senior campaign by going a perfect 13-for-13 against all competitions and she did not lose a competition to a collegiate competitor (indoors or outdoors) in her final two seasons.
“It was the right way for Mariam to finish off her Gator career,” said associate head coach/throws Steve Lemke. “She had such a great college career and it would have been neat to see what she really would have been able to accomplish if she had more competition during the year. To go undefeated her last two collegiate seasons is very impressive and we are really going to miss her.”
Senior sprinter Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) earned his 17th career All-America honor by placing fourth in the men's 400-meter dash. Smith recorded a time of 45.37 to add five points for the team. His 17 All-America honors (indoors and outdoors combined) are the most in school history.
Sophomore multi-event athlete Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) placed 15th overall in the decathlon with a final score of 7,262. Over the course of the day, Horn recorded a personal-best mark of 39.72m/130-4 in the discus, bettering his previous personal record in that event of 39.02m/128-0, charted at the 2009 SEC Outdoor Championships.
Sophomore thrower Keely Medeiros (Luziana, Brazil) placed ninth overall in the women's shot put with a mark of 16.19m/53-1.50, while sophomore Fidela James (Jacksonville, Fla.) was 23rd with a mark of 14.89m/48-10.25.
The final day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships commences at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT. The final day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships will be televised live on CBS from 1-3 p.m. ET. Ian Eagle will have the call, along with analysts Carol Lewis, Larry Rawson and Dan O'Brien.
For all of the latest information on University of Florida track and field, 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.
NCAA Outdoor Championships (June 9-12, 2010::Eugene, Ore.)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Men's Decathlon – 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT
15. Gray Horn – 7,262
Men's Decathlon 110m Hurdles - 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT
10. Gray Horn – 14.94 (+1.1) (857 points)
Men's Decathlon Discus - 1:45 p.m. ET/10:45 a.m. PT
8. Gray Horn – 39.72m/130-4 (659 points)
Men's Decathlon Pole Vault - 3:55 p.m. ET/12:55 p.m. PT
17. Gray Horn – 4.30m/14-1.25 (702 points)
Men's Decathlon Javelin - 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Gray Horn – 4.30m/14-1.25 (702 points)
Men's Decathlon 1,500m Run - 9:15 p.m. ET/6:15 p.m. PT
10. Gray Horn – 4:40.60 (677 points)
Women's Shot Put Final - 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT
1. Mariam Kevkhishvili – 18.11m/59-5 (10 points)
9. Keely Medeiros – 16.19m/53-1.50
23. Fidela James – 14.89m/48-10.25
Men's 100m Dash Final - 8:25 p.m. ET/5:25 p.m. PT
1. Jeff Demps – 9.96 (10 points)
Men's 400m Dash Final - 9:25 p.m. ET/6:25 p.m. PT
4. Calvin Smith – 45.37 (5 points)
FLORIDA NCAA CHAMPIONS
- Jeff Demps – Men's 100-Meter Dash
- Mariam Kevkhishvili – Women's Shot Put
- Christian Taylor – Men's Triple Jump
FLORIDA TOP-EIGHT FINISHERS (POINT-SCORERS)
- Jeff Demps – Men's 100-Meter Dash (1st)
- Mariam Kevkhishvili – Women's Shot Put (1st)
- Christian Taylor – Men's Triple Jump (1st)
- Shara Proctor – Women's Triple Jump (3rd)
- Calvin Smith – Men's 400-Meter Dash (4th)
- Omar Craddock – Men's Triple Jump (6th)
MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS THROUGH 13 EVENTS
1. Texas A&M – 36
2. FLORIDA – 28
3. Southern Cal – 26.50
T4. Oregon – 20
T4. Arizona State – 20
T4. LSU – 20
WOMEN'S TEAM STANDINGS THROUGH 12 EVENTS
1. Oregon – 30
2. Iowa State – 28
T3. Southern Illinois – 26
T3. Texas A&M – 26
5. Arizona – 19
T7. FLORIDA – 16
END OF REPORT
