In its final regular-season tune-ups before the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships begin, the University of Florida track and field team put together its most balanced effort of the 2011 campaign Saturday in a trio of meets across the country – the Tyson Invitational, the Iowa State Classic and the FloTrack Husky Classic.
Over the course of the entire weekend, Florida recorded eight NCAA automatic-qualifying marks, including five on Saturday. Numerous personal and season bests were charted, as well as one school record on Saturday.
Florida athletes who have already automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships include:
· Will Claye – Men's Triple Jump
· Will Claye – Men's Long Jump
· Omar Craddock – Men's Triple Jump
· Jeff Demps – Men's 60m
· Dumisane Hlaselo – Men's Mile
· Gray Horn – Men's Heptathlon
· Tony McQuay – Men's 400m
· Cory McGee – Women's Mile
· Kemal Mesic – Men's Shot Put
· Christian Taylor – Men's Triple Jump
The 2011 SEC Indoor Championships take place Feb. 25-27 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
“It was an absolutely great day for us,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We challenged our team to stay focused and continue to improve, and this weekend we went forward and made it happen. I thought all of the Gators did a great job and I have to give a lot of credit to my staff for that as well. The biggest thing for us is that now we have to go back to Gainesville and forget about what happened this weekend. We are pleased with what has happened up to this point in the season, but we haven't won anything yet. There are a lot of teams that want to win the conference meet in two weeks – we just have to get refocused and do what we need to do in order to become champions.”
TYSON INVITATIONAL – FAYETTEVILLE, ARK.
At the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., Florida closed out the day with a great competition in the men's triple jump. Three Gators placed among the top five, and Will Claye (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) each turned in NCAA automatic-qualifying marks.
Claye recorded the second-best men's indoor triple jump in school history with a dynamic mark of 17.02m/55-10.25 to claim the event win. Taylor, who saw his NCAA-leading streak of six consecutive victories in the indoor triple jump come to an end, placed second in the event with a season-best leap of 16.77m/55-0.25. Sophomore Omar Craddock (Killeen, Texas) finished fifth with a mark of 15.96m/52-4.50.
Sophomore sprinter Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.), who on Friday automatically-qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 400-meter dash, all but assured himself of a spot in the NCAA meet in the 200-meter dash as well, running a time of 20.88 at on Saturday, just shy of the NCAA automatic time of 20.83. McQuay, Leonardo Seymore (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Jovon Toppin (Port of Spain, Trinidad) each won their heats in the 200m on Saturday.
The Florida women's 4x400m relay team turned in its third-fastest time of the season at 3:38.34, using the quartet of Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.), Danielle Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.), Ugonna Ndu (Newark, N.J.) and Ashley Usery (St. Louis, Mo.).
Running for the first time this season in the women's 200m, sophomore sprinter Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.) recorded a time of 24.25, while Williams turned in a season-best time of 24.35.
FLOTRACK HUSKY CLASSIC – SEATTLE, WASH.
At the FloTrack Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., Florida junior Dumisane Hlaselo (South Africa) became the first person in school history to run a sub-4-minute mile indoors, clocking a school-record time of 3:56.84 to place third in the invitational section of the men's mile. He automatically punched his ticket to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships.
Freshman Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) turned in the third-fastest time in school history in the women's mile, recording an NCAA automatic-qualifying and personal-best time of 4:36.53. McGee set the UF freshman record in the women's mile, shattering her previous personal-best time of 4:46.70.
“We brought 13 people out here and they all got in there and competed hard,” said Todd Morgan, assistant coach for distance and cross country. “Just about everybody we brought out here had a personal best. Definitely the two highlights were the two automatic qualifiers in Cory McGee and Dumisane Hlaselo. Dumi was the first Florida guy under four minutes in school history. A lot of good things happened in about a 15-minute span. It was terrific.”
Hlaselo and McGee both accomplished the NCAA automatic-qualifying times in their first seasons as members of the Florida track and field team.
“They've been fantastic,” Morgan said. “They've come in and have been great, supportive teammates. It's all about the team with them and helping the Gators get better. When you work hard to do that, you typically have success. It has been a pleasure to have them with us.”
IOWA STATE CLASSIC – AMES, IOWA
At the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, senior thrower Kemal Mesic (Sarajevo, Bosnia) recorded a personal-best mark of 19.30m/63-4 in the men's shot put to automatically-qualify for the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships. Mesic's mark went down as the second-best throw in school history, bettering his previous-best mark of 19.26m/63-2.25, set at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Junior Fidela James (Jacksonville, Fla.) charted a personal-best toss of 15.34m/50-4 to place fifth in the women's shot put, while freshman thrower Stipe Zunic (Zadar, Croatia) was seventh in the men's shot put with a toss of 17.02m/55-10.25.
“Both Kemal and Fidela did a really good job today,” said Steve Lemke, associate head coach for throws. “With all of our throwers, we just try to focus on improving week-to-week and we have done that. Coming into this weekend, we were trying to position ourselves for the SEC meet and I feel like we are right where we need to be heading into SECs. All in all, it was a good day.”
Florida has a week off from competition before returning to action Feb. 25-27, when it travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to participate in the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships.
For all of the latest information on Florida track and field, log on to www.GatorZone.com/trackfield or, for up-to-the-minute information, follow the team's Twitter account @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
TYSON INVITATIONAL (FEB. 11-12 :: FAYETTEVILLE, ARK.)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011
Women's High Jump – 1 p.m. ET (AUTO: 1.85m/6-0.75)
T8. Brittany Harrell – 1.68m/5-6
T15. Alexis Muniz – 1.63m/5-4.25
Men's High Jump – 1 p.m. ET (AUTO: 2.24m/7-4.25)
13. Gray Horn – 1.95m/6-4.75
Men's Pole Vault – 1 p.m. ET (5.50m/18-0.50)
9. Max Lang – 4.60m/15-1
--. Eric Foran - NH
Women's 200m – 2 p.m. ET (AUTO: 23.20)
28. Lanie Whittaker – 24.26
30. Danielle Williams – 24.35
Men's 200m – 3 p.m. ET (AUTO: 20.83)
3. Tony McQuay – 20.88
9. Leonardo Seymore – 21.16
40. Jovon Toppin – 21.88
Men's Triple Jump Invitational – 5 p.m. ET (AUTO: 16.15m/53-0)
1. Will Claye – 17.02m/55-10.25 (A)
2. Christian Taylor – 16.77m/55-0.25 (A)
5. Omar Craddock – 15.96m/52-4.50
Women's 4x400m Relay – 5:45 p.m. ET (AUTO: 3:34.00)
11. Florida – 3:38.34
(E. Eutsey, D. Williams, U. Ndu, As. Usery)
IOWA STATE CLASSIC (FEB. 11-12 :: AMES, IOWA)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011
Women's Shot Put – Seeded (AUTO: 16.90m/55-5.50)
5. Fidela James – 15.34m/50-4
Men's Shot Put – Seeded (AUTO: 19.30m/63-4)
3. Kemal Mesic – 19.30m/63-4 (A)
7. Stipe Zunic – 17.02m/55-10.25
FLOTRACK HUSKY CLASSIC (FEB. 11-12 :: SEATTLE, WASH.)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011
Women's Mile Open (AUTO: 4:37.00)
2. Stephanie Strasser – 4:52.82
4. Mandy Perkins – 4:56.78
Men's Mile Open (AUTO: 3:59.00)
5. Derek Wehunt – 4:07.23
31. Michael Anderson – 4:11.67
Women's Mile Invitational (AUTO: 4:37.00)
5. Cory McGee – 4:36.53 (A)
Men's Mile Invitational (AUTO: 3:59.00)
3. Dumisane Hlaselo – 3:56.84 (A) (SR)
Women's 3,000m (AUTO: 9:13.00)
50. Shelby Hayes – 9:51.36
FLORIDA'S NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS ON SATURDAY
· Will Claye – Men's Triple Jump (17.02m/55-10.25) (A)
· Dumisane Hlaselo – Men's Mile (3:56.84) (A) (SR)
· Cory McGee – Women's Mile Invitational (4:36.53) (A)
· Kemal Mesic – Men's Shot Put (19.30m/63-4) (A)
· Christian Taylor – Men's Triple Jump (16.77m/55-0.25) (A)
FLORIDA EVENT VICTORIES ON SATURDAY
· Will Claye – Men's Triple Jump (17.02m/55-10.25) (A)
