Junior Florida jumper Will Claye (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished as the NCAA runner-up in the men's long jump Friday and the Gators advanced four athletes to the finals of their respective events to cap off the opening day of the NCAA Indoor Championships hosted by Texas A&M University at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
Claye, who entered the meet seeded eighth in the event, turned in the second-best men's long jump in program history with a personal-best mark of 8.04m/26-4.50 on his second attempt to place second overall in the competition. Claye earned first-team All-America honors to score eight points for the Gators on their opening day of the NCAA Championships. That shattered his previous personal-best long jump mark of 7.95m/26-1.
Florida qualified four athletes for the finals of their respective events on Saturday, including Jeff Demps (men's 60m), Dumisani Hlaselo (men's mile), Cory McGee (women's mile) and Tony McQuay (men's 400m). McQuay, who tweaked his hamstring in the 200-meter dash, did not compete in the finals of that event, but is expected to compete in the 400m and 4x400m on Saturday.
The final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships begins at 1 p.m. ET Saturday from the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
“It was a tough day today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We had a lot of good things happen, mixed with some bad things. Tony had the top time in the 400m, and Will Claye had a big personal-best to finish second in the long jump, after coming in seeded eighth. We had a couple things not go our way with Tony hurting his hamstring and Kemal coming in having hurt his hand, which would have been valuable points.
“We projected that we would have 12-15 points today and we have eight, so we're not far from where we want to be,” Holloway said. “The big thing for us is to get back from the hotel and get ready to come in and compete hard tomorrow. We have a very good shot at a national championship tomorrow. It's going to come down to how bad we want it, and this team wants it pretty bad.”
Junior multi-event athlete Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) broke his own school-record first-day heptathlon score and currently stands in fifth place overall in the competition headed into Saturday's final three events. Horn totaled a score of 3,245 and is currently 102 points off the lead, held by Kansas State's Mantas Silkauskas. Horn's previous personal-best first-day score was 3,242, set at the Texas A&M Challenge on Jan. 28-29, 2011.
“I am very proud of Gray, setting a new school-record first-day score,” Holloway said. “He has put himself in a great position to finish very well tomorrow. He just needs to go out and do what he does, and get our team off to a great start tomorrow.”
Horn opened the competition by placing third in the men's 60-meter dash in a time of 7.01, before posting a leap of 7.29m/23-11 to place fifth overall in the men's long jump. Horn was 10th overall in the men's shot put at 12.89m/42-3.50, before matching his personal-best mark in the high jump at 2.02m/6-7.50 to cap the day.
Sophomore sprinter Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) advanced to the finals of the men's 60-meter dash, placing fourth overall in the preliminaries in a time of 6.59. The event's preliminaries featured an incredibly fast tempo as six athletes ran 6.60 or faster. Senior sprinter Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.) was unable to advance, clocking a 6.76, to place 16th overall. The finals of the 60-meter dash take place at 7:10 p.m. ET Saturday.
Sophomore sprinter Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.) ran the fastest time of the day in the preliminaries of the men's 400-meter dash, clocking a 45.82 to earn the top seed heading into Saturday's final, which will take place at 6:50 p.m. ET.
Freshman distance runner Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) qualified for the finals of the women's mile, placing third in her heat and ninth overall in a time of 4:40.11. The finals of the women's mile takes place at 6 p.m. ET Saturday.
Junior distance runner Dumisani Hlaselo (South Africa) finished sixth in his heat of the men's mile, to advance to the finals of the event in a time of 4:01.21. The finals of the men's mile are slated for a 6:10 p.m. ET start on Saturday.
Freshman hurdler Eddie Lovett (West Palm Beach, Fla.), the 2011 Southeastern Conference men's 60m hurdles champion, failed to advance to the finals of the men's 60-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 7.86 to place 13th overall in the event.
Senior thrower Kemal Mesic (Sarajevo, Bosnia), battling a hand injury, placed 11th overall in the men's shot put competition with a toss of 18.61m/61-0.75.
Complete results and a recap of this weekend's action will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
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.
NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (MARCH 11-12, 2011 :: COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS)
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011
Men's Heptathlon – 1 p.m. ET (AUTO: 5,675)
· Gray Horn (Career Best: 5,816)
Heptathlon 60m (AUTO: 6.60)
3. Gray Horn – 7.01 (879 points)
Heptathlon Long Jump (AUTO: 7.90m/25-11)
5. Gray Horn – 7.29/23-11 (883 points)
Heptathlon Shot Put (AUTO: 19.30m/63-4)
10. Gray Horn – 12.89m/42-3.50 (661 points)
Heptathlon High Jump (AUTO: 2.24m/7-4.25)
6. Gray Horn – 2.02m/6-7.50 (822 points)
Women's Mile (prelim) – 5 p.m. ET (AUTO: 4:37.00)
9. Cory McGee – 4:40.11 Q
Men's Mile (prelim) – 5:15 p.m. ET (AUTO: 3:59.00)
6. Dumisani Hlaselo – 4:01.21 Q
Men's 60m Hurdles (prelim) – 5:45 p.m. ET (AUTO: 7.70)
13. Eddie Lovett – 7.86
Men's 400m (prelim) – 6:15 p.m. ET (AUTO: 46.15)
1. Tony McQuay – 45.82 q
Men's 60m (prelim) – 6:45 p.m. ET (AUTO: 6.60)
4. Jeff Demps – 6.59 q
16. Terrell Wilks - 6.76
Men's Long Jump – 7:40 p.m. ET (AUTO: 7.90m/25-11)
2. Will Claye – 8.04m/26-4.50 (8 points)
Men's 200m (prelim) – 7:45 p.m. ET (AUTO: 20.83)
--. Tony McQuay – DNF
Men's Shot Put – 7:50 p.m. ET (AUTO: 19.30m/63-4)
11. Kemal Mesic – 18.61m/61-0.75
FLORIDA ALL-AMERICANS ON FRIDAY
· Will Claye – Men's Long Jump (8.04m/26-4.50, 2nd)
FLORIDA QUALIFIERS FOR SATURDAY'S FINALS
· Jeff Demps – Men's 60m (6.59)
· Dumisani Hlaselo – Men's Mile (4:01.21)
· Cory McGee – Women's Mile (4:40.11)
· Tony McQuay – Men's 400m (45.82)
MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS (THROUGH 6 of 17 EVENTS)
T1. BYU – 24
T1. Florida State – 24
3. Minnesota – 14
4. Oklahoma – 13
5. Texas – 12
T6. Nebraska – 11
T6. Auburn – 11
T8. Arizona – 10
T8. Iona – 10
T8. Washington – 10
11. Indiana – 9
T12. Florida – 8
T12. Liberty – 8
T12. Kansas – 8
15. LSU – 7
WOMEN'S TEAM STANDINGS (THROUGH 6 of 17 EVENTS)
1. Oregon – 26
2. Texas – 23
3. LSU – 19
4. Tennessee – 16
T5. Texas A&M – 12
T5. Indiana State – 12
T7. Oklahoma – 10
T7. Villanova – 10
T7. Arizona – 10
T7. Southern Miss – 10
T7. Southern Illinois - 10
