Florida Gators
SEC Outdoor Championships
Gators Post Pair of Second-Place Finishes at SEC Outdoor Championships
Monday, May 16, 2011 | Track and Field
On the strength of seven individual Southeastern Conference titles and two school records, the University of Florida men's and women's track and field teams turned in a full weekend of gritty performances to post a pair of runner-up finishes at the 2011 SEC Outdoor Championships, hosted by the University of Georgia at its Spec Towns Track.
Arkansas claimed the men's team title with 157.50 points, while the Gator men were second with 140 points and host Georgia was third with 99 points. Top-ranked LSU took home the women's team title with 146 points, while Florida was second with 116 points and Arkansas third with 107 points.
Florida took home seven individual league titles over the course of the weekend including: Will Claye (men's long jump, men's triple jump), Gray Horn (men's decathlon), Genevieve LaCaze (women's steeplechase), Fawn Miller (women's javelin), Terrell Wilks (men's 100-meter dash) and the men's 4x100-meter relay.
“I thought we had a phenomenal weekend,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “I was extremely pleased with the focus, the drive and the determination of everybody who put the uniform on. Adversity is part of life. I think, sometimes, a little adversity is a good thing, because it teaches you that things aren't always going to be perfect and it lets us find out what type of group we really are. I think we showed that today. We came into today knowing it was going to be an uphill climb, but I don't think we saw anyone put the uniform on that didn't compete hard. Everybody fought like crazy.
“Obviously, we didn't come here to be second, but there's no way I walk away with a bad feeling today,” Holloway said. “There were just so many good things that happened. We're just going to use this as motivation. We're going to see a lot of these same teams at the NCAA meet and we'll work hard to make sure the outcome is different.”
Florida put on a show in the men's triple jump to open the day. Junior jumper Will Claye (Phoenix, Ariz.) and teammate Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) wowed the crowd with a series of impressive leaps. Claye claimed his second SEC title of the weekend by winning the men's triple jump event with a leap of 17.24m/56-6.75 (+2.2).
Taylor finished second in the event, but because his best mark was wind-legal, he also set the SEC meet record and the Spec Towns Track record in the process with a jump of 17.15m/56-3.25 (+1.4). Taylor's mark broke the previous SEC meet record of 56-0 set by Arkansas' Jerome Romain in 1995. Taylor accomplished the feat in just three jumps, passing each of his turns in the final so that he could run the second leg of Florida's 4x100-meter relay team. Taylor's mark puts him among the top-25 U.S. men's triple jumpers all-time. Sophomore jumper Omar Craddock (Killeen, Texas), the third member of Florida's dynamic jumps group, battled through a slight nagging heel injury, fighting valiantly but failing to advance to the finals of the men's triple jump.
“I just went out there and did what we always do,” Claye said. “I felt good this morning when I woke up and I was just really pumped all day. It's just like practice out there. Christian and I push each other every single day and it was just another day out here. We're ready to go back home, get a bit of training in and we'll be ready for regionals and nationals.”
Freshman thrower Fawn Miller (Stoneboro, Pa.) continued her steady improvement this season, taking home the SEC women's javelin title in just her first year with the Gators. Florida has now won the SEC women's javelin title in four consecutive years, as former Gator Evelien Dekkers won each year from 2008-10. Miller used a personal-best throw of 51.46m/168-10 to capture the event, beating her nearest competitor, Meghan Austin of Arkansas, by more than 14 feet. Miller's toss went down as the 11th best in the country this season.
“I was excited coming in and I knew I had something big behind me and I broke my personal best,” Miller said. “I'm excited to win this year because it means I'm just going to keep getting better and better.”
Senior sprinter Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.), the leader of Florida's team who was competing in the final conference meet of his collegiate career, blazed the track to take home the 100-meter dash title on Sunday. Wilks, who was the eighth and final qualifier in Saturday's preliminaries, torched the field to claim the crown in a time of 10.11 (+3.0).
“I am really happy for Terrell Wilks, as a senior, to go out as the SEC Champion in the 100,” said Holloway, who works directly with Wilks. “That warmed my heart big-time today.”
Wilks also placed fifth in the men's 200-meter dash in a time of 20.77 (+2.0). Freshman sprinter Darshay Davis (Mirimar, Fla.) was fourth in the women's 200-meter dash, clocking a time of 23.12 (+3.4).
Florida took home the SEC men's 4x100-meter relay title with the second-fastest time in program history at 38.53, which goes down as the fastest time in the nation so far this season. The quartet consisted of Eddie Lovett (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Taylor, Wilks and Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.).
“I was really impressed with Christian Taylor doing enough to make sure he was in the top two in the triple jump so that he could go over and be a good teammate and run an amazing second leg on the 4x1,” Holloway said.
Wilks also placed fifth in the men's 200-meter dash in a time of 20.77 (+2.0). Davis was fourth in the women's 200-meter dash, clocking a time of 23.12 (+3.4).
Florida picked up 16 points in the finals of the men's 110-meter hurdles. Lovett placed second overall in a slightly wind-aided personal-best time of 13.64 (+2.1). Senior hurdler Jarius Cooper (Palm Coast, Fla.) was fifth in a time of 14.24 (+2.1), while junior Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) was sixth in a time of 14.34 (+2.1). Sophomore hurdler William Wynne (Marietta, Ga.) placed eighth overall in the finals of the event.
The Gators went 2-4 in the women's shot put to pick up 13 total points. Junior thrower Keely Medeiros (Blumenau-SC, Brazil) was the runner-up in the event with a toss of 16.74m/54-11.25, while junior Fidela James (Jacksonville, Fla.) was fourth with a throw of 15.67m/51-5.
Freshman distance runner Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) placed second overall in the finals of the women's 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:27.45. Junior Genevieve LaCaze (Queensland, Australia), who on Saturday claimed the league's steeplechase title, was fifth in a time of 4:30.27.
Sophomore sprinter Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.), who has spent much of the outdoor season recovering from an injury sustained at the NCAA Indoor Championships, finished second in the finals of the men's 400-meter dash in a time of 45.87. Freshman sprinter Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.) was fifth overall in the women's 400-meter dash final in a time of 52.62, which goes down as the 10th-best time in program history.
Freshman thrower Stipe Zunic (Zadar, Croatia), who competed in three events over the course of the weekend, finished off the event with a fourth-place finish in the men's discus. He turned in a toss of 53.71m/176-2 to cap off a highly successful showing at his first career outdoor conference meet.
Sophomore hurdler Ugonna Ndu (Newark, N.J.) placed fourth overall in the women's 400-meter hurdles, matching her personal-best time from Friday's preliminaries by clocking a 58.68, which goes down as the seventh-fastest time in program history.
Florida high jumper Frankie Hammond (Hollywood, Fla.) went over seven feet for the second time this season, placing fifth overall in the men's high jump with a leap of 2.15m/7-0.50.
The women's 4x100-meter relay team placed fifth overall in its event in a time of 44.57, using the quartet of Davis, Alishea Usery (St. Louis, Mo.), Danielle Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Eutsey. The women's 4x400-meter relay team placed fourth overall in a time of 3:36.20. That squad featured Eutsey, Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.), Alishea Usery and Ndu.
Freshman distance runner Matt Mizereck (Tallahassee, Fla.) placed sixth overall in the men's 5,000-meter run in a time of 14:29.28, while LaCaze was fifth in the women's 5,000m in a time of 16:38.68.
The Florida men's 4x400-meter relay team placed third overall in a time of 3:08.27, using the quartet of Taylor, Wilks, Obinwa and McQuay.
Florida's McGee and sophomore Sean Obinwa (Tampa, Fla.) each placed sixth in the finals of the men's and women's 800-meter run, respectively, on Sunday.
Florida has a week off from competition before returning to action May 26-28 at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in Bloomington, Ind.
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.
2011 SEC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS :: MAY 12-15, 2011 :: ATHENS, GA.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Women's Javelin – 12 p.m. ET
1. Fawn Miller – 51.46m/168-10 (10 points)
Men's Triple Jump – 12 p.m. ET
1. Will Claye – 17.24m/56-6.75 (+2.2) (10 points)
2. Christian Taylor – 17.15m/56-3.25 (+1.4) (MR)(FR) (8 points)
18. Omar Craddock – 14.81m/48-7.25 (+2.7)
Men's Pole Vault – 12 p.m. ET
T8. Max Lang – 4.90m/16-0.75 (0.33 points)
T8. Gray Horn – 4.90m/16-0.75 (0.33 points)
T8. Eric Foran – 4.90m/16-0.75 (0.33 points)
Women's Shot Put – 2 p.m. ET
2. Keely Medeiros – 16.74m/54-11.25 (8 points)
4. Fidela James – 15.67m/51-5 (5 points)
Men's 4x100m Relay – 2 p.m. ET
1. Florida – 38.53 (10 points)
(E. Lovett, C. Taylor, T. Wilks, J. Demps)
Women's 4x100m Relay – 2:10 p.m. ET
5. Florida – 44.57 (4 points)
(D. Davis, Al. Usery, D. Williams, E. Eutsey)
Men's High Jump – 2:30 p.m. ET
5. Frankie Hammond – 2.15m/7-0.50 (4 points)
15. Bryan Turner – 2.06m/6-9
Women's 1,500m (final) – 2:30 p.m. ET
2. Cory McGee – 4:27.45 (8 points)
5. Genevieve LaCaze – 4:30.27 (4 points)
Men's 110m Hurdles (final) – 2:45 p.m. ET
2. Eddie Lovett – 13.64 (+2.1) (8 points)
5. Jarius Cooper – 14.24 (+2.1) (4 points)
6. Gray Horn – 14.34 (+2.1) (3 points)
8. William Wynne – 15.00 (+2.1) (1 point)
Men's Discus – 3 p.m. ET
4. Stipe Zunic – 53.71m/176-2 (5 points)
Men's 400m (final) – 3:05 p.m. ET
2. Tony McQuay – 45.87 (8 points)
Women's 400m (final) – 3:15 p.m. ET
5. Ebony Eutsey – 52.62 (4 points)
Men's 100m (final) – 3:25 p.m. ET
1. Terrell Wilks - 10.11 (+3.0) (10 points)
Women's 100m (final) – 3:30 p.m. ET
6. Darshay Davis – 11.32 (+2.4) (3 points)
Men's 800m (final) – 3:35 p.m. ET
6. Sean Obinwa – 1:52.01 (3 points)
Women's 800m (final) – 3:45 p.m. ET
6. Cory McGee – 2:09.07 (1 point)
Women's 400m Hurdles (final) – 4:10 p.m. ET
4. Ugonna Ndu – 58.68 (5 points)
Men's 200m (final) – 4:20 p.m. ET
5. Terrell Wilks – 20.77 (+2.0) (4 points)
Women's 200m (final) – 4:25 p.m. ET
4. Darshay Davis – 23.12 (+3.4) (5 points)
Men's 5,000m – 4:30 p.m. ET
6. Matt Mizereck – 14:29.28 (3 points)
12. Mark Parrish – 14:45.22
13. Michael Anderson – 14:47.87
Women's 5,000m – 4:50 p.m. ET
5. Genevieve LaCaze – 16:38.68 (4 points)
14. Callie Cooper – 17:10.78
18. Mandy Perkins – 17:25.14
24. Stephanie Strasser – 17:36.86
26. Ali Crabb – 17:45.59
Men's 4x400m Relay – 4:15 p.m. ET
3. Florida – 3:08.27 (6 points)
(C. Taylor, T. Wilks, S. Obinwa, T. McQuay)
Women's 4x400m Relay – 4:35 p.m. ET
4. Florida – 3:36.20 (5 points)
(E. Eutsey, L. Whittaker, Al. Usery, U. Ndu)
FLORIDA SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS (ENTIRE WEEKEND)
· Will Claye – Men's Long Jump (8.29m/27-2.50)
· Will Claye – Men's Triple Jump (17.24m/56-5.75)
· Gray Horn – Decathlon (7,828) (SR)
· Genevieve LaCaze – Women's Steeplechase (10:21.82)
· Fawn Miller – Women's Javelin (51.46m/168-10)
· Terrell Wilks – Men's 100m (10.11)
· Men's 4x100m Relay (38.53) (E. Lovett, C. Taylor, T. Wilks, J. Demps)
SEC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – MEN'S STANDINGS (FINAL)
1. Arkansas – 157.50
2. Florida – 140
3. Georgia – 99
4. LSU – 78
5. Auburn – 69
6. Ole Miss – 68
7. Kentucky – 54
8. Tennessee – 49
9. Mississippi State – 41
10. Alabama – 38
11. South Carolina – 22.50
SEC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – WOMEN'S STANDINGS (FINAL)
1. LSU – 146
2. Florida – 116
3. Arkansas – 107
4. Georgia – 94
5. Tennessee – 92
6. Auburn – 66
7. South Carolina – 46
8. Kentucky – 42
9. Ole Miss – 38
10. Mississippi State – 34
11. Alabama – 31
12. Vanderbilt - 12
