Florida head track and field coach Mike Holloway sent his team to the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in Bloomington, Ind., with the mission for each athlete to perform at their absolute best and qualify for the upcoming NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
On Saturday night, Holloway saw that plan come to fruition at Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex at E.C. Billy Hayes Track on the campus of Indiana University. The Gators qualified a total of 24 slots (16 men, 8 women) for the finals site this weekend. Additionally, multi-event athletes Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) and Brittany Harrell (McComb, Miss.) will participate in the decathlon and heptathlon events, respectively, in Des Moines.
“It's wonderful when a plan comes together,” Holloway said. “It is a great feeling for me when I see the trust in my staff and my team, when our athletes believe in what we are doing, and I saw a lot of that this weekend. I leave here with a really good feeling about where we are going in a couple of weeks.”
The 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships take place June 8-11 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. For ticket information, log on to www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com or call (515) 271-DOGS. The all-session passes are priced at $85, while single-session tickets also are available. Contact the Drake Ticket Office for more information.
“This big thing right now is that we have to go back and get a little rest in, but we also have to get sharp,” Holloway said. “It's hard coming off the SEC meet to get ready for this week less than two weeks later from an emotional standpoint. This will give us time to get recharged emotionally and to also work on some things that we saw this weekend. We have a few athletes who are a little bit dinged up, so this will allow them some time to get healthy. More than anything else, we just need to remember who we are and get back to work.”
The Florida men's 4x100-meter relay team punched its ticket to Des Moines with the second-best time overall in the qualifying round, clocking a 39.52. The quartet consisted of Eddie Lovett (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.), Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.) and Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.).
The women's 4x100-meter relay team advanced to Des Moines in its event, running a time of 44.70 to place 11th overall in the qualifying round. The quartet consisted of Darshay Davis (Mirimar, Fla.), Alishea Usery (St. Louis, Mo.), Danielle Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.).
The women's 4x400-meter relay team also advanced to Des Moines by clocking a season-best time of 3:33.90 to advance. It marked the Gators' best time in the event since the 2006 season, run by the quartet of Eutsey, Ashley Usery (St. Louis, Mo.), Williams and Ugonna Ndu (Newark, N.J.).
The men's 4x400-meter relay team ran its fastest time of the season at 3:04.27 to move on to Des Moines. The quartet consisted of Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.), Jovon Toppin (Port of Spain, Trinidad), Sean Obinwa (Tampa, Fla.) and Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.).
Junior distance runner Dumisani Hlaselo (South Africa) punched his ticket to Des Moines by placing fourth overall in the quarterfinals of the men's 1,500-meter run, clocking a time of 3:48.37.
Freshman middle-distance runner Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) advances to the semifinals of the women's 1,500-meter run, clocking a time of 4:26.53 to move on to Des Moines. She has advanced to the finals site both indoors and outdoors her rookie campaign.
Lovett clocked a personal-best time of 13.64 (+1.7) to place fourth overall in the quarterfinals of the men's 110-meter hurdles and advance to Des Moines in that event. Lovett's time ties for the fourth-fastest time in school history in the men's 110mH.
Davis moved on to the semifinal round of the women's 200-meter dash, clocking a time of 23.75 to punch her ticket to Des Moines in that event.
Wilks, who on Friday qualified for Des Moines in the men's 100-meter dash, also qualified in the men's 200-meter dash on Saturday, finishing as the 12th and final qualifier at 21.30 (-2.3).
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.
NCAA PRELIMINARY ROUNDS – MAY 26-28, 2011 :: BLOOMINGTON, IND.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Women's Discus – 11 a.m. ET
14. Keely Medeiros – 50.36m/165-3
32. Ashley Miller – 45.93m/150-8
41. Kaitlin Davis – 42.09m/138-1
Men's Discus – 5 p.m. ET
32. Stipe Zunic – 50.28m/164-11
Women's 4x100m (quarterfinals) – 6 p.m. ET
11. Florida – 44.70 q
(D. Davis, Al. Usery, D. Williams, E. Eutsey)
Men's 4x100m (quarterfinals) – 6:15 p.m. ET
2. Florida - 39.52 q
(E. Lovett, C. Taylor, T. Wilks, J. Demps)
Women's 1,500m (quarterfinals) – 6:30 p.m. ET
2. Cory McGee – 4:26.53 Q
Men's 1,500m (quarterfinals) – 6:45 p.m. ET
4. Dumisani Hlaselo – 3:48.37 Q
Men's 110m Hurdles (quarterfinals) – 7:20 p.m. ET
4. Eddie Lovett – 13.64 (+1.7) Q
21. William Wynne – 14.26 (+1.6)
23. Jarius Cooper – 14.35 (+0.7)
Women's 200m (quarterfinals) – 7:35 p.m. ET
10. Darshay Davis – 23.75 (-1.3) q
Men's 200m (quarterfinals) – 7:50 p.m. ET
12. Terrell Wilks – 21.30 (-2.3) q
20. Blake Heriot – 21.67 (-2.3)
Women's 5,000m (semifinals) – 8:05 p.m. ET
40. Callie Cooper – 17:14.24
Women's 4x400m Relay (quarterfinals) – 9:25 p.m. ET
7. Florida – 3:33.90 Q
(E. Eutsey, As. Usery, D. Williams, U. Ndu)
Men's 4x400m Relay (quarterfinals) – 9:45 p.m. ET
4. Florida – 3:04.27 Q
(C. Taylor, J. Toppin, S. Obinwa, T. McQuay)
GATORS ADVANCING TO NCAA FINALS SITE IN RESPECTIVE EVENT (ENTIRE WEEKEND)
· Will Claye – Men's Long Jump (7.83m/25-8.25)
· Will Claye – Men's Triple Jump (16.52m/54-2.50)
· Darshay Davis – Women's 200m (23.75)
· Jeff Demps – Men's 100m (10.19)
· Daisy Glasser – Women's Pole Vault (4.00m/13-1.50)
· Frankie Hammond – Men's High Jump (2.14m/7-0.25)
· Dumisani Hlaselo – Men's 1,500m (3:48.37)
· Genevieve LaCaze - Women's Steeplechase (10:05.92)
· Eddie Lovett – Men's 110m Hurdles (13.64)
· Cory McGee – Women's 1,500m (4:26.53)
· Tony McQuay – Men's 400m (45.93)
· Keely Medeiros – Women's Shot Put (16.89m/55-5)
· Fawn Miller – Women's Javelin (46.83m/153-8)
· Sean Obinwa – Men's 800m (1:49.26)
· Jeremy Postin – Men's Hammer Throw (65.42m/214-7)
· Christian Taylor – Men's Long Jump (7.77m/25-6)
· Christian Taylor – Men's Triple Jump (17.62m/54-10.25)
· Terrell Wilks – Men's 100m (10.40)
· Terrell Wilks – Men's 200m (21.30)
· Stipe Zunic – Men's Javelin (72.73m/238-7)
· Men's 4x100m Relay (39.52)
· Women's 4x100m Relay (44.70)
· Men's 4x400m Relay (3:04.27)
· Women's 4x400m Relay (3:33.90)
