The University of Florida track and field team captured four events Friday and freshman thrower Fawn Miller (Stoneboro, Pa.) turned in the third-best women's javelin throw in program history to highlight the opening day of the Seminole Twilight Invitational at Mike Long Track.
“Overall, I thought we had a great day today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We're always trying to get better and I thought we did that today. I am very proud of Fawn. She and Coach [Steve] Lemke have been working very hard in practice to get her to a level where she will be an important contributor for us.
“ It was good to see William Wynne continue to get better – he will be very important to our success in the postseason. It was also very positive to see Christian and Will jump that far from short approaches. We still have some big events here tomorrow and we're looking forward to coming out here and getting after it again.”
Miller recorded the third-best women's javelin throw in program history (49.45m/162-3) to capture the event at the Seminole Twilight Invitational. She becomes just the third person in school history to throw better than 160 feet and that shatters her previous personal-best mark of 46.60m/152-11.
“Fawn has been working really hard,” said associate head coach Steve Lemke. “We had good conditions today. She took advantage of that and had a personal-best. This is definitely a confidence-builder for her going into the conference meet and the championship part of our schedule.”
Thrower Keely Medeiros (Blumenau-SC, Brazil) captured the women's shot put event with a toss of 16.55m/54-3.75, while Fidela James (Jacksonville, Fla.) was third in the event (14.34m/47-0.75). For Medeiros, it was her second shot put victory of the 2011 season after also winning the event at the Tom Jones Memorial Classic on April 16.
Freshman thrower Stipe Zunic (Zadar, Croatia) claimed the men's javelin event with a toss of 71.74m/235-4, while Zane Breakiron (Uniontown, Pa.) was third and Doug Nelson (Tampa, Fla.) placed fourth. Zunic also was third in the men's shot put with a throw of 16.60m/54-5.50.
“We got done what we wanted to do today,” Lemke said. “We just wanted to see if we could put into a competition setting what we have been working on in practice, and that happened today. Stipe did a good job throwing the shot and the javelin to get ready for conference next week, and we accomplished what we wanted in both the shot and the javelin.”
Junior jumpers Will Claye (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) placed second and third, respectively, in the men's triple jump. Claye turned in a mark of 16.40m/53-9.75 (+0.7), while Taylor had a leap of 16.19m/53-1.50.
Senior pole vaulter Daisy Glasser (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) won the women's pole vault with a leap of 3.96m/12-11.75, close to her season-best mark in that event.
Sophomore hurdler William Wynne (Marietta, Ga.) turned in a season-best time of 54.20 to place fifth overall in the men's 400-meter hurdles.
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 information, follow the team's Twitter account @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
SEMINOLE TWILIGHT INVITATIONAL – MAY 6-7 :: TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Women's Javelin – 6:30 p.m. ET
1. Fawn Miller – 49.45m/162-3
4. Brittany Harrell – 35.02m/114-10
Men's Javelin – 6:30 p.m. ET
1. Stipe Zunic – 71.74m/235-4
3. Zane Breakiron – 61.76m/202-7
4. Doug Nelson – 61.44m/201-7
Women's Pole Vault – 6:30 p.m. ET
1. Daisy Glasser – 3.96m/12-11.75
7. Caitlin Schuessler – 3.21m/10-6.25
--. Claire Spurling – NH
Women's Shot Put – 7 p.m. ET
1. Keely Medeiros – 16.55m/54-3.75
3. Fidela James – 14.34m/47-0.75
7. Brittany Harrell – 10.65m/34-11.25
Men's Shot Put – 7 p.m. ET
3. Stipe Zunic – 16.60m/54-5.50
Men's Triple Jump – 7:45 p.m. ET
2. Will Claye – 16.40m/53-9.75 (+0.7)
3. Christian Taylor – 16.19m/53-1.50 (+0.4)
Men's 400m Hurdles Invitational – 7:45 p.m. ET
5. William Wynne – 54.20
