Sophomore Florida thrower Jeremy Postin (Auburndale, Fla.) earned the school's first-ever All-America honor in the men's hammer throw and junior distance runner Genevieve LaCaze (Queensland, Australia) broke her own school record in the women's steeplechase to highlight a strong second day at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Weather took center stage on Thursday for the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with the start of the meet delayed for an hour and 45 minutes. The meet was then halted at 9:15 p.m. ET due to lightning and heavy rain in the area and, it was eventually determined that the meet would be suspended until Friday.
The event was halted with the men's long jump in the sixth round of jumps, the decathlon in the ninth event and the women's 4x400-meter relay about to start its third heat in the semifinal round.
Junior jumper Will Claye (Phoenix, Ariz.) currently sits in third place in a highly competitive men's long jump competition heading into his final attempt with a best mark of 8.20m/26-11 (+0.4).
“It has been a great championship all around for us so far and we've done well,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “I am very proud of Jeremy Postin. He did a great job to make the final and score a point for the Gators. Will Claye is sitting in third in the long jump and he had a big jump today. We did face a little bit more adversity today and we just have to find a way to come out tomorrow and overcome it.”
Postin, who entered the meet seeded 10th in the men's hammer throw, placed eighth in the meet with a toss of 66.20m/217-2. He earns first-team All-America honors and becomes the school's first-ever All-American in the men's hammer throw.
“This was the finishing touch on a great year for Jeremy,” said associate head coach/throws Steve Lemke. “He has been so consistent all year long. He came out on his first throw and really took pressure off himself and put it on other people early. It was kind of the same formula we used with Stipe yesterday and it worked again. For this being his first time here and being so new in the event, it was just a great effort for Jeremy.”
Junior multi-event athlete Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) currently is in fifth place in the men's decathlon competition, which was suspended midway through the javelin – the ninth of 10 events in the competition. Horn has accumulated an eight-event total of 6,543 points.
Horn opened the day with a third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 14.32 (+1.8) to pick up 934 points. That surged him into third place in the overall competition through six events. He then struggled in the discus, placing 21st overall with a toss of 37.13m/121-10 to score 606 points and drop into fifth place in the decathlon competition through seven events. He stayed in fifth after a fifth-place finish in the pole vault, where he turned in a personal-best leap of 4.90m/16-0.75 to earn 880 points.
LaCaze clocked a time of 10:04.68 in the women's steeplechase to break her own school record in the event. She advances to Saturday's final in the event, breaking her previous school record of 10:05.92 set at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in Bloomington, Ind., two weeks ago. LaCaze placed 10th overall in the semifinal round.
“She was aggressive today,” said Todd Morgan, assistant coach for distance and cross country. “The first thing at the NCAA meet is that you have to take care of today, so that you can make it to the final. I thought she did a great job and she has really improved tremendously in the steeple. She has worked really hard at getting better, especially with the water jump. What we saw today was the culmination of a lot of hard work.”
Freshman multi-event athlete Brittany Harrell (McComb, Miss.) concluded the first day of the heptathlon with a four-event total of 3,201. That is just shy of her personal-best score of 3,245, accomplished at the 2011 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships in Athens, Ga.
Harrell opened up the heptathlon competition by placing 16th overall in the women's 100-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.29 (+2.4). She then tied for fifth in the heptathlon high jump with a leap of 1.69m/5-6.50. Harrell was 13th in the shot put with a personal-best toss of 11.46m/37-7.25, which shattered her previous personal best of 10.88m/35-8.50. She closed the day with a 18th-place showing in the 200-meter dash at 26.01 (-1.7).
Freshman middle-distance runner Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) advanced to the finals of the women's 1,500-meter run, placing 10th overall in the semifinal round with a time of 4:18.52.
Junior distance runner Dumisani Hlaselo (South Africa) moved on to the finals of the men's 1,500-meter run, clocking a time of 3:49.26 to place 13th overall.
Freshman sprinter Darshay Davis (Mirimar, Fla.) saw her outstanding freshman season come to a close in the semifinals of the women's 200-meter dash, clocking a personal-best time of 23.59 (+1.2) to place 17th overall.
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 OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (JUNE 8-11, 2011 :: DES MOINES, IOWA)
THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2011
Men's Decathlon - 1 p.m. ET
• Gray Horn
Decathlon 110m Hurdles
3. Gray Horn – 14.32 (+1.8) (934 points)
Decathlon Discus
21. Gray Horn – 37.13m/121-10 (606 points)
Decathlon Pole Vault
5. Gray Horn – 4.90m/16-0.75 (880 points)
Decathlon Javelin
• Gray Horn
Decathlon 1,500m
• Gray Horn
Women's Heptathlon - 2 p.m. ET
16. Brittany Harrell – 3,201 (through four events)
Heptathlon 100m Hurdles
16. Brittany Harrell – 14.29 (+2.4) (938 points)
Heptathlon High Jump
T5. Brittany Harrell – 1.69m/5-6.50 (842 points)
Heptathlon Shot Put
13. Brittany Harrell – 11.46m/37-7.25 (625 points)
Heptathlon 200m
18. Brittany Harrell – 26.01 (-1.7) (796 points)
Men's Hammer Throw - 4 p.m. ET
8. Jeremy Postin – 66.20m/217-2
Women's Javelin - 4:05 p.m. ET
21. Fawn Miller – 44.05m/144-6
Women's 200m (semi) - 6:30 p.m. ET
17. Darshay Davis – 23.59 (+1.2)
Men's Long Jump - 6:35 p.m. ET
• Will Claye
• Christian Taylor
Men's 200m (semi) - 6:45 p.m. ET
19. Terrell Wilks 21.04 (+1.2)
Women's 1,500m (semi) - 7 p.m. ET
10. Cory McGee – 4:18.52 Q
Men's 1,500m (semi) - 7:15 p.m. ET
13. Dumisani Hlaselo – 3:49.26 Q
Men's 110m Hurdles (semi) - 8:10 p.m. ET
18. Eddie Lovett – 13.77 (+0.3)
Women's Steeplechase (semi) - 8:30 p.m. ET
10. Genevieve LaCaze – 10:04.68 Q
Women's 4x400m Relay (semi) - 9 p.m. ET
• Florida (E. Eutsey, As. Usery, D. Williams, U. Ndu)
Men's 4x400m Relay (semi) - 9:20 p.m. ET
• Florida (C. Taylor, J. Toppin, S. Obinwa, T. McQuay)
