Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Zunic Fourth-Place Finish Highlights Strong First Day for Florida
Thursday, June 9, 2011 | Track and Field
Freshman Florida thrower Stipe Zunic (Zadar, Croatia), seeded ninth entering the men's javelin competition, turned in an all-star performance Wednesday, placing fourth in the event with the fourth-best toss in school history, as the Gators charted a strong opening day at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Zunic's showing was one of many standout performances on Wednesday as junior decathlete Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) set the school's first-day decathlon record, sophomore sprinter Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.) posted the top American time this season and the men's 4x100-meter relay team clocked the second-fastest time in school history.
“We pride ourselves on being prepared and doing well at the championship meets and that's what we saw today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “From top to bottom, I think you saw great efforts across the board from our team. Nobody had Stipe Zunic even scoring a point and he finished fourth overall today. Today was kind of his clicking point. For him to have his best throw ever at the national championship is huge.”
Florida faced a bit of adversity on Wednesday as junior sprinter Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.), the defending NCAA Champion in the men's 100-meter dash, placed third in his heat at 10.40 and did not qualify for the finals of the event. Holloway notes that Florida is no stranger to adversity and has been fueled by a strong team of talented athletes who step up when it counts the most.
“Everybody's going to want to focus on the fact that Jeff didn't make the final,” Holloway said. “I told the team, he's a human and he cramped up and couldn't get through the race. It happens. The big thing is, we're a team, we're a family and we're going to pick him up. The Gators are going to step up and show that tomorrow.”
Zunic opened the day with a personal-best toss of 75.01m/246-1 to place fourth overall in the men's javelin and earn the Gators' first five points as a team. Zunic's toss went down as the fourth-best performance in school history and broke his previous personal-best mark of 73.07m/239-8.
“It was a big day for Stipe,” said associate head coach/throws Steve Lemke. “To come into his first NCAA meet and, on his first throw, have a personal best, it kind of set the tone for us. He's a great competitor and had his best competition in our biggest meet of the year.”
Zunic, competing in his first career NCAA Championship, earns first-team All-America honors and becomes the Gators' first All-American in the javelin since Adam Montague placed third in 2008.
“I am happy because I got a PR today and a good result,” Zunic said. “My first throw, I threw a PR and took second position until the last round when two guys jumped in front of me, which was a little disappointing. I knew that I was ready. That throw was definitely promising and I know I'll throw further in the future.”
Horn broke his own school-record first-day score in the decathlon, totaling a five-event score of 4,123. That shattered his previous personal-best first-day score of 4,080 set en route to a victory at the Mt. Sac Relays this past April. Horn currently sits in fifth place in the decathlon competition heading into the final five events, which begin at 1 p.m. ET Thursday.
“I just wanted to come out here and put my best foot forward,” Horn said. “It's like when you've prepared so well to take a test and you know there's no way you're going to fail that test. That's kind of where I'm at today. I feel like the success is there and the marks are showing that. I'm a little disappointed, obviously nothing goes as planned when you're in the decathlon, but I'm very happy with a solid day one and I'm looking forward to competing with the top four guys tomorrow, because we're all really close.”
Horn opened the day with a personal-best time of 10.71 (+2.8) in the 100-meter dash to pick up 926 points. That broke his previous personal-best time of 10.77 (+2.6) set at the 2010 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships in Knoxville, Tenn. He then followed with a third-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 7.43m/24-4.50 (+1.4) on his final attempt to earn 918 points.
Horn struggled in the men's shot put, placing 18th overall in that event with a toss of 12.61m/41-4.50 to earn 643 points. He was then seventh in the high jump with a leap of 1.99m/6-6.25 for 7.94 points. Horn capped the day with a personal-best time of 49.42 in the 400-meter dash, which broke his previous PR of 49.78 in that event, and earned him 842 points.
The Florida men's 4x100-meter relay team turned in its best time of the season at 38.49, which went down as the second-best time in school history. 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.). Only Florida's 4x100m relay team has run a faster time in program history, when it clocked a time of 38.35 on June 2, 2000. The two-time defending NCAA Champion Florida men's 4x100-meter relay team has advanced to the finals, which will take place at 1:11 p.m. ET Saturday.
McQuay, who has been recovering from an injury suffered at this year's NCAA Indoor Championships, clocked the fourth-fastest time in school history at 44.87. He becomes the top American in the event this season and ties for the fifth-fastest time in the world this year. McQuay had the top time in the qualifying round and advances to the finals of the event, scheduled for 9:02 p.m. ET Friday.
“People have to remember that Tony was a little dinged up indoors, came out outdoors and started slowly training,” Holloway said. “We're just starting to taper with Tony. He didn't taper for the conference or the regional meet because he needed the training time. We knew something like that was coming; we knew he was ready to run fast.”
Senior sprinter Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.), the 2011 SEC 100-meter champion, advanced to the finals of the men's 100-meter dash, clocking a time of 10.27 (-1.0). He will compete in Friday's final, which will take place at 8:02 p.m. ET.
Sophomore middle-distance runner Sean Obinwa (Tampa, Fla.) saw his outstanding campaign come to a close, clocking the second-fastest time of his life at 1:48.14 to place 16th overall in the semifinal round.
The women's 4x100-meter relay team placed 18th overall in the semifinals with a time of 44.68. The quartet consisted of Darshay Davis (Mirimar, Fla.), Alishea Usery (St. Louis, Mo.), Danielle Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.)
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)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2011
Men's Decathlon - 1 p.m. ET
5. Gray Horn – 4,123 (through five events)
Decathlon 100m
6. Gray Horn – 10.71 (+2.8) (926 points)
Decathlon Long Jump
3. Gray Horn – 7.43m/24-4.50 (+1.4) (918 points)
Decathlon Shot Put
18. Gray Horn – 12.61m/41-4.50 (643 points)
Decathlon High Jump
7. Gray Horn – 1.99m/6-6.25 (794 points)
Decathlon 400m
13. Gray Horn – 49.42 (842 points)
Men's Javelin - 4:05 p.m. ET
4. Stipe Zunic – 75.01m/246-1
Women's 4x100m Relay (semi) - 6:30 p.m. ET
18. Florida – 44.68
(D. Davis, Al. Usery, D. Williams, E. Eutsey)
Men's 4x100m Relay (semi) - 6:45 p.m. ET
2. Florida – 38.49 Q
(E. Lovett, C. Taylor, T. Wilks, J. Demps)
Men's 800m (semi) - 7:15 p.m. ET
16. Sean Obinwa – 1:48.14
Men's 400m (semi) - 7:30 p.m. ET
1. Tony McQuay – 44.87 Q
Men's 100m (semi) - 8:30 p.m. ET
4. Terrell Wilks – 10.27 (-1.0) Q
14. Jeff Demps – 10.40 (-2.4)
MEN'S HEPATHLON CUMULATIVE RESULTS (THROUGH FIVE EVENTS)
1. Miller Moss, Clemson (4,271)
2. Curtis Beach, Duke (4,206)
3. Michael Ayers, Georgia (4,138)
4. Mike Morrison, California (4,138)
5. Gray Horn, Florida (4,123)
6. Jeremy Taiwo, Washington (4,074)
7. Bjorn Barrefors, Nebraska (4,073)
8. Romain Martin, Texas-Arlington (4,050)
9. Lars Rise, Missouri (4,048)
10. David Kelch, Oregon (4,024)
11. Isaac Murphy, Texas (4,021)
12. Kevin Lazas, Arkansas (4,009)
13. Mateo Sossah, North Carolina (3,999)
14. Moritz Cleve, Kansas State (3,992)
15. Nick Huber, Cornell (3,903)
16. Matthew Johnson, Sam Houston State (3,898)
17. Nicholas Armstrong, Long Beach State (3,881)
18. Tommy Barrineau, Georgia (3,879)
19. Philip Adam, Rice (3,809)
20. Richard York, New Mexico (3,782)
21. Kenny Greaves, Texas (3,748)
22. Bjorn Johansson, Akron (3,670)
23. Thomas FitzSimons, Mt. St. Mary's (3,666)
