Florida Gators
Razorback Invitational
Gators Start Strong on Opening Day of Razorback Invitational
Saturday, January 26, 2013 | Track and Field
The University of Florida track & field teams got off to an incredibly strong start on Friday at the Razorback Invitational, as both teams are in the top five in the standings of the scored meet.
The No. 7 Florida women sit in third behind Georgia and Texas and were led by outstanding performances from newcomers and veterans alike.
Freshman Kyra Jefferson (Detroit, Mich.) torched the track on Friday night, claiming the first title of her young career with a lifetime best of 23.48 in the women's 200 meters. Her time ranks sixth all-time in Florida program history and eighth in the NCAA this year, first among freshmen.
“I'm very, very pleased with Kyra's run today,” Holloway said. “We certainly saw a performance like this coming. She was patient and set up the race well.”
Junior Lorraine Graham (Springdale, Md.) competed in her first collegiate indoor pentathlon, finishing third with 3,927 points. Her point total is third all-time in Florida history behind school-record holder and teammate Brittany Harrell (McComb, Miss.), who scored 4,050 last season, and Dorchelle Webster, who held the UF record for exactly 22 years with her 3,999 points in 1990.
“Lorraine had a great day,” Holloway commented. “The 800 didn't go the way we wanted but I think for her first pentathlon, to get the third-best score in program history shows the future she has in this event.”
The Florida women's distance medley relay, comprised of Agata Strausa (Riga, Latvia), Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.), Mandy Perkins (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.), won Friday night's DMR with a time of 11:15.07. The SEC-leading time goes down as the seventh-best time in Florida program history and is the fourth-fastest in the NCAA this season.
“I was pleased with our women's DMR today. It was kind of hard to be out there by themselves after the first lap but I was proud of their composure and ability to stay focused while running their own race.”
The No. 3 Gator men are tied for fifth after the first day of competition, as the depth of the Florida roster shone through on Friday.
One of the many highlights for the Gators was thrower Luka Mustafic (Rakitje, Croatia), who scored in the men's shot put with a season's-best throw of 17.26m/56-7.50. Junior pole vaulter Max Lang (Tallahassee, Fla.) also contributed to the scoring for the Orange and Blue, turning in a season's-best mark of 4.91m/16-1.25.
“I was proud of Luka and his new season's best today, as well as Max Lang and his response to such a high opening bar to go along with his new approach,” Holloway said. “Couldn't be more pleased with those two young men.”
Many Gators qualified for Saturday's semifinals, including freshman Shayla Sanders (Pompano Beach, Fla.) who raced to a personal best of 7.41 in the women's 60 meters. Her time ties for seventh-best in Florida history and leads all freshmen in the NCAA this year. Sanders was second only to 2012 Bowerman winner Kimberlyn Duncan from LSU, who finished in 7.40.
“Shayla did a great job today,” Holloway noted. “She's started to figure some things out. Freshman have a tendency to overthink things but she knows to turn it on and run her race when the gun goes off.”
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, junior Eddie Lovett (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and freshman Moriel Pitt (West Palm Beach, Fla.) each qualified for semifinals on Saturday, as Lovett turned in the day's fastest time of 7.69 and Pitt finished second in the heat and sixth overall in 8.09. In the women's 60-meter hurdles, all four Gators qualified for Saturday's semifinal round, including senior Ugonna Ndu (Newark, N.J.) who ran a season's-best time of 8.45.
“I'm also incredibly pleased with Eddie and Moriel and their performances today, as well as our women's hurdlers,” Holloway continued. “We've been on our women's hurdlers this week and I think they lived up to their potential today.”
Saturday's action begins at 12 p.m. ET with the men's and women's weight throw. Live results for the second day of the Razorback Invitational can be found here and a schedule of Saturday's events is available on ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Live streaming video of the weekend is available for a fee on RazorVision.
“The key for tomorrow is to get some rest tonight and have great focus tomorrow,” Holloway finished. “We're here with great teams and great competitors and we need to stick our nose in there and see what we can do.”
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 Florida track and field on Twitter at @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField. You can also find the Gators on Facebook.
RAZORBACK INVITATIONAL :: JANUARY 25-26, 2013 :: FAYETTEVILLE, AR
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013
TEAM SCORES – WOMEN (THROUGH 8 EVENTS)
| 1) Georgia | 63 |
| 2) Texas | 50 |
| 3) Florida | 43 |
| 4) Arkansas | 34 |
| 5) Oklahoma | 29 |
| 6) Arizona | 27 |
| 7) Nebraska | 15 |
| 7) Florida State | 15 |
| 9) LSU | 14 |
| 10) Baylor | 5 |
| 11) Oklahoma State | 1 |
TEAM SCORES – MEN (THROUGH 7 EVENTS)
1) Arkansas | 43 |
2) Nebraska | 40 |
3) Georgia | 39 |
4) Baylor | 30 |
5) Texas | 27.50 |
5) Florida | 27.50 |
7) LSU | 20 |
8) Florida State | 17 |
9) Arizona | 14 |
10) Oklahoma | 9 |
MULTI EVENTS
Women's Indoor Pentathlon
3. Lorraine Graham, 3,927 points
2. 60-Meter Hurdles, 8.54, 1,008 points (PR)
5. High Jump, 1.59m/5-2.50, 724 points (PR)
1. Shot Put, 12.50m/41-0.25, 694 points
1. Long Jump, 6.08m/19-11.50, 874 points
12. 800 Meters, 2:35.37, 627 points
FIELD EVENTS
Women's High Jump
4. Taylor Burke, 1.77m/5-9.75
9. Alexis Muniz, 1.67m/5-5.75
Men's Pole Vault
T7. Max Lang, 4.91m/16-1.25 (SB)
Women's Long Jump
5. Robin Reynolds, 6.04m/19-9.75
Men's Long Jump
3. Marquis Dendy, 7.47m/24-6.25
Men's Shot Put
8. Luka Mustafic, 17.26m/56-7.50 (SB)
11. Kyle Strawn, 16.57m/54-4.50
RUNNING EVENTS
Women's 60 Meters – Prelims
2. Shayla Sanders, 7.41Q (PR)
31. Darshay Davis, 7.92
Women's 200 Meters
1. Kyra Jefferson, 23.48 (PR)
5. Ebony Eutsey, 23.94 (PR)
8. Destinee Gause, 24.09
24. Bria Goodson, 24.88 (SB)
Men's 200 Meters
3. Leonardo Seymore, 21.13
-- Dedric Dukes, DQ
Women's 5,000 Meters
5. Grace VanDeGrift, 17:30.89
Men's 5,000 Meters
2. Phil Duncan, 14:45.24
Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Prelims
3. Ugonna Ndu, 8.45Q (SB)
9. Ashley Favors, 8.63q (SB)
10. Paige Morton, 8.69q (SB)
16. Katrina Dekrey, 9.01q (SB)
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Prelims
1. Eddie Lovett, 7.69Q
2. Moriel Pitt, 8.09Q
Women's Distance Medley Relay
1. Florida “A” (Agata Strausa, Lanie Whittaker, Mandy Perkins, Cory McGee), 11:15.07
Men's Distance Medley Relay
5. Florida “A” (Daniel Wehunt, Hugh Graham, Jr., Sean Obinwa, Matt Mizereck), 9:58.32
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2013
FIELD EVENTS
Women's Triple Jump
Ciarra Brewer
Men's Triple Jump
Omar Craddock
Women's Weight Throw
Jayla Bostic
Men's Weight Throw
David Levin
Kyle Strawn
David Triassi
RUNNING EVENTS
Women's 60 Meters – Semifinals
Shayla Sanders
Women's 60 Meters – Finals (Contingent Upon Advancing)
Shayla Sanders
Women's 400 Meters
Amani Bryant
Ebony Eutsey
Robin Reynolds
Lanie Whittaker
Men's 400 Meters
Michael Burris
Najee Glass
Hugh Graham, Jr.
Arman Hall
Tyler Osorio
Jovon Toppin
Men's 800 Meters
Ryan Schnulle
Daniel Wehunt
Men's 800 Meters – INVITE
Sean Obinwa
Women's Mile
Mandy Perkins
Stephanie Strasser
Women's 3,000 Meters – INVITE
Callie Cooper
Cory McGee
Florence Ngetich
Agata Strausa
Men's 3,000 Meters
Jimmy Clark
Eddie Garcia
JL Hines
Josh Izewski
Matt Mizereck
Men's 3,000 Meters – INVITE
Mark Parrish
Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Semifinals
Katrina Dekrey
Ashley Favors
Paige Morton
Ugonna Ndu
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Semifinals
Eddie Lovett
Moriel Pitt
Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Finals (Contingent Upon Advancing)
Katrina Dekrey
Ashley Favors
Paige Morton
Ugonna Ndu
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Finals (Contingent Upon Advancing)
Eddie Lovett
Moriel Pitt
Women's 4x400-Meter Relay
Florida “A”
Florida “B”
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay
Florida “A”
Florida “B”
