Mark Parrish Shatters 20-Year-Old Florida 5000m Record in Seattle
Friday, February 14, 2014 | Track and Field
SEATTLE, Wash. & AMES, Iowa -- Florida senior distance runner Mark Parrish crushed a 20-year-old Florida record in the men's 5000m (13:43.15) by nearly 16 seconds at the Husky Classic at Dempsey Indoor to highlight Valentine's Day competition for the Orange and Blue in Seattle, while in Ames, junior sprinter Hugh Graham, Jr., cranked out a career-tying 60m dash (6.64) in prelims of the event at the Iowa State Classic to solidify the top seed heading into finals of the event Saturday at the Lied Recreation Center.
Parrish finished fifth overall in the 5000m field at the Husky Classic, while freshman Taylor Tubbs and sophomore Julie Macedo put up impressive performances in the event as well on the women's side, Tubbs jumping onto UF's all-time top-10 with her performance.
The Gators will add the Texas A&M Invitational into the mix Saturday, making for a busy weekend of competition across the country for the Florida track & field squads, while UF middle-distance runner Cory McGee will take to the track at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in NYC.
Follow live results of all four competitions, listed below, and check www.GatorZone.com for a complete recap Saturday evening.
NOTABLES
· Mark Parrish's mark of 13:43.15 in the 5000m topped the previous school record of 13:59.52 set by Mike Mykytok on March 11, 1994, by nearly 16 seconds
· Parrish's mark is the sixth-fastest in the event in the country, pending results from remaining competition this weekend
· Both freshman Taylor Tubbs (16:40.63) and sophomore Julie Macedo (17:13.23) had PRs in the 5000m as the duo ran the indoor race for the first time in their Gator careers
· Tubbs mark counted as the seventh-fastest 5000m in school history indoors
· Hugh Graham, Jr.'s 6.64 60m dash tied a PR, which is also the seventh-fastest time in Florida history
HOLLOWAY'S TAKE
“We're extremely excited and pleased with Mark Parrish's run – to break the school record by some 16 seconds is an amazing run. That puts him right around sixth in the country right now and that's a big accomplishment for Mark and Coach Spangler. Really pleased with the job that Taylor Tubbs did as well – her run places her seventh all-time for Florida and also proud of Julie (Macedo) for fighting through some injury recently; she did a nice job out in Seattle.”
“We had an up and down day in Ames – a good run by Hugh Graham, Jr., in the 60m and then a little disappointment in the men's DMR – with about 700m to go, Andres (Arroyo) gets tripped; that's indoor track for you and we'll put that behind us. We have some big events coming up tomorrow in College Station, the 3K and mile in Seattle and the 60m, 400m & 800m in Ames.”
FRIDAY RESULTS
Iowa State Classic (Ames, Iowa)
M60m: 1. Hugh Graham, Jr. (6.64 pre) – top qualifier for finals/ties PR
Husky Classic (Seattle, Wash.)
M5000mINVITE: 5. Mark Parrish (13:43.15)
W5000m: 8. Taylor Tubbs (16:40.63); 33. Julie Macedo (17:14.23)
M5000m: 6. Eddie Garcia (14:27.33)
FOLLOW THE GATORS
TEXAS A&M INVITE
Competition Date: Feb. 15 | Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium | College Station, Texas
Opponents: Texas A&M, Cal State Northridge, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Rice, Texas State
IOWA STATE CLASSIC – men's DMR | m60m | m400m | m800m
Competition Dates: Feb. 14-15 | Lied Recreation Center | Ames, Iowa
HUSKY CLASSIC – distance athletes
Competition Dates: Feb. 14-15 | Dempsey Indoor | Seattle, Wash.
MILLROSE GAMES – Cory McGee
Meet Schedule of Events | NYRR Wanamaker Mile (4:18 p.m. ET)
Live Video - NBC Sports Network 3-5 p.m.
Competition Date: Feb. 15 | New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory | New York, N.Y.
