No. 1 Men, No. 2 Women Eyeing Championship Titles at NCAA Indoors Friday, Saturday
Friday, March 13, 2015 | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- What should be a special weekend for the Florida track and field program at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships kicks off Friday on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. The No. 1 Gator men and No. 2 Gator women will leave it all on the track and field at the Randal Tyson Track Center, beginning with the women's weight throw (Jayla Bostic) and high jump (Taylor Burke) Friday evening.
While Bostic and Burke kick off 2015 indoor nationals for the Orange and Blue, Florida will have scoring opportunities on the first day of competition in the men's and women's long jump (Marquis Dendy, KeAndre Bates, Darrielle McQueen) as well as the men's 5K (Mark Parrish), while the remainder of Friday's track events are preliminary heats to set up qualifiers for Saturday's finals showdown.
Florida owns a combined four NCAA Indoor Championships, including one on the women's side in 1992 and three straight for the Florida men from 2010-12. Both University of Florida squads finished third at last year's NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, marking the men's sixth-straight top-three finish and the highest finish for the women's program indoors under head coach Mike Holloway. On the women's side, Florida's 40.5 points at indoor nationals were its most in 10 years, while the Gators' 20 All-America honors were the most in program history.
ESPN3 will stream the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships live March 13 & 14 and a tape-delayed broadcast of the championships will air March 23 on ESPN at 7 p.m.
WEEKLY LINKS
· SCOTT CARTER: From Rude Awakening to Championship Dreams for Gators Sprinter Najee Glass
· WATCH: Practice Day Sights & Sounds, Holloway Presser, Words from Brewer & Zunic
· VIDEO: Marquis Dendy, Najee Glass & Kyra Jefferson on heading to NCAA Indoors
2015 NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS MEET & BROACAST INFORMATION
· Friday ESPN3.com Coverage (6:50 p.m. ET)
· Saturday ESPN3.com Coverage (5:50 p.m. ET)
· Women's Start List | Men's Start List
· 2015 NCAA Female Qualifiers | 2015 NCAA Male Qualifiers
FOLLOW THE GATORS
Twitter | Facebook | Women's Instagram | Men's Indoor Top-10 | Women's Indoor Top-10
INDIVIDUAL NCAA INDOOR NOTABLES | NCAA Indoors Meet Notes
· Florida senior jumper Marquis Dendy is UF's last indoor national champion on the men's side. Dendy won the long jump national title in 2013 and will be going for his second and third indoor titles with the LJ/TJ double. Dendy has three individual national titles -- indoor LJ (2013), outdoor LJ & TJ (2014) and will be looking to double for the third consecutive championship meet (NCAA outdoors, SEC indoors)
· On the women's side, the Gators' last individual indoor titles came in 2010 when Charlotte Browning and Mariam Kevkhishvili won the mile and shot put, respectively
· Three Gators in Dendy (TJ, 56-6.5), Najee Glass (400m, 45.34) and Kyra Jefferson (200m, 22.81) own the top marks/times in the NCAA so far this year in their events. In addition, both Dendy and Jefferson have world-leading marks in the triple jump and 200m, respectively
· Florida has won 25 indoor NCAA individual titles on the men's side, 18 on the women's side
· The Gators' women's squad qualified 12 with 13 event entries, second-most in the country, and the men's team 11 athletes with a nation-leading 14 event entries for 2015 indoors
2015 NCAA INDOOR QUALIFIERS
FLORIDA WOMEN'S ENTRIES & QUALIFIERS
· Jayla Bostic: WT (20.86m/68-5)
· Ciarra Brewer: TJ (13.77m/45-2.25)
· Taylor Burke: HJ (1.84m/6-0.5)
· Claudia Francis: 800m (2:04.49)
· Destinee Gause: 200m (23.22)
· Brittany Harrell: Pentathlon (4226)
· Kyra Jefferson: 200m (22.81)
· Darrielle McQueen: LJ (6.30m/20-8)
· Bridgette Owens: 60mH (8.02)
· Robin Reynolds: 400m (52.27)
· Shayla Sanders: 60m (7.21)
· Gissell Warner: TJ (12.97m/42-6.75)
· Destiny Washington: 4x4 alternate
· Florida 4x4: Robin Reynolds, Destinee Gause, Kyra Jefferson, Claudia Francis (Destiny Washington): 3:29.58
FLORIDA MEN'S ENTRIES & QUALIFIERS
· Andres Arroyo: 800m (1:46.78)
· KeAndre Bates: LJ (7.84m/25-8.75) & TJ (16.06m/19-10.75)
· Marquis Dendy: LJ (8.02m/26-3.75) & TJ (17.23m/56-6.5)
· Dedric Dukes: 200m (20.91)
· Eric Futch: 4x4 alternate
· Najee Glass: 400m (45.34)
· Gino Hall: 400m (45.97)
· Mark Parrish: 5K (13:41.87)
· Ryan Schnulle: 800m (1:47.29)
· Nick Uruburu: 400m (46.31)
· Stipe Zunic: SP (20.61m/67-7.5)
· Florida 4x4: Najee Glass, Dedric Dukes, Nick Uruburu, Gino Hall (Eric Futch): 3:04.28
FLORIDA IN THE POLLS
Men: No. 1
Women: No. 2
