Florida Gators
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Women's T&F Sets Up for Successful Championship Saturday After Thursday Semis
Friday, June 12, 2015 | Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. -- Kyra Jefferson did what Kyra Jefferson does best Thursday – blazed up the track -- to help highlight the first day of 2015 NCAA Track and Field Championships for the Florida women's track and field program in front of a crowd of 10,015 at Hayward Field as the Gators got on the scoreboard and turned in a solid day of qualifying in preparation for Saturday finals.
Jefferson anchored UF's 4x1 quartet of Robin Reynolds, Shayla Sanders, Destinee Gause to a finals berth with their 43.30 semis mark before advancing as the top seed in the 200m with a PR and school-record tying 22.26. Also a member of UF's 4x4, Jefferson will Charge Into NCAA Finals, writes Scott Carter.
While the Gators cruised on the track, veteran Fawn Miller and freshman Darrielle McQueen represented in the field events, Miller with UF's first points following an eighth-place finish in the javelin (52.65m/172-9) while McQueen made her NCAA Outdoor debut as just a freshman and finished 12th in the long jump with her 6.22m/20-5.
The Orange and Blue put two more Gators in Saturday finals as Bridgette Owens and Claudia Francis advanced in the 100 hurdles (12.71,+3.3) and the 800m (2:07.77), respectively, for Florida's title chase Saturday on the second and final day of NCAAs.
Jefferson's fellow 200m competitor Gause had a special day with an all-conditions PR (22.68w) in semifinals to place eighth overall in the field, but heartbreakingly fell short of advancing to the final after taking third in a speedy heat -- top two in each of the three heats advanced, plus the next two fastest times. Gause, Reynolds, 10th in the 400m, and Sanders, 15th in the 100m, fell short of qualifying in open events, but will make their presence felt in relay finals.
Florida wrapped up the evening of qualifying with a 3:30.37 4x4 to advance to finals with Reynolds, Jefferson, Gause and Francis at the helm, while seniors Ciarra Brewer (TJ) and Taylor Burke (HJ) are slated to jump Saturday, rounding out UF's finals competitors.
The 2015 men's team national champion will be crowned Friday before the women's champion is hashed out Saturday. Florida senior Marquis Dendy will look to cap a phenomenal career in the triple jump to get things started for Florida Friday as UF returns to work at Hayward at 4:30 p.m. (PT) seeking its sixth national championship. The ESPN family of networks will have all the action covered both Friday and Saturday as champions are crowned.
HEARING OUT HOLLOWAY
“I think we did a good job. I thought we might sneak somebody into the 100-meter finals and I thought Robin (Reynolds) would run a little bit better in the 400-meter dash. They both made great efforts but it just wasn't there today. I'm really proud of Darrielle McQueen, she did a great job finishing 12th in the long jump. Overall, Kyra (Jefferson), Claudia (Francis), both relays and Brigette (Owens) in the hurdles -- I think we put ourselves in great position for when we compete again in 48 hours.”
SENIOR SCORER FAWN MILLER
“I have been really struggling with my technique this year and Coach Lemke and I honed in on the problem just a couple days ago. It just wasn't enough time to completely fix it, but overall I am really glad I was able to get on the medal stand and score some points for my team.”
GATORS NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS NOTABLES
· A contingent of 23 Gators descended upon Eugene and TrackTown USA Sunday afternoon for the 2015 NCAA Championships at Historic Hayward Field. The Gators own six national titles, including five on the men's side. Two of those crowns are outdoor national titles as the No. 1 UF men's squad struck with back-to-back outdoor titles in 2012 and 2013. The No. 6 Florida women own one indoor national title from 1992
· On both the men's and women's sides, Florida returns all of its 2014 National Champions, including Dendy, who swept both horizontal jumps at 2014 outdoors and 2015 indoors. After winning back-to-back titles in the long jump Wednesday, he'll look to defend his triple jump crown Friday. Men's senior Dedric Dukes, the reigning 200m champion, returns to defend his title, while the Gators' 4x1 will additionally look to make it three straight national championship titles. Jefferson, the indoor national champion at 200m, has made a splash this season in the 200m and enters Saturday's finals as the top seed in the event with her PR and school-record tying 22.26
· The Gators were crowned the 2015 SEC Outdoor Champions on the men's side after picking up Florida's fifth overall outdoor title in Starkville in May
· Last season at NCAA Outdoors, the Florida men were the national runner-up, UF's third straight top-two finish and seventh consecutive top-five finish. The Gators scored 70 points at NCAA Outdoors, the most under Florida head coach Mike Holloway and the most for Gators in 40 years, while racking up 21 All-America honors, tying for the most in UF history (2011)
· On the women's side, after finishing third indoors for their highest finish under head coach Mike Holloway, the Gators finished with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the second top-five finish under Holloway and the best since third in 2010. Florida scored the second-most points in program history at NCAA Outdoors (55), while UF's 19 All-America honors from outdoors marked the most in school history
· READ: Florida Cleans Up with Four USTFCCCA Outdoor Regional Postseason Awards
· READ: From Will Pantages | Last One, Best One: Dukes and Family Seek Successful Week at NCAA Championships
· READ: From Will Pantages | Seniors Have Field Day on First Night of NCAA Championships
· READ: From Scott Carter | Full-Speed Ahead, Gators Sprinter Kyra Jefferson Charges into NCAA Finals
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS TIDBITS
· The Gator men's squad will take to the track and field Wednesday and Friday, while the Gator ladies compete on Thursday and Saturday in this year's new schedule format, which this year crowns the men's team champion Friday, the women's Saturday
· With the approved schedule change, ESPN will have unprecedented coverage of the 2015 Championships. For surround coverage each day on ESPN3.com, visit the Gators Game Day box on UF track and field's main page for all live links directly to coverage and live stats
MEET AND BROADCAST INFORMATION
· 2015 NCAA Championships Schedule
· Remaining ESPN Broadcast Schedule:
Friday, June 12.............................7:30 p.m.-10 p.m. (ESPN)
7 p.m.-10:15 p.m. (ESPN3)
Saturday, June 13........................5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
4:30 p.m.-7:45 p.m. (ESPN3)
FLORIDA NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE (all times Pacific) | DAY ONE RECAP
| Thursday, June 11 Results | |
| Long Jump | 12. Darrielle McQueen, 6.22m/20-5 |
| Javelin | 8. Fawn Miller, 52.65m/172-9 | scored Florida's first points of the NCAA Championships |
| 4x100 (S) | 3. Reynolds-Sanders-Gause-Jefferson, 43.30 | advances to finals |
| 100 H (S) | 3. Bridgette Owens, 12.71 (+3.3) | advances to finals, ties all-conditions PR |
| 100m (S) | 15. Shayla Sanders, 11.30 (+2.0) |
| 400m (S) | 10. Robin Reynolds, 52.28 |
| 800m (S) | 16. Claudia Francis, 2:07.77 | advances to finals after placing second in heat |
| 200m (S) | 1. Kyra Jefferson, 22.26 (+1.8) | ties PR and school record, advances to finals |
| 8. Destinee Gause, 22.68 (+4.6) | all-conditions PR | |
| 4x400 (S) | 2. Reynolds-Jefferson-Gause-Francis, 3:30.37 | advances to finals |
| Friday, June 12 Qualifiers (MEN – CHAMPIONSHIP CROWNED) | |
| 4:30pm | Triple Jump – Dendy |
| 4:35pm | 4x100 (F) – Wright-Hall-Futch-Dukes |
| 4:57pm | Steeple (F) – Parrish |
| 5:35pm | 400m (F) – Glass |
| 5:50pm | 800m (F) – Arroyo |
| 6:00pm | 400m Hurdles (F) – Futch |
| 6:10pm | 200m (F) – Dukes |
| 6:50pm | 4x400 (F) – Uruburu-Hall-Futch-Glass-Dukes |
| Saturday, June 13 (WOMEN – CHAMPIONSHIP CROWNED) | |
| 1:30pm | High Jump – Burke |
| 2:00pm | Triple Jump – Brewer |
| 2:05pm | 4x100 (F) – Reynolds-Sanders-Gause-Jefferson |
| 2:45pm | 100 Hurdles (F) – Owens |
| 3:20pm | 800m (F) – Francis |
| 3:40pm | 200m (F) – Jefferson |
| 4:20pm | 4x400 (F) – Reynolds-Jefferson-Gause-Francis-Washington |
IN THE POLLS
Men: No. 1
Women: No. 6
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