Arkansas Gets Three wins on day one of Tyson Invitational
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 4 University of Arkansas women’s track and field team collected three victories Friday on day one of the Tyson Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks picked up wins from Regina George in the 400 meters, Stephanie Brown in the mile and Tina Sutej in the pole vault.
“It was a really good day for our quarter milers,” head coach Lance Harter said. “Across the board, they had personal or season bests which is what you’re looking for at this time of year. We’re looking forward to an exciting day tomorrow with our collegians competing to close out the Tyson Invitational and being part of the USA Track & Field Classic.”
The Razorbacks swept the top-two spots in the 400 meters with George and Whitney Jones, respectively. Both runners posted season-best times with George crossing in 52.73 and Jones finishing in 53.13. Gwendolyn Flowers, Chrishuna Williams and Rachel Werner all had personal bests at 400 meters. Flowers finished in 11th place at 54.03, Williams was 18th in 54.74 and Werner was 20th in 54.91.
In the first race on the track, Brown ran to a first-place and personal-best performance in the college section of the mile. Brown crossed the finish in a time of 4:42.52, nearly one second faster than her previous best. She was followed by teammate Keri Wood who finished in second place with a time of 4:55.52, a personal best for the sophomore.
Sutej closed out the evening with a victory in the pole vault, her fourth in as many competitions this season. She finished with a winning clearance of 4.30m/14-1.25. Sutej raised the bar to 4.45m/14-7.25 to take shots at her national-leading mark but had three unsuccessful attempts. Dating back to the beginning of the 2011 season, Sutej has now won 11 consecutive indoor competitions.
Ivanique Kemp led the team’s efforts in the 60-meter hurdles and qualified for Saturday’s final in the event. In the preliminary round, she crossed in a time of 8.50 and was the 11th-fastest qualifier to move on to the semifinal heats. Running in the second heat of the semifinals, Kemp finished fifth in her race and eighth overall to move on to the championship run. The finals of the 60-meter hurdles will be run tomorrow at 7 p.m. (CT) during the USA Track & Field Classic.
In addition to the Tyson Invitational, Northwest Arkansas will host the USA Track & Field Classic tomorrow, beginning at 5 p.m. (CT) at the Randal Tyson Track Center. The meet will include a 10-event professional lineup and a field of the world’s best track and field stars that have combined to win 21 Olympic medals and 60 World Championship medals. Former Arkansas standouts Wallace Spearmon and Veronica Campbell-Brown are scheduled to compete Saturday.
Day two of the Tyson Invitational is set to begin Saturday with the field events at 10 a.m. and the running events at 10:30 a.m. For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Arkansas Earns Top three NCAA marks at 400 meters
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On day one of the Tyson Invitational, the No. 1 University of Arkansas men’s track and field team collected one event win, a national leader and a handful of season bests. Akheem Gauntlett paced the Razorbacks at 400 meters with an NCAA-leading time of 46.23 while Lane Boyer ran to a victory in the 5,000 meters. Among other highlights, Caleb Cross qualified for Saturday’s final in the 60-meter hurdles.
“It was a good first day for us,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “I’m really proud of the way we competed today. We had some standout performances in the 400 meters with the three fastest times in the country right now. It really speaks to how hard all of our guys have been working and they’re starting to see the results.”
The Razorbacks posted the top-three collegiate finishes in the 400 meters. Gauntlett won his heat and finished second overall in a personal-best effort of 46.23, the fastest time in the NCAA this season. Gauntlett is also the current NCAA leader at 200 meters with his time of 20.82 from the Razorback Invitational in January. He was followed by Marek Niit and Neil Braddy, respectively, who both crossed in a time of 46.28.
Each time—Niit finished .001 ahead of Braddy—is a season best and represents the second- and third-fastest times in the nation. Ben Skidmore rounded out the top-10 finishes with a time of 46.83, good for ninth place overall.
Running in the preliminary heats of the 60-meter hurdles, Cross advanced to the semifinal round. The Razorback junior finished in a time of 7.81 to finish in second place in his individual heat and fifth overall. In the semifinals, he established a season-best time of 7.80 to finish in fifth place to qualify for Saturday’s final. The finals of the 60-meter hurdles will be run tomorrow at 6:55 p.m. (CT) during the USA Track & Field Classic.
Arkansas’ first event win of the day came from Boyer in the championship section of the 5,000 meters. Running from the front, he posted a time of 14:15.81 to finish nearly 13 seconds clear of his nearest competitor. The Razorbacks came away with three of the top-four spots with Michael Chinchar (14:45.78) and Aaron Hamilton (15:04.93) in third and fourth, respectively.
Rick Elliott opened running events on the track with a runner-up finish in the college section of the mile. He finished second overall and was the top collegiate performer in the race with a personal-best time of 4:04.71, more than three seconds faster than his previous best. Cameron Efurd also turned in a personal-best showing with a time of 4:19.12.
In addition to the Tyson Invitational, Northwest Arkansas will host the USA Track & Field Classic tomorrow, beginning at 5 p.m. (CT) at the Randal Tyson Track Center. The meet will include a 10-event professional lineup and a field of the world’s best track and field stars that have combined to win 21 Olympic medals and 60 World Championship medals. Former Arkansas standouts Wallace Spearmon and Veronica Campbell-Brown are scheduled to compete Saturday.
Day two of the Tyson Invitational is set to begin Saturday at 10 a.m. with the men’s collegiate pole vault. Running events begin at 10:30 a.m. For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Gamecock Track Completes Day One at Arkansas and Clemson
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – South Carolina senior hurdler Kierre Beckles, junior long jumper Jarrod Hutchen and freshman sprinter Damiere Byrd all improved their NCAA prospects Friday night in the first day of competition at the Tyson Invitational on the campus of the University of Arkansas.
Beckles ran a season best time of 8.24 in the women’s 60-meter hurdle semis to place third earn a spot in Saturday’s final. The time keeps the All-American in the national top 12 in the event, and she will shoot for an improvement in Saturday’s final to be run at 8 p.m.
Hutchen, the junior college transfer in his first season as a Gamecock, had a best attempt of 24’9 ¼ (7.55m) in the men’s long jump championship to take sixth overall in the event. Hutchen’s mark improves him into the national top 20.
Byrd continued his strong freshman indoor campaign with three runs in the 60-meter dash. After running 6.75 in the prelims, Byrd improved to 6.72 in both the semis and the finals to place sixth overall in the event. The two-sport athlete currently has the top 60-meter dash time for a freshman in the NCAA and has pushed himself into the national top 30.
Competition at the Tyson Invitational resumes Saturday morning with the men’s pole vault at 11 a.m.
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CLEMSON, S.C. – South Carolina traveled a group of middle distance and field event athletes to the Tiger Paw Invitational and came away with a handful of season best times on the first day of competition.
A pair of multi-event athletes saw the most action Friday with Chris Sharp competing in three events on the men’s side, and Sarah Graham competing in three events on the women’s side. Both improved their 60-meter hurdle times in some of the final tune-ups before competing in the pentathlon and heptathlon at the SEC Indoor Championships.
The Gamecocks earned top 10 finishes from Vince DePiano in the men’s 1000-meter run, Meredith Mill in the women’s mile at a season best 5:03.99, and in from Breanna Radford and Katie Vuckovich in the weight throw.
Forbes is NCAA Long Jump Leader on Day 1 at Tyson Invitational
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Junior All-American Damar Forbes certainly lived up to his billing as an NCAA Championships contender in the men’s long jump with another dominating victory Friday night at the 2012 Tyson Invitational as he emerged as the new NCAA leader with his mark of 26 feet, 7 ¾ inches to highlight the action at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Forbes became LSU’s third NCAA qualifier for the season while leading a group of four Tigers and Lady Tigers with performances that rank among the Top 10 of the NCAA rankings for 2012.
Forbes took control of the competition early with a mark of 25-10 on his second jump of the prelim round to soar past the previous leading mark of 24-11 ¾ by Nebraska’s Chris Phipps in the first round.
That’s when Forbes soared to the top of the NCAA rankings on his third jump with a new indoor personal record of 26-7 ¾ to eclipse the previous national leader of 26-7 set by Marquise Goodwin of Texas during the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 27. Ole Miss standout Caleb Lee took second place with his series best of 25-3 ¼ on his third attempt, while Phipps followed in third place overall.
Forbes captured his third long jump championship of the 2012 campaign with a mark that ranks No. 3 all-time indoors by an LSU Tiger, trailing only John Moffitt (27-1 ¾) and Walter Davis (26-9).
A native of Decatur, Ga., Forbes soared past his previous seasonal best of 26-0 ¾ from his win at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational a week ago. That performance earned Forbes SEC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week honors after sweeping long jump and triple jump titles at The Armory in New York.
“It felt long overdue,” Forbes said of his performance in winning the Tyson Invitational long jump title. “I feel like I should have been jumping that all along. The biggest thing for me is that I’ve been consistent with my performance all year. I want to stay consistent because I want to win titles for the team. That’s an important thing when trying to compete week in and week out.”
Competitors in the men’s 400-meter dash set the track on fire during Friday’s opening day of action at the Randal Tyson Track Center as a pair of LSU Tigers in senior Riker Hylton and junior Caleb Williams were among seven sprinters to crack the NCAA’s Top 10 in the event with their seasonal bests.
Williams clocked a 2012 seasonal best of 46.31 seconds to take second place in the first section of the 400 meters while nearly chasing down Marek Niit of Arkansas (46.28) for the heat win.
Hylton followed with a seasonal-best effort of his own in the event’s second section as he placed fourth in the race at 46.72 to finish behind the likes of Akheem Gauntlett of Arkansas (46.23), Neil Braddy of Arkansas (46.28) and Torrin Lawrence of Georgia (46.53) for the win.
When the dust settled, Williams emerged as the NCAA’s No. 4-ranked quartermiler indoors this season at 46.31 and Hylton followed as the No. 9-ranked performer in the NCAA at 46.72 for 400 meters.
With their effort, the Arkansas trio of Gauntlett, Braddy and Niit posted the NCAA’s three fastest times to this point of the indoor season. Lawrence followed with the sixth-fastest time in the NCAA this season, while Marquis Holston of Norfolk State clocked the No. 7-ranked time nationally at 46.54 to finish first in the fourth 400-meter section of the afternoon. Post-collegiate athlete Frankie Wright won the event crown at the 2012 Tyson Invitational with his winning time of 45.72 in the eighth heat.
Williams, who owns an indoor PR of 46.08 that was set at the Randal Tyson Track Center a year ago, said he expects Friday’s competition to serve as an NCAA Championships preview in the event.
“This is probably the best track we run on indoors. I’m not surprised with what happened,” Williams said. “I feel good in my progression so far this year. My goal is to really peak at the right time and run fast later on at SECs and NCAAs when it really counts. I know we’ll see those guys again.”
LSU’s sprinters were also impressive in their performance through three rounds of the 60-meter dash held Friday with junior All-American Kimberlyn Duncan leading the way with back-to-back PRs and emerging as one of the NCAA’s Top 5 performers in the event for the 2012 season.
After opening with the third-fastest time of the qualifying round at 7.36, Duncan followed by posting 7.28 to advance to the final as the second-fastest qualifier of the semifinal round behind Central Florida’s star freshman Octavious Freeman (7.19). Duncan then finished runner-up to Freeman (7.20) again in the finals with her second PR of the day at 7.26 to move into the No. 5 spot in the NCAA rankings for 2012.
Fellow junior Takeia Pinckney joined Duncan in the women’s championship final of the 60-meter dash as she clocked a seasonal best 7.34 to advance as the fifth-fastest qualifier of the semifinal round. She earned a fourth-place finish in the final at 7.37 after running the NCAA’s No. 11-ranked time in the semifinal.
The Tigers were just as impressive on the strength of their efforts in the men’s 60 meters with both senior Keyth Talley and junior Rynell Parson advancing through three rounds and into Friday’s final.
Parson matched his collegiate best in his runner-up finish in the championship final as he clocked 6.69 for the No. 20-ranked performance in the NCAA for the 2012 season. Parson earned his spot in the final after running 6.76 in the qualifying round and 6.72 to win his semifinal heat. After opening with a time of 6.71 in the first round, Talley clocked back-to-back times of 6.70 en route to a third place finish overall.
Friday also witnessed the Lady Tigers shatter their 15-year-old school record in the distance medley relay with an effort that wrapped up the day as the No. 16-ranked performance in the NCAA.
While racing with a foursome of junior Charlene Lipsey (1,200 meters), senior Jonique Day (400 meters), freshman Samantha Levin (800 meters) and junior Laura Carleton (mile), the Lady Tigers blew away the field with their efforts of 11 minutes, 18.75 seconds to finish well ahead of Western Michigan (11:50.58). That time eclipsed the previous school record of 11:29.72 set in 1997.
In addition, three Tigers and Lady Tigers advanced to Saturday’s championship finals in the 60 hurdles as senior Barrett Nugent, junior Shanekia Hall and sophomore Jasmin Stowers are scheduled to run Saturday during the meet’s USA Track & Field Indoor Classic finale for the Tyson Invitational.
The Lady Tigers cruised through two rounds of qualifying in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with Stowers running the second-fastest time of the semifinal round at 8.18 and Hall recording a personal record at 8.28 for the fourth-fastest time of the semifinal round en route to their appearance in Saturday’s final.
After clocking 7.74 for the second-fastest time of the preliminary round, Nugent followed in the semifinal round with a time of 7.82 to advance as the sixth-fastest qualifier into the men’s final.
Other LSU athletes who enjoyed personal-best performances indoors during Friday’s action at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the first day of the competition include senior Ade Alleyne-Forte in the 400-meter dash (47.56), freshman Rodney Brown in the shot put (53-3), freshman Trevor Sansone in the 60-meter dash (6.85), and freshman Montenae Roye-Speight in the 400-meter dash (55.58).
The action at the 2012 Tyson Invitational on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT with the field events, followed by the first events on the track at 10:30 a.m. at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Fans of the LSU Track & Field program with a subscription to the Geaux Zone can watch both the Tigers and Lady Tigers in action at the Tyson Invitational by accessing the Geaux Zone homepage at www.LSUsports.net/live. As a fellow NeuLion client, the University of Arkansas will share the live video of this year’s Tyson Invitational as part of its RazorVision premier feature.
Live updates throughout the meet will also be available on the official Facebook and Twitter pages for the LSU Track & Field program. To receive these live updates, fans are invited to like LSU Track & Field on Facebook and follow @LSUTrackField on Twitter beginning with Saturday’s action.
UT’s Sheffey, Bodary Run At Flotrack Husky Classic In Seattle
SEATTLE -- A pair of Tennessee track & field distance runners were in action late Friday night at the Flotrack Husky Classic at the University of Washington’s Dempsey Indoor. Lady Vol senior Brittany Sheffey and Vol junior Chris Bodary made the cross-country journey to try and take advantage of an outstanding field of competitors and a fast track.
In the women’s 5000m Invite section, Sheffey turned in a time of 16:18.37 to wind up 16th in a talented gathering that included several post-collegiate runners. That mark, which came in her first indoor attempt at that distance, moved her to No. 4 on UT’s all-time indoor performers list in the event and was the ninth fastest ever registered by a Lady Vol. It also ranks her No. 1 in the SEC and No. 19 in the nation at this point in the season.
Bodary, meanwhile, competed in section three of the men’s 5K and came away with a readout of 14:32.32. That mark left him in 10th place in that section.
The rest of the Vols and Lady Vols are in Akron, Ohio, where they will compete in the Akron Invitational on Saturday.
Orta Leads UK Distance Runners at Day One of Husky Classic
LEXINGTON, Ky. – With the University of Kentucky track and field teams split in two, junior Luis Orta headed to Seattle to compete in the Husky Classic with the other distance runners on the UK men’s and women’s teams. On Friday night, he ran into the history books for the third time this season.
Orta, a Caracas, Venezuela native who set the ninth and then the eighth fastest 3,000m runs in school history earlier this year, clocked the fourth fastest 5,000m run in UK history Friday evening. Orta finished the rigorous race in sixth with a time of 14:02.45.
Orta was joined in Seattle by many of the other Kentucky distance runners. Sophomore Stacey Eden also ran in the 5,000m, finishing with a time of 14:56.05.
On the women’s side, sophomore Chelsea Oswald ran the eighth fastest 5,000m run in school history, finishing in 16:50.65. It was the first 5,000m run of the year for the Kentucky women’s team, and Oswald made it count, finishing 28th. Sophomore Taylor Wendler finished with a time of 17:25.48.
Schools from across the country are competing in the Husky Classic. In addition to Kentucky, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Clemson, Colorado, Florida, Georgetown, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA, Utah, Virginia, Washington State and Wisconsin, among others, will be competing in the Dempsey Indoor.
Meanwhile, at the SPIRE Division I Collegiate Invitational in Geneva, Ohio, sophomore Kayla Parker finished ninth in the pentathlon with 3,327 points. Parker’s total is the 10th best pentathlon score in program history. The native of Port Saint Joe, Fla., finished fifth in the 60m hurdles and 19th in the high jump before earning fourth-place marks in the shot put and long jump. Parker closed out the pentathlon with a 15th-place finish in the 800m.
Freshman Daniel Buckles finished seventh in his first heptathlon of the year. A product of Leitchfield, Ky., Buckles finished eighth in the 60m, fourth in the long jump, fifth in the shot put and seventh in the high jump. Buckles’ final point total was 2,476.
Freshman Brandon Nichols competed in the 200m dash for the first time in his collegiate career Friday evening. The Lexington, Ky., native raced hard to a fifth-place finish with a time of 22.30, the second fastest time by a UK sprinter this season.
Freshman Brandon Bagley finished 10th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.19. Bagley’s time is a new career-best, breaking his previous personal-best of 51.52 from the Rod McCravy Memorial.
Sophomore Julie Nunn led a quartet of Kentucky sprinters in the 200-meter dash. Nunn recorded a new season- and personal-best time of 24.87 en route to finishing fourth. Freshman sprinter Tamyah Pipkin followed Nunn, finishing fifth with a time of 24.96 in her first 200m of the indoor season. Freshman Angelica Whaley and junior Shiara Robinson followed with ninth- and 10th-place finishes, respectively.
The field at the SPIRE Collegiate Invitational is loaded with talent, featuring 17 teams spanning the U.S., eight of which are ranked in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association top-25 poll. In addition to Kentucky, other teams in the field include Auburn, East Carolina, Florida State, George Mason, Georgetown, Guelph, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State (women’s team), Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Texas (men’s team), Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky and Wichita State.
The Husky Classic and SPIRE Collegiate Invitational are the final two meets of the indoor season for Kentucky before it hosts the SEC Indoor Championships on Feb. 24-26 at the Nutter Field House.
A full schedule of events and list of results from Kentucky student-athletes at the Husky Classic and the SPIRE Collegiate Invitational are listed below.
Georgia Track & Fields Gets Busy In Day One Action
SEATTLE, Wash. - Georgia’s track and field teams got into gear across the country on Friday as they prepare for the coming Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships.
The Bulldogs had a pair of runners compete at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. Georgia also competed in a variety of events at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C. In addition, three Bulldog sprinters kicked off the weekend at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
All three meets will have a second round of events starting on Saturday morning or afternoon.
Senior Brett Richardson concluded the night’s action with a career-best time in the 5000-meter meet run at the Husky Classic. Richardson registered a time of 14:23.46 to take 37th and improve his No. 5 time on the Bulldogs’ all-time top-10 list.
Senior Morgan VanGorder was the top finisher from the SEC in the women’s 5000 as she clocked a personal-best time of 17:20.79 to take 11th at the University of Washington meet.
The Bulldogs picked up a pair of victories at the Tiger Paw Invitational. Sophomore Caleb Whitener reached 60 feet in the weight throw for the second meet in a row and finished first with a top mark of 60 feet, 1 ¾ inches. Also, freshman Burke McCarty was fifth with a collegiate personal best of 57-1.
Junior Saniel Atkinson-Grier won her second meet of the season in the high jump. Atkinson cleared 5-8 as her senior teammate Carin Walker tied for fourth. Walker also had a season-best effort of 18-3 to finish fifth in the long jump.
In the men’s high jump, sophomore Graylin Ward earned runner-up honors after clearing 6-6.75.
Two freshmen sprinters led the way on the track with Tynia Gaither clocking a personal-best 7.56 to take fourth in the 60. This ties the 10th-fastest finish in school history and is the best time for the Lady Bulldogs in the last two seasons.
Justin Scott-Wesley was eighth in the men’s 60 after he shot down the straightaway in 6.83.
Freshman Brooke Koblitz also registered a top-10 performance in the mile after taking ninth with a time of 5:08.81.
Also on the track, senior Abbie Robinson finished third in the 5000 (17:52.63) as sophomore Sydney Marshall managed a fourth-place finish (18:27.87).
At the Tyson Invitational, senior Torrin Lawrence posted a season-best finish of 46.53 to take sixth in the 400 out of the 73 competitors racing. This broke a streak of three straight wins in the event for Lawrence at the Arkansas meet.
While freshman Chris Foster finished 28th with a mark of 48.18, fellow freshman Drew Branch sped to a collegiate personal-best finish of 48.85 for 38th place.
Foster, Branch and Lawrence will return to the track with sophomore Waymon Storey on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. for the 4x400 relay. Storey and junior Eric Harris are scheduled to battle the field in the 200 during the meet’s second day.
Live results and recaps from all three meets on Saturday will be posted on georgiadogs.com.
Florida Women’s 4x400 Relay Leads the Way in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. and SEATTLE, Wash. – The women’s 4x400 meter relay team, composed of Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.), Alishea Usery (St. Louis, Mo.), Bria Goodson (Orange Park, Fla.) and Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.), capped off a stellar evening for the Florida track and field teams at the Don Kirby Collegiate Elite, hosted by the University of New Mexico at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The foursome ran an NCAA-leading 3:33.22 on Friday evening, becoming the only team to automatically qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Nampa, Idaho.
“That was a very special run by those four young ladies,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “They set a goal when they came here of running an NCAA automatic qualifying time and that’s what they did. We couldn’t be more proud.”
Overall, the Gators had six event victories in New Mexico, along with eight personal bests between Albuquerque and Seattle, Wash., where the distance corps began the first day of the Flotrack Husky Classic hosted by the University of Washington.
“Every week, we want to come in and get better, and I think we did that today,” Holloway said. “I think Marquis (Dendy) did a great job, I’m very proud of Kemal (Mesic) and Keely (Medeiros) as well.”
Freshman jumper Marquis Dendy (Middleton, Del.) won the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.82m/25-8, a personal best and good for eighth all-time at Florida.
Senior thrower Kemal Mesic (Sarajevo, Bosnia) won his third meet of the season with a throw of 20.23m/66-4.50, while fellow senior thrower Keely Medeiros (Blumenau-SC, Brazil) registered a season-best 16.61m/54-6 in the women’s shot put, placing second and continuing her return from injury.
Junior sprinter Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) sped his way to a season-best and an SEC and NCAA-tying 6.55, shared with Auburn’s Harry Smith. Demps’ time will be adjusted for altitude.
“Jeff was Jeff,” Holloway said. “He had a seasonal best but I think he would be the first to tell you that he rushed it tonight. We need to work on being more patient.”
Freshman jumper Taylor Burke (Medina, Ohio) and her winning streak did not take a break in Albuquerque, earning her fourth straight high jump title by clearing 1.78m/5-10 on Friday evening.
The trio of women’s 60 meter sprinters, Usery, Goodson and Darshay Davis (Miramar, Fla.), impressed Holloway, especially Davis’ performance not only in the 60 meters, but the women’s 200 meters as well.
“I thought the women’s 60 meter group did a great job,” Holloway noted. “Bria and Darshay each had personal bests tonight and Alishea ran a season-best. I was also pleased with Darshay’s PB in the 200 meters as well.”
Usery, Davis and Goodson recorded 60 meter times of 7.35, 7.40 and 7.56, respectively. Davis then ran a personal-best 23.84 in the women’s 200 meters, good for fourth place and her second-consecutive 200 meter PR in as many weeks.
Senior thrower Fidela James (Jacksonville, Fla.) registered a personal-best 20.48m/67-2.25 mark in the weight throw, improving her standing at eighth all-time in Florida school history.
Over in Seattle, the distance crew got off to a solid start, led by Florence Ngetich (Kenya) and Callie Cooper (St. Johns, Fla.) and their 5,000-meter performances. Ngetich turned in the second-best performance in Gator history, placing sixth with a time of 16:15.18 while Cooper shaved nearly 23 seconds off her personal best, recording a time of 16:32.68.
“I’m really proud of Florence, performing the way she did in Seattle,” Holloway commented. “And for Callie to have that kind of PB is nothing short of special. Really pleased with both of their performances tonight.”
The Gators continue their stay in Seattle as the second day of the Flotrack Husky Classic commences at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday morning. Live stats can be found here.