GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Florida track and field team Thursday advanced seven athletes to the NCAA Championships at the University of Oregon June 9-13. The Gators’ two track teams also qualified nine runners to the quarterfinal rounds of their respective events on the opening day of the NCAA East Regional at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T University.
Most impressively, each of Florida’s three women’s shot putters advanced to the NCAA Championships as Mariam Kevkhishvili, Keely Medeiros and Fidela James all finished among the top 12 Thursday. Senior thrower Evelien Dekkers placed first in the women’s javelin, while sophomore jumper Christian Taylor was first in the men’s long jump, thus punching their tickets to Eugene, Ore. Senior jumper Shara Proctor placed third in the women’s long jump to gain a trip to Oregon, and freshman distance runner Josh Izewski, who entered the East preliminaries as the 48th and final qualifier, placed 12th in the men’s 10,000 meters to claim an appearance in the upcoming NCAA Championships.
Competition continues Friday and Saturday at the Irwin Belk Track.
“This is the first round of the NCAA meet and, as we have talked about all along, we have got to keep advancing and keep progressing,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “I thought we did a great job of that today. We have got to come out tomorrow and continue doing the things that made us successful today. Our goal is to get as many scoring opportunities to Eugene as possible.”
Dekkers, who entered the meet ranked No. 7 in the women’s javelin, placed first in the East qualifying Thursday when her second throw was measured at 165 feet, 7 inches. Proctor leaped 22-feet-even to finish third in the long jump. Kevkhishvili placed first overall in the qualifying round with a toss of 57 feet, 10.5 inches. Medeiros was fifth with a throw of 53-9 and James 10th with her effort of 52-3.25. Taylor came out with a huge first attempt of 26 feet, 0.75 inches to place first in the men’s long jump. He passed on his final four attempts. Izewski was timed at 30:12.18 in the 10,000 meters.
Seniors Charlotte Browning and Justin Taylor advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s and men’s 1,500 meters, respectively. Browning was 13th overall in the women’s first round in 4:22.54, while Taylor was 10th overall in the men’s first round in 3:48.41. The quarterfinals of the women’s event take place at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, while the quarterfinals of the men’s event are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Florida advanced each of its three runners in the men’s 100-meter dash. Sophomore sprinter Jeff Demps was first overall in 10.11 seconds. Junior Terrell Wilks had a season-best effort of 10.27 seconds and senior Jeremy Hall flew to the finish line in 10.51 seconds. The quarterfinals of the 100 are Friday at 6 p.m.
Sophomore sprinter Madison McNary advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s 100-meter dash by placing 11th overall in the first round in a personal-best time of 11.40 seconds, sixth best in school history. The women’s 100 quarterfinals are Friday at 6:15 p.m.
Senior sprinter Calvin Smith and freshman Tony McQuay each advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s 400 meters, placing sixth and 10th respectively. Smith ran a time of 45.79, while McQuay clocked in at 46.00. The men’s 400 finals are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Senior middle distance runner Carlos Phillips advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s 800 meters, finishing 18th overall in the first round in a season-best time of 1:49.66. The quarterfinals take place at 6:30 p.m. Friday.