FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Florida track and field teams earned five All-America honors Friday on the opening day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Track Center.
The No. 1-ranked Florida men are currently in second place with 20 team points, four points off the lead of host Arkansas. Florida State is third with 14. The Gator men qualified four athletes for the finals of their respective events for Saturday’s finals and, in total, have eight scoring opportunities remaining on the final day. Florida’s women currently are in 14th place with six points and have four scoring opportunities remaining Saturday.
“We had a phenomenal day (Friday),” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We had incredible focus and incredible desire but, the big thing is, we have to come back and do it again tomorrow (Saturday). We came in here with a goal and we need to finish that goal tomorrow. We thought that on the men’s side, we needed to score between 18-22 points and we scored 20 today. On the women’s side, I think we weren’t quite where we wanted to be, but we’re not that far off. We have to line up tomorrow and do our jobs. We have to continue doing what we did today on the men’s side and do a little bit better than what we did today on the women’s side. I know our athletes and I know that they will come out here and do that.”
Junior thrower Kemal Mesic, who entered the meet ranked eighth in the nation, turned in a spectacular performance to finish second with a personal-best toss of 19.26m/63-2.25, after winning his flight to earn All-America honors. That goes down as the second-best indoor men’s shot put toss in Florida program history. Mesic earned the third All-America honor of his career after earning the recognition both indoors and outdoors last year.
Sophomore jumper Christian Taylor, who entered the meet ranked 13th in the nation in the men’s long jump, recorded his finest effort of the season, placing second with a season-best leap of 7.93m/26-0.25 to earn All-America honors.
Senior sprinter Calvin Smith and freshman sprinter Tony McQuay finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the men’s 200 meters final. The race was lightning fast as Smith entered the NCAA meet with the nation’s fastest time at 20.67, but the winner, Curtis Mitchell of Texas A&M, logged the fastest time in the world this year at a blazing speed of 20.38. Smith clocked a 20.72 in the finals, while McQuay ran 20.88 in the finals. Both earned All-America honors.
Smith’s All-America honor marked the 14th of his collegiate career (indoor and outdoor combined), tying him with former Gator Mike Morrison for the men’s school record for most All-America honors at 14. He will have two opportunities to break that record tomorrow – the 400 meters and the 1,600 meters relay.
Senior jumper Shara Proctor, the 2010 SEC women’s long jump and triple jump champion, struggled through the first three attempts of the women’s long jump but regrouped in the finals to place third at 6.64m/21-9.50 and earn All-America honors.
Junior distance runner Charlotte Browning, the national leader in the women’s mile, won her heat and finished fifth overall in the mile prelims to qualify for Saturday’s final with a time of 4:43.35.
Sophomore heptathlete Gray Horn finished the opening four events of the heptathlon in eighth place with 3,122 total points. Horn placed fifth in the men’s 60-meter dash in a time of 7.03, before struggling through the long jump and shot put. He concluded the day with a collegiate-best leap of 2.02m/6-7.50 to place third in the high jump.
Smith and McQuay each qualified for the finals of the men’s 400-meter dash, placing third and fifth, respectively. Smith finished in 46.15, while McQuay clocked a time of 46.43 to advance to the final.
Freshman sprinter Jeff Demps blazed through the men’s 60-meter dash field with a school-record time of 6.56 to finish first in the preliminaries. Teammate Jeremy Hall was third, tying his personal-best time at 6.62.
Sophomore sprinter Alishea Usery just missed qualifying for the finals of the women’s 60-meter dash, finishing ninth in a personal-record time of 7.29.
NCAA INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Randal Tyson Track Complex, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
WOMEN
After six events scored:
1. Auburn 18; 2. Tennessee 16; 3. Arizona 15.5; 4. Oregon 13; 5. Penn State 11, T6. Iowa State, UTEP, Louisville 10; 9. West Virginia 9; 10. Nebraska 8.5; T11. Hawaii, Connecticut, Brigham Young 8; T14. Florida, Louisiana State, Western Michigan, Georgetown 6; T18. San Diego State, Southern Illinois, Villanova 5; T21. Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida State, Tulsa, Texas Tech, Indiana 4; T27. Texas Christian, Dayton, Minnesota, Houston, Kansas 3; T32. Clemson, Texas, Arkansas 2; T35. Kentucky, Oklahoma State, UCLA 1; T38. St. John’s, Alabama 0.5.
200 meters: 1. Shaniqua Ferguson (Auburn) 23.09; 2. Nivea Smith (Auburn) 23.12; 3. Shavon Greaves (Penn State) 23.17; 4. Amber Purvis (Oregon) 23.21; 5. Jeneba Tarmoh (Texas A&M) 23.29; 6. Kalyn Floyd (Houston) 23.41; 7. Samantha Henry (Louisiana State) 23.52; — Scottesha Miller (Oklahoma) DQ.
5,000 meters: 1. Lisa Koll (Iowa State) 15:39.65; 2. Marie Louise Asselin (West Virginia) 15:50.53; 3. Jackie Areson (Tennessee) 15:53.12; 4. Bridget Franek (Penn State) 15:58.02; 5. Alex Becker (Tulsa) 15:58.53; 6. Megan Duwell (Minnesota) 15:59.23; 7. Kimberly Ruck (Clemson) 16:01.24; 8. Felicity Milton (Oklahoma State) 16:01.90; 9. Amanda Goetschius (Charlotte) 16:06.92; 10. Beverly Ramos (Kansas State) 16:08.06; 11. Clara Grandt (West Virginia) 16:14.09; 12. Janet Jesang (Western Kentucky) 16:17.56; 13. Rebecca Lowe (Florida) 16:19.32; 14. Holly Van Dalen (Stony Brook) 16:39.37; 15. Mattie Bridgmon (Oregon) 16:51.48; DNF Deborah Maier (California) and Nicole Blood (Oregon).
Distance Medley: 1. Tennessee (Phoebe Wright, Ellen Wortham, Chanelle Price, Brittany Sheffey) 10:58.37; 2. Oregon (Anne Kesselring, Michele Williams, Zoe Buckman, Jordan Hasay) 10:58.96; 3. Georgetown (Renee Tomlin, Abigail Johnson, Rachel Schneider, Emily Infeld) 11:01.40; 4. Villanova (Bogdana Mimic, Christie Verdier, Ariann Neutts, Sheila Reid) 11:09.16; 5. Texas Tech (Purity Biwott, Trudeann Clarke, Gladys Kipsang, Caroline Karunde) 11:09.53; 6. Kansas (Rebeka Stowe, Taylor Washington, Corinne Christenson, Lauren Bonds) 11:11.46; 7. Arkansas (Samantha Learch, Whitney Jones, Regina George, Kristen Gillespie) 11:16.27; 8. West Virginia (Keri Bland, April Rotilio, Kaylyn Christopher, Jessica O’Connell) 11:16.39; 9. Brigham Young (Lacey Cramer, Natalie Stewart, Nachelle Stewart, Angela Wagner) 11:16.93; 10. Michigan (Jillian Smith, Shana Vinson, Rebecca Addison, Danielle Tauro) 11:19.33; 11. Boston College (Jillian King, Anna Cioffredi, Caitlin Bailey, Carolina King) 11:23.83; 12. Indiana (Molly Beckwith, Jordan Gray, Arianne Raby, Chelsea Blanchard) 11:25.73.
High Jump: 1. Elizabeth Patterson (Arizona) 1.93m/6.33 feet; 2. Amber Kaufman (Hawaii) 1.90m/6.23 feet; T3. Epley Bullock (Nebraska), Brigetta Barrett (Arizona) 1.84m/6.04 feet; 5. Brittani Carter (Louisiana State) 1.81m/5.94 feet; 6. Audrey Svane (Nebraska) 1.81m/5.94 feet; 7. Ashley Rhoades (Indiana) 1.81m/5.94 feet; T8. Krystle Schade (Alabama), Priscilla Frederick (St. John’s) 1.78m/5.84 feet; T10. Tynita Butts (East Carolina), Ke’Airra Jones (Southern Mississippi) 1.78m/5.84 feet; T12. Erika Schroll (Central Michigan), Holly Parent (Washington State), Carin Knight (Connecticut) 1.78m/5.84 feet; 15. Jane Doolittle (UC Santa Barbara) 1.78m/5.84 feet; 16. April Sinkler (Clemson) 1.75m/5.74 feet; 17. Megan Seidl (Wisconsin) 1.75m/5.74 feet; 18. Monique Roberts (Columbia) 1.70m/5.58 feet.
Long Jump: 1. Blessing Okagbare (UTEP) 6.87m (new NCAA meet record); 2. Mindy McClurkin (Brigham Young) 6.69m; 3. Shara Proctor (Florida) 6.64m; 4. Karoline Koehler (San Diego State) 6.59m; 5. Kimberly Williams (Florida State) 6.46m; 6. Whitney Gipson (Texas Christian) 6.40m; 7. Chantel Malone (Texas) 6.40m; 8. Danielle Watson (UCLA) 6.32m; 9. Amy Harris (Florida State) 6.31m; 10. Vashti Thomas (Texas A&M) 6.29m; 11. April Sinkler (Clemson) 6.28m; 12. Nina Kokot (Kansas State) 6.24m; 13. Deandra Doyley (Miami) 6.17m; 14. Constance Ezugha (Arizona State) 6.15m; 15. Brittni Finch (Miami) 6.06m; 16. Wendy Copeland (Mississippi) 6.06m; 17. Christabel Nettey (Arizona State) 6.04m; — Jamesha Youngblood (Oregon) foul.
Weight Throw: 1. D’Ana McCarty (Louisville) 22.76m; 2. Victoria Flowers (Connecticut) 21.44m; 3. Irene Cooper (Wester Michigan) 21.10m; 4. Jeneva McCall (Southern Illinois) 20.70m; 5. Nikola Lomnicka (Georgia) 20.32m; 6. Mallory Barnes (Dayton) 20.21m; 7. Faith Sherrill (Indiana) 20.00m; 8. Kristin Smith (Kentucky) 19.86m; 9. Sasha Leeth (Southern Illinois) 19.61m; 10. Brittany Cox (Middle Tennessee State) 19.40m; 11. Stacey Wannemacher (Purdue) 19.08m; 12. Frednisha Marshall (Stephen F. Austin) 18.78m; 13. Kelsey Hanley (Indiana State) 18.66m; 14. Nicole Luckenbach (Eastern Washington) 18.46m; 15. Rickael Roach (Southern Illinois) 18.03m; —Jere’ Summers (Louisville), Gwen Berry (Southern Illinois) foul.
MEN
After six events scored:
1. Arkansas 24; 2. Florida 20; 3. Florida State 14; 4. Arizona State 12; T5. Texas A&M, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Washington 10; 9. Minnesota 9; T10. Indiana, Liberty, Rice, 8; 13. Penn State 7; T14. South Carolina, Air Force 6; T16. California, Georgia Tech, Auburn, New Mexico, Louisiana State 5; T21. Akron, Virginia Tech 4.5; T23. William and Mary, Texas Tech, Eastern Michigan, Kansas 4; T27. Arizona, Texas Christian, Oral Roberts, UCLA 3; T31. Oklahoma, Stanford 2; T33. Southern California, Louisiana-Lafayette 1.5; T35. Oklahoma State, Louisville, Texas 1.
200 meters: 1. Curtis Mitchell (Texas A&M) 20.38; 2. Brandon Byram (Florida State) 20.46; 3. Antonio Sales (South Carolina) 20.52; 4. Marcus Rowland (Auburn) 20.62; 5. Maurice Mitchell (Florida State) 20.62; 6. Calvin Smith (Florida) 20.72; 7. Rakieem Salaam (Oklahoma) 20.79; 8. Tony McQuay (Florida) 20.88.
5,000 meters: 1. David McNeill (Northern Arizona) 13:36.41; 2. Sam Chelanga (Liberty) 13:37.01; 3. Justin Tyner (Air Force) 13:41.26; 4. Chris Barnicle (New Mexico) 13:43.20; 5. Jon Grey (William and Mary) 13:46.12; 6. Festus Kigen (Texas Christian) 13:50.21; 7. Elliott Heath (Stanford) 13:51.00; 8. Colby Lowe (Oklahoma State) 13:54.90; 9. Luke Puskedra (Oregon) 13:57.98; 10. Jake Riley (Stanford) 13:59.85; 11. Ryan Collins (Virginia) 14:06.98; 12. Colton Tully-Doyle (Washington) 14:07.50; 13. Rory Fraser (New Mexico) 14:07.77; 14. Scott MacPherson (Arkansas) 14:30.27; 15. Andrew Poore (Indiana) 14:32.09.
Distance Medley: 1. Oregon (A.J. Acosta, Chad Barlow, Travis Thompson, Andrew Wheating) 9:36.87; 2. Arkansas (Drew Butler, Ben Skidmore, Chris Bilbrew, Dorian Ulrey) 9:37.53; 3. Minnesota (Ben Blankenship, Logan Stroman, Harun Abda, Chris Rombough) 9:38.09; 4. California (Mark Matusak, Tom Blocker, Sebastian Sam, Michael Coe) 9:38.19; 5. Eastern Michigan (Curtis Vollman, Ackeem Forde, Blake Figgins, David Brent) 9:38.44; 6. UCLA (Scott Crawford, Quentin Powell, Cory Primm, Marlon Patterson) 9:39.20; 7. Indiana (De’Sean Turner, Kind Butler, Daniel Stockberger, Andrew Bayer) 9:39.35; 8. Texas (Logan Gonzales, Danzell Fortson, Tevas Everett, Patrick Todd) 9:39.91; 9. Villanova (Carl MacKenzie, Garrett Kroner, Cody Harper, Mathew Mildenhall) 9:39.96; 10. Stanford (John Sullivan, Amaechi Morton, Dylan Ferris, Justin Marpole-Bird) 9:41.90; 11. Arizona State (Nectaly Barbosa, Joel Phillip, Mason McHenry, Brandon Bethke) 9:44.98.
Pole Vault: 1. Scott Roth (Washington) 5.60m; 2. Jason Colwick (Rice) 5.50m; 3. Jeffrey Coover (Indiana) 5.45m; T4. Yavgeniy Olhovsky (Virginia Tech), Michael Uhle (Akron) 5.35m; 6. Jack Whitt (Oral Roberts) 5.35m; T7. Brandon Estrada (Southern California), Chris Roy (Louisiana-Lafayette) 5.35m; T9. Elliott Haynie (South Carolina), Jeremy Klas (Idaho) 5.20m; T11. Maston Wallace (Texas), Brian Porter (Texas Tech) 5.25m; T13. Michael Arnold (Idaho State), Hunter Hall (Virginia Tech) 5.15m; —Casey DiCesare (UCLA), Nick Frawley (Air Force), Jordan Scott (Kansas), Jared Jodon (Virginia Tech) no height.
Long Jump: 1. Alain Bailey (Arkansas) 8.17m; 2. Christian Taylor (Florida) 7.93m; 3. Tarik Batchelor (Arkansas) 7.92m; 4. Zedric Thomas (Louisiana State) 7.85m; 5. Bryce Lamb (Texas Tech) 7.85m; 6. Luis Rivera-Morales (Arizona) 7.85m; 7. Madanha Chibudu (Florida State) 7.81m; 8. Tone Belt (Louisville) 7.72m; 9. Reindell Cole (Cal State Northridge) 7.65m; 10. Marquise Goodwin (Texas) 7.61m; 11. Tyler Simmons (Wichita State) 7.61m; 12. Bobby Carter (Nebraska) 7.53m; 13. Tyron Stewart (Texas A&M) 7.45m; 14. Nicholas Gordon (Nebraska) 7.39m; 15. Rudon Bastian (Louisville) 7.21m.
Shot Put: 1. Ryan Whiting (Arizona State) 21.52m; 2. Kemal Mesic (Florida) 19.26m; 3. Joe Kovacs (Penn State) 19.18m; 4. Steve Marcelle (Georgia Tech) 19.00m; 5. Mason Finley (Kansas) 18.75m; 6. Aaron Studt (Minnesota) 18.73m; 7. Jason Lewis (Arizona State) 18.64m; 8. Blake Eaton (Penn State) 18.44m; 9. Igor Misljenovic (Virginia Tech) 18.32m; 10. Matt DeChant (Ohio State) 18.23m; 11. Hayden Baillio (Texas) 18.00m; 12. Javier Villarreal (Northern Arizona) 17.92m; 13. Jacob Thormachlen (Texas) 17.82m; 14. Nate Hunter (Northeastern) 17.65m; —Gerald Gersham (Eastern Michigan) foul.
Heptathlon standings (After four of seven events: 60 meters, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump. Competition concludes Saturday with 60-meter hurdles, Pole Vault, 1,000 meters): 1. Ashton Eaton (Oregon) 3,561; 2. R.J. McGinnis (Minnesota) 3,200; 3. Bjorn Barrefors (Nebraska) 3,196; 4. Lars Rise (Missouri) 3,194; 5. Mateo Sossah (North Carolina) 3,170; 6. Mantas Silkauskas (Kansas State) 3,168; 7. Michael Morrison (California) 3,163; 8. Gray Horn (Florida) 3,122); 9. Nick Adcock (Missouri) 3,120; 10. Miller Moss (Clemson) 3,057; 11. Chris Dickman (Wichita State) 3,003; 12. Jack Szmanda (Minnesota) 2,975; 13. Curtis Beach (Duke) 2,914; 14. Tommy Barrineau (Georgia) 2,894; 15. Brock Spandl (Minnesota) 2,869; 16. Robert Robinson (Cal State Northridge) 2,842.