| UF women's track finishes ninth at NCAAs
Special to The Sun
Published: Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 10:59 p.m.
DES MOINES, Iowa — The University of Florida track and field teams capped the NCAA Outdoor Championships finishing ninth in the women’s and 15th in the men’s competition, before a crowd of 11,410 at Drake Stadium on Saturday.
Florida scored in five of six possible events, completing a strong championship showing for both squads. A combined seven athletes earned eight All-America honors for Florida on Saturday, giving UF a total of 21 over the four days of competition.
The women finished with 26 points and placed in the top 10 for the first time since 2005. The 26 points were the eighth-highest point total ever by a Florida women’s team. The men’s team totaled 20 points and came up with its best finish since its runner-up finish in 2005.
“We had a great week across the board,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We had a lot of great efforts, a lot of heart and a lot of pride. We thought both teams could finish in the top 10. The women did, and the men’s team came up four points short.”
LSU won its first women’s national title since 2003, while Florida State claimed its third straight men’s title.
Sophomore Mariam Kevkhisvili opened the day with a third-place finish in the women’s shot put, coming up with a throw of 57 feet 2 1/4 inches, her second best throw of the outdoor season. For Kevkhisvili, it marked her second straight outdoor All-America honor, as she finished sixth at the NCAA Outdoor meet a year ago.
Senior Natalie Knight capped her career with a sixth-place finish in the 200-meter dash, her second All-America honor in the event outdoors, and first since 2005 when she also finished sixth.
“I’m really proud of the way the women’s team competed. They lined up and methodically got it done, and that’s kind of been the way they’ve operated all year,” Holloway said. “They were only six points out of a top-five finish, it was a good week for them.”
Calvin Smith stepped up in a loaded 400-meter final and finished fifth in a time of 45.14, a significant personal record for the sophomore. Running out of lane three, Smith’s finish was the highest by a Gator in the quarter-mile since Rickey Harris finished second in 2002 and was the fourth fastest time in school history.
Smith capped his day by running the second leg of the 4x400-meter relay team that finished eighth. He joined with Bernard Middleton, LaMarr Davis and Eric Alberter to run 3:07.91.
“I felt like we had a top-10 team on the men’s side and we were close and had our chance at the end,” said Holloway. “Overall, they had a good week and competed hard.”
Elsewhere in the field, Evelien Dekkers came up with an eighth-place finish in the javelin, earning All-America honors in the process.
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