Florida Gators
Florida Relays
Lacombe and Canino Lead Women?s Track and Field at 62nd Annual Coca-Cola Florida Relays
Saturday, March 26, 2005 | Women's Track and Field
Senior Chandra Lacombe (Winter Haven, Fla.) and senior Chelo Canino (Valrico, Fla) both posted NCAA regional qualifying marks in the pole vault to lead the University of Florida women's track and field team Friday at the 62nd annual Coca-Cola Florida Relays presented by GRU. Lacombe set a personal best outdoor mark of 3.97m/13-00.25 while Canino just met the NCAA standard navigating the height of 3.80m/12-05.50 in wet and muggy conditions in Gainesville.
"Chandra had big time PR," Florida Head Coach Tom Jones said. "I couldn't be happier for her, she is an athlete who refuses to let anything rattle her."
Two relays made their outdoor debut on Friday as the Gators took the track with a 4x200-meter relay team and a 4x1500m team for the first time this season.
The 4x200m team of Tiandra Ponteen (St. Kitts), Traci Ann Henry (Evanston, Ill.), Nadine Palmer (Manchester, Jamaica), and Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) took fourth place in a time of 1:33.10 despite having difficulty with many of the handoffs. The Gators ran in a heat that featured indoor National Champion Tennessee, South Carolina, and the University of Miami, three of the best sprint schools in the nation this season.
"We ran fast but the girls need to have confidence in themselves," Jones said. "We just blew the handoffs completely. We had three rookies out there (Palmer, Knight, Henry) and it showed."
In 4x1500m action the team of Amanda Schommer (Vero Beach, Fla.), Kecia Johnson (Gainesville, Fla.), Diane Avigne (Lacrosee, Fla.), and Jodi Heyens (Oldsmar, Fla.) took fifth place with a time of 19:14.83.
The 2005 Coca-Cola Florida Relays presented by GRU continue tomorrow beginning at 9:00 a.m.
