Florida Gators
Florida State Relays
No. 4/15 T&F's Proctor Notches NCAA Regional Mark At Florida State Relays
Saturday, March 29, 2008 | Track and Field
Sophomore Shara Proctor (The Valley, Anguilla) posted a victory and an NCAA regional mark in the women's long jump, and sophomore Mike Morrison (Chesapeake, Va.) threw his way onto the school's all-time javelin charts, to lead the No. 4 (men)/15 (women) University of Florida track & field team on its first day of competition at the Florida State Relays.
“It was a good day across the board, and a good start to the weekend,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We always talk about being a complete track & field team, and we got good production from a lot of different areas today.”
Proctor wasted no time punching her ticket to the NCAA East Regional in the long jump, winning the event in her first meet of the outdoor season with a career-best leap of 6.34m/20-9.75. In addition to ranking second in the NCAA and first in the East Region this season, the performance moved Proctor into eighth place on Florida's all-time outdoor list.
“The outdoor season is all about getting regional marks, and this is something we expected from Shara,” Holloway said. “This isn't going to change the way she trains and competes over the course of the season, but it's nice to have one under her belt already.”
The Gator men picked up a win on the day courtesy of outdoor junior Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.), who finished as the top collegian, and third overall, in the men's 5,000m with a time of 14:20.85.
Morrison, competing in the javelin on Friday to hone his skills for decathlon competitions later in the season, posted the eighth-best mark by a UF athlete since the new javelin specifications came into use in 1985 with a third-place heave of 60.73m/199-3. The effort left the 2008 heptathlon All-American less than a meter shy of an NCAA regional mark in the event.
“To be a good decathlete, you have to excel in a few different events, and improving in the javelin is something that Mike and (multi-events coach Rana) Reider have worked very hard on,” Holloway said. “He's already a very good pole vaulter and has done some good things in the long jump, but his improvement in the javelin will go a long way towards making him a better decathlete.”
Senior Jose Garcia (Miami, Fla.) added a runner-up finish in the men's 3,000m steeplechase (9:25.71), while freshman Matt Hensley (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) crossed the line second in the 10,000m with a time of 31:29.92. Junior Eugene Martin (Gainesville, Fla.) kicked off his outdoor season in a positive manner on Friday, clearing an outdoor personal-best 2.05m/6-8.75 to take third in the men's high jump.
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