Florida Gators
SEC Championships
A League Title And Three Runner-Up Finishes Keep W T&F In The Lead At SEC Outdoor Championships
Sunday, May 18, 2008 | Track and Field
Sophomore Evelien Dekkers (Etten-Leur, The Netherlands) won her first-career Southeastern Conference title in the women's javelin to lead a 44-point attack on Saturday that saw the No. 13 University of Florida track & field team open a 17.50-point lead after three days of the SEC Outdoor Championships at Hutsell-Rosen Track. The third-ranked UF men currently stand in fifth place with a total of 22 points through six scored events.
“Some people really stepped up and made this a good day for the team,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “As a staff, we're really happy with what we've seen so far. It's all been about taking care of the Gators and what we can control, and we have one more day to do that here. If we can remain focused on competing hard and doing what we're capable of, we'll put ourselves in a good position at the end of the weekend.”
The Gators got off to a great start on Saturday courtesy of Dekkers and fellow sophomore Star Sansone (Boca Raton, Fla.), as the duo collected 16 points in the women's javelin by way of first and third-place finishes, respectively. Dekkers claimed her first SEC title with a facility-record toss of 51.67m/169-6, besting the field by more than nine feet to win UF's first women's javelin crown since 2000, and its fifth overall. Sansone launched a throw of 48.40m/158-9 on her second attempt to take third and eclipse her previous PR by nearly five feet en route to finishing third.
“Evelien knew she had a chance to win coming into the meet, and she threw well today,” Florida throws coach Steve Lemke said. “It was great for her to come out here and show people what she can do after finishing fourth last year. She's got a lot left in the tank, and this gives her a lot of confidence heading into regionals. Star Sansone also did a great job today. For her to get such a big PR was huge on an individual level, and the points she earned by finishing third were great for the team.”
Freshman Daisy Glasser (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) came away with a fifth-place finish in the women's pole vault at her first SEC outdoor meet, equaling her own UF freshman record with a successful negotiation of 3.95m/12-11.50 to add four points to the Gators' total. She earned the highest place of the five freshmen in the field, three of whom scored in the event.
UF picked up eight points in the women's long jump via a runner-up finish by sophomore Shara Proctor (The Valley, Anguilla), who recorded a leap of 6.45m/21-2 on her fourth attempt to score in the event at the SEC Outdoor Championships for the first time in her career, while sophomore Mariam Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) matched that result in the women's shot put (16.69m/54-9.25) to add another eight points.
Senior Lindsay Sundell (Ft. Salonga, N.Y.) was the final athlete to score for the Florida women on Saturday, contributing eight points to the cause with a runner-up finish in the steeplechase (10:24.00). The effort marked the third year in a row in which Sundell has scored at the conference meet, and matched her second-place showing at last year's championships for her best finish in the event.
In the day's first running event, freshman Kaitlin Shiver (Satellite Beach, Fla.) posted a time of 4:36.25 in the women's 1,500m to earn a place in Sunday's final. Senior Kristen Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) was also in action in the 1,500m, missing a finals berth by only .16 with a time of 4:39.97. Senior Dominique McLeggan (Weston, Fla.) ran her way into Sunday's 400m final with a time of 54.11 in the prelim, good for the eighth-best qualifying time of the day.
A pair of UF women charged into the final of the 100m on Saturday night, as seniors Lakecia Ealey (Albany, Ga.) and Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) qualified fourth and fifth, respectively. The former finished second in the first heat with a time of 11.50, while Knight took second in heat three with a career-best mark of 11.56.
“The women have been on a quiet mission this year, and quite frankly, no one other than the team and staff really thought they could come into this meet and perform this well,” Holloway said. “They've believed in themselves all year long, and they've focused on continually improving. Having the lead heading into the final day isn't a surprise to them, and if anything, it has them more focused on taking care of themselves tomorrow and getting the job done.”
Senior Wes Stockbarger (Port Charlotte, Fla.) kicked off the day for the UF men with a third-place finish in the men's discus, recording a mark of 58.02m/190-4, and classmate Ryder Leary (Yulee, Fla.) closed it with a bang in the steeplechase with a fifth-place time of 8:56.18. The effort was a season best for Leary, as well as an NCAA regional-qualifying time.
The Gator men got onto the track with the running of the 110m hurdles prelims, which saw junior Kallinka Pitt (Largo, Fla.) turn in the day's sixth-fastest qualifying time with a mark of 13.90, garnering a berth in Sunday evening's championship race. The prelims of the 100m also saw two UF men earn the right to race for the title on Sunday, led by sophomore Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville , Fla.), who posted a fourth-place time of 10.29. Freshman Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.) snagged the eighth qualifying spot with a career-best time of 10.34 in prelims.
Sophomore Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) paced the field in the qualifying round for the men's 400m final, clocking in at 46.12 to outdistance the next-best competitor by more than a tenth of a second. The SEC champion in the 400m as a freshman last season, Smith will look to defend his title at 7:10 p.m. ET on Sunday.
“The men have chances to score points in several different events tomorrow,” Holloway said. “They have their work cut out for them, but they're in a good situation. We have multiple guys in the 100m and 800m and both relays, and we think that the shot put and javelin are going to be big events for us.”
The men's javelin will open Sunday's action at 1:30 p.m. ET, and the women's 4x100m relay will commence the running events at 6 p.m. ET. Live results will be available via www.GatorZone.com.
Women's Team Standings Through Nine Scored Events
1. Florida 70; 2. Arkansas 52.50; 3. Kentucky 46.50; 4. Mississippi 30; 5. LSU 26.50; 6. Auburn 26; 7. Alabama 23; 8. Tennessee 21; 9. Mississippi State 20; 10. Georgia 18; 11. South Carolina 10.50; 12. Vanderbilt 7
Men's Team Standings Through Six Scored Events
1. Arkansas 45; 2. Auburn 39; Alabama 28; 4. Kentucky 27; 5. Florida 22; 6. Tennessee 21; 7. Mississippi 17; 8. LSU 16; 9. Georgia 12; 10. Mississippi State 6; 11. South Carolina 1
Florida's 2008 SEC Champions
Evelien Dekkers – Women's Javelin (51.67m/169-6)*
Rebecca Lowe – Women's 10,000m (34:13.07)
* - Hutsell-Rosen Track record
Florida Athletes Advancing to Finals (11 Athletes in Nine Events)
Eric Alberter – Men's 800m
Lakecia Ealey – Women's 100m; Women's 200m
Jeremy Hall – Men's 100m
Natalie Knight – Women's 100m; Women's 200m
Lorain McKenzie – Women's 800m
Dominique McLeggan – Women's 400m
Carlos Phillips – Men's 800m
Kaitlin Shiver – Women's 1,500m
Calvin Smith – Men's 400m
Terrell Wilks – Men's 100m
- UF -
