As the UF track and field teams prepare for their first meet of the season, the Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, expectations are high for the freshman class.
The No. 13 women's team is without an upperclassman in sprints, hurdles and relays, but coach Mike Holloway knows what to anticipate from his younger athletes.
"We have a very good freshman class," Holloway said. "When we're recruiting these athletes, they understand that we expect them to walk through the door and perform well."
The pressure to perform in sprint and hurdle events will be placed on the shoulders of five freshmen.
Leading the young track corps is Alishea Usery, holder of Missouri's 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash state records. Usery looks forward to the challenge of her first college track and field meet.
"Our team is gonna surprise a lot of teams," Usery said.
Alongside Usery are fellow freshmen Ije Iheoma, who won three state championships her senior year in Philadelphia; Madison McNary, the 100- and 200-meter dash champion at the 2007 Florida Class 4A state meet; Michelle Stegall, a two-time 400-meter dash state champion from Georgia; and Paige Morton, a two-time Class 4A 100-meter hurdles champion, also from Georgia.
Some other freshmen are expected to shine for UF this weekend in the distance and field events.
UF's distance corps will rely on successful sophomore Rebecca Lowe for leadership but expects a good showing from freshman and cross country standout Genevieve LaCaze.
Holloway believes LaCaze will have no problem transferring her success from the course onto the track.
"She's done a great job doing everything coach Morgan has asked her to do, showing up every day and practicing well," Holloway said. "I think she'll do well on the track the same way because she'll just be patient and understand what's going on."
Mariam Kevkhishvili, the 2008 NCAA shot put indoor champion, will lead UF this weekend in field events, but sophomore Keely Medeiros and freshman Fidela James will look to contribute. Medieros is the Brazilian record holder in the under-23 shot put category, and James will participate in both shot put and discus throws.
Madara Alpine, a triple-jumper from Latvia, rounds out the group of underclassmen UF expects to do well in Lexington.
Kentucky's unusually large track will be the site of the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships later this year, and UF looks forward to testing it out.
"It's an oversized track," Holloway said. "It's not something we see every day, so we wanted to go up there and get a chance to compete on it early in the season."
The No. 4 men's team also will be in action this weekend, and Holloway expects to perform well.
"On the men's side, we feel like we have a well-balanced team that can score," Holloway said. The only area where Holloway sees a deficiency is the lack of a weight thrower.
Junior Calvin Smith will use the experience he gained making the pool for the U.S. 4 x 400-meter relay Beijing team to boost his confidence and lead UF's sprint corps into Kentucky.
"That really built up my confidence, and now I'm working harder than ever," Smith said.
