It may have just been a tune-up meet, but the Florida track and field team look to be running smoother than a ’67 Shelby.
On the final day of FSU’s Seminole Twilight Invitational, the Gators won six events, set six personal-records and shattered a previous stadium record, all in preparation for the upcoming SEC Outdoor Championships beginning May 13.
Senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili continued to add accolades to an already illustrious four-year career as she won the women’s shot put with a throw of 18.17 meters, crushing the Mike Long Track record of 17.94 meters set in 2005.
Kevkhishvili led the Gators to a 1-2-3 sweep in the women’s shot put.
Sophomore Fidela James had a great day finishing second in both the shot put and hammer throw. James recorded personal-bests in each event including a throw of 15.84 meters in the shot put, a throw that narrowly left James outside of Florida’s all-time top-10 list.
Coming off a solid performance in the discus event Friday, junior Keely Medeiros completed the sweep in the shot put, placing third with a throw of 15.37 meters.
In other field events, Florida claimed first in both the men and women’s pole-vaulting categories. Junior pole-vaulter Daisy Glasser won the women’s pole vault with a season-best leap of 3.97 meters, while Eric Foran won the men’s pole vault with a season-best leap of 4.80 meters.
Freshman Max Lang placed second behind Foran with a leap of 4.65 meters.
Bryan Turner won the men’s high jump with a leap of 2.05 meters, while Gator wide receiver Frankie Hammond placed third in the event.
While most of the usual sprinters were absent from the Seminole Invitational, the Gators still won the men’s 100-meter dash behind freshman sprinter Jeremy Rankin who ran a collegiate-best time of 10.52.
Three other Gators set personal-records on Saturday afternoon including local product Michael Anderson of P.K. Young who ran a personal-best time of 3:48.37 in the men’s 1,500 meter run.
The Gators resume competition this weekend in the four-day SEC Outdoor Championships held in Knoxville, Tenn.
