Florida track and field head coach Mike Holloway hoped his teams would get off to a good start Thursday at the 2010 NCAA Preliminary Regional in Greensboro, N.C.
Three of his female shot putters did not disappoint.
In the opening day of the newly revamped two-regional format, All-American shot putter Mariam Kevkhisvili, Keely Medeiros and Fidela James all finished among the top-12 to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
In all, seven Gators advanced to Eugene and another nine qualified for the quarterfinal rounds in their respective events.
“This is the first round of the NCAA meet and, as we have talked about all along, we have got to keep advancing and keep progressing,” Holloway said.
“I thought we did a great job of that today. We have got to come out tomorrow and continue doing the things that made us successful today. Our goal is to get as many scoring opportunities to Eugene as possible.”
The East Preliminaries top women’s javelin thrower, Evelien Dekkers, advanced to the NCAA Championships by placing first in her event. All-American long jumper Shara Proctor also qualified by placing third in the women’s long jump.
The men’s team had two athletes advance to Eugene. The SEC’s Field Athlete of the Year, Christian Taylor, qualified by placing first in the men’s long jump and freshman runner Josh Izewski, who entered the East Preliminaries as the 48th and final qualifier, placed 12th in the men’s 10,000-meter run to claim the final spot that will advance to Eugene.
Several of the Gators’ top sprinters qualified for the quarterfinals of their respective events, including three runners in the men’s 100-meter dash. Jeff Demps ran the fastest time of the day, clocking in at 10.11. Junior Terrell Wilks and senior Jeremy Hall also advanced to the quarterfinals.
Wilks ran a season-best time of 10.27.
Calvin Smith and Tony McQuay both advanced to the quarterfinals in the men’s 400-meter dash.
The NCAA Preliminary Round continues today starting at 10 a.m.
