The Gators track and field teams added more All-America honors to their names on their quest for an NCAA outdoor title.
Senior jumper Shara Proctor became the latest Florida All-American, earning the honors by placing third in the women’s triple jump on the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Proctor had a season-best leap of 13.62 meters and scored vital points for the women’s team.
“I thought we had a great day today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said.
“I was very happy with Shara’s performance and was very, very pleased with the 4x4.”
The relay Holloway spoke of was the men’s 4x400-meter relay team, anchored by All-American Calvin Smith, who recorded the fastest time in the preliminaries of 3:03:34, securing a spot in the finals Saturday.
Another Gator that secured a spot in the finals was senior distance runner Charlotte Browning, the reigning Southeastern Conference 1,500-meter run champion. Browning advanced to the finals in the women’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:16.77.
Other Gators that turned in great performances on Friday were freshman distance runner Josh Izewski and senior distance runner Julie Northrup.
While both finished 18th and did not advance to the finals, both ran impressive races.
Izewski ran a lifetime personal-best time of 29:37.85 in the men’s 10,000-meter race, the eighth-fastest time in school history. Northrup, a runner in the women’s steeplechase, ran the second-fastest time in UF history at 10:20.58.
“For Josh [Izewski] and Julie [Northrup] to both come into their first NCAA meets and run lifetime bests, I thought they did a great job,” Holloway said.
“Up to this point, we’ve done what we needed to do. (Friday) and Saturday are big scoring opportunities for us and we just need to show up and compete hard like we have done all year long.”
The 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships continue Friday at 1 p.m. in historic Hayward Field.
