Winning and breaking records is something the women’s track and field team is starting to get used to.
After winning the Southeastern Conference last weekend, Florida once again finished on top in New York at the Columbia Last Chance Meet.
“I’m very, very proud of the women’s DMR,” coach Mike Holloway said. “They broke the school record again and went up there with the goal of breaking 11 minutes and they did that.”
Agata Strausa, Ebony Eutsey, Shelby Hayes and Cory McGee posted a time of 10:58.77 in the distance medley race. Not only did this time break a University of Florida record and give the women a win, but it also beat the NCAA qualifying mark.
“I’m really happy about the race. I feel like I can go out and put forth maximum effort and help my team get to nationals,” Eutsey said on Wednesday about how she felt going into the race.
That’s exactly what Eutsey and the rest of the team accomplished Friday. Besides beating the automatic time of 11:03.50 by almost five seconds, they beat their previous mark by almost six seconds.
Going into Friday’s meet, the women knew how important this race was. On Wednesday, Eutsey talked about how Florida’s women’s DMR was ranked 10th, but only the top eight would make it to the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend.
Beside the Gators winning the DMR, they were also able to come home with a win in the 5,000 meter.
Freshman Florence Ngetich was able to win the event in 16:12.88, clinching the race in back-to-back meets after becoming the 2012 SEC Women’s 5,000-meter champion last weekend.
“Very proud of Florence,” Holloway said. “We were hoping for a faster race. It’s tough up there running by herself. She’s come a long way this season and we’re looking forward to what we’ll see next from her.”
Now that the women have secured their spot for the NCAA Indoor Championship meet, they can begin focusing their practices on placing there. However, Eutsey’s practice routine will not including worrying about her competition.
“I’m never aware of my competition,” Eutsey said. “I never think about that because I feel like if you think about who’s fast and who’s slow and who’s this and who’s that, it’s going to really take your mind off of what you need to focus on. I just go out and run.”
