Florida’s track and field team is coming off a rare break. However, senior thrower Keely Medeiros was the one exception.
After a strong finish in shot put at the Florida Relays, Medeiros carried that momentum to the Seminole Invitational in Tallahassee where she had the best performance of her career, according to head coach Mike Holloway.
The last-minute decision made by associate head coach Steve Lemke proved to be a good one.
“Coach Lemke wanted to take her to this competition because of the great practices she’s been having,” Holloway said. “Actually, she had the best series of her life. All her throws were fair throws, so it was a great weekend for Keely.”
Medeiros’ winning throw on Saturday was her second win since coming off an injury she suffered during summer international competition. It was also her first win of the outdoor season.
Although she has had eight top-five finishes in shot put this year, it’s not hard to see that Medeiros is continually improving as she works back from her injury.
Her throw of 51 feet, 5 inches at the first meet during the indoor season paled in comparison to her throw of 54 feet, 2.5 inches throw two months later at the beginning of the outdoor season. Still, both were overshadowed by Saturday’s monster throw of 56 feet, 4.25 inches.
“We’ve been very pleased with her progress,” Holloway said.
“She had an injury during the fall that didn’t allow her to throw and lift as she needed too. [But] her strength levels are getting back.”
Not only was Saturday’s performance a season best, but also a new outdoor personal record. Medeiros passed her previous mark by almost two feet, indicating that Medeiros might be returning to where she was prior to her injury.
Medeiros wasn’t the only one to impress Holloway last week. He praised the team as a whole for maintaining their focus despite having the weekend off after their big home meet.
“Anytime we have a week off it’s a challenge for the athletes, especially coming off the Florida Relays,” Holloway said. “I was very proud of everyone in the program as a whole because they came out, they accepted the challenge of the workouts last week, they showed up on time, they were diligent in their work habits and work ethic, and it made our jobs a lot easier last week.
“We’re always worried a little bit with coming off Florida Relays with the emotion that we put in that meet that they’ll be a little bit flat, but we had none of that last week.”
Florida track and field athlete Keely Medeiros tosses the shot put during the 2009 SEC Championships. She set a new personal best on Saturday.
