The stars may not have been present, but several Florida track and field athletes shined at the first day of competition at the Seminole Twilight Invitational hosted by FSU.
The Gators track and field team, without most of its usual competitors, won two events on the opening day of the meet behind the strong arms of freshman thrower Ashley Miller and junior thrower Mario Ariet.
Miller picked up her first collegiate victory with the discus win, tossing a personal-record throw of 51.53 meters, the 10th-best women’s discus throw in Florida program history. Miller eclipsed her previous personal-record throw by more than five-and-a-half meters.
Ariet, competing in his first competition of the year since coming off shoulder surgery, won the men’s javelin event with a toss of 66.35 meters.
The Gators track and field team used the Twilight Invitational as a final tune-up meet before the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, which begins next weekend in Knoxville, Tenn.
“We got some good things done today,” Florida associate head coach Steve Lemke said. “We knew it was just a matter of time before Ashley Miller did something special. That gives her some great momentum going into the SEC meet.”
Lemke also said it was a good day for Ariet in his first competition since coming off surgery and looked for him to be a potential scorer at the upcoming SEC meet.
Other Gators that did well Friday night included junior thrower Keely Medeiros who placed second behind Miller in the discus throw, while freshman Kaitlin Davis placed fourth.
Junior Kemal Mesic placed third in the men’s discus competition with a season-best throw of 53.67 meters.
The final day of the Seminole Twilight Invitational continues at 10 a.m. Saturday with at least 17 Gators participating.
