The
Gators only needed one throw from Stipe Zunic to notch a surprising
score on the first day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field
Championships.
The
freshman sent his opening javelin toss a personal best distance of
75.01m/246-1 to give No. 2
Florida five points in its lone scoring opportunity of the day.
Zunic was seeded ninth heading into the event and was predicted to
finish outs of points contention, but instead he pulled off a
fourth-place finish with the throw — which was also the fourth
longest in UF history.
"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; color: #222222;">
“Nobody had Stipe Zunic even scoring a point and he finished fourth
overall today,” UF coach Mike Holloway said. “Today was kind of his
clicking point. For him to have his best throw ever at the national
championship is huge.”
The
Gators men’s 4x100-meter relay also sprinted out to a hot start,
securing a runner-up result in the semifinals.
Comprised of Eddie Lovett, Christian Taylor, Terrell Wilks and Jeff
Demps, the group put together the second-fastest time in school
history and will run in the finals on Saturday at 1:11 p.m.
After the blazing relay though, Demps cramped up in the 100-meter
dash semifinals and failed to qualify for the next round. The
junior won a national title in the event last year. Wilks, a
senior, would salvage Florida’s chances at points in the sprint
with his fifth-place effort.
"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; color: #222222;">
“Everybody’s going to want to focus on the fact that Jeff didn’t
make the final,” Holloway said. “I told the team, he’s a human and
he cramped up and couldn’t get through the race. It happens. The
big thing is, we’re a team, we’re a family and we’re going to pick
him up. The Gators are going to step up and show that
tomorrow.”
Also heading into the next round is sophomore Tony McQuay, who
finished as the top-qualifier of the 400-meter run with a
44.87 run. McQuay’s time was
the fastest by an American this season and the fifth-fastest time
in the world this year.
Through five events in the decathlon, junior Gray Horn sits in
fifth place with 4,123 points. Clemson’s Miller Moss is currently
in first place and 128 points ahead of Horn with the final five
events set to begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
In
team standings, Florida is locked in a three-way tie for ninth
place with Nebraska and Kentucky. At the end of Day 1, BYU leads
overall with17.5 points and three days left of competition.
The
No. 17 UF women’s team didn’t have any scoring events on Wednesday
and failed to qualify in for the next round its lone event of the
day — the 4x100 relay.
