Out of the 23 UF athletes that commenced their preliminary events, only four thus far have punched a ticket to Eugene, Ore., after Day 1 of NCAA East Preliminaries in Jacksonville on Thursday.
Marquis Dendy (long jump), Stipe Zunic (shot put), Fawn Miller (javelin) and Marija Vucenovic (javelin) each won their respective events and automatically qualified for NCAA finals.
Dendy leapt to a facility record of 7.82 meters, Zunic threw for a school and facility record with a 20.60-meter toss, and Miller and Vucenovic both advance without having to throw their best marks.
“I thought we had a phenomenal day across the board,” coach Mike Holloway said. “I challenged everybody last night to come out here, be focused and respond to the level of competition.”
Holloway said the way they competed at the conference championship wasn’t pleasing, but the team changed that with a pleasing performance on Day 1.
The Gators — ranked No. 1 on the men’s side and No. 2 in the women’s field — also had other top finishes in order to qualify for the quarterfinals being held on Day 2.
Women distance runners Agata Strausa (4:16.74), Rebekah Greene (4:18.00) and Cory McGee (4:22.85) all advanced to the quarterfinals for the women’s 1,500-meter run.
Other notable finishes for a quarterfinal heat were Robin Reynolds, Ebony Eutsey and Destinee Gause in the women’s 400-meter dash.
On the men’s side, Ryan Schnulle and Andres Arroyo highlighted the runners day with a one-two punch finish in the 800-meter with Sean Obinwa trailing them in seventh.
In addition, the 400-meter dash quarterfinal contestants resulted in Najee Glass, Hugh Graham Jr., Arman Hall and Nick Uruburu who all clocked qualifying times.
The Gators will return to the track at UNF in Jacksonville to finish up the quarterfinal events and open up other events that haven’t been contested yet.
“The big thing is, there are still two more days at this meet,” Holloway said. “We’ve got to go back out here tomorrow and advance.”
Follow Lawrence Laguna on Twitter @LagunaLawrence
Marquis Dendy competes in the triple jump at the the Tom Jones Memorial Classic on April 21, 2012.
