Orange & Purple Classic
01/06/2018, Clemson, S.C.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Pottorff's Win, Shot Putters And Helps Lead Way At Clemson.
Field events are especially strong as indoor season gets started.
CLEMSON, SC -
Freshman distance runner Caleb Pottorff won his collegiate debut and senior shot putters Austin Droogsma and Gleneve Grange turned in strong runner-up efforts as the Florida State track & field teams
opened the indoor season Saturday at the Orange & Purple Invitational.
In the penultimate event of the day Pottorff ran past Gabe Haughey with just under three laps remaining in the 3,000-meter run
and pulled away for a comfortable five-second victory in 8:24.28.
"Caleb Pottorff ran really well," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "The plan was to try and win the race so that probably cost him a PB,
but to win you collegiate debut is pretty stout."
Droogsma didn't win - he was second to former Georgia star Ashina Miller - but he did produce the best season-opening mark of his career and the
No. 2 mark nationally. The redshirt senior unloaded a sixth-attempt throw of 19.06 meters (62-6.5), his second 19-meter mark of the day, to place second.
Grange followed with the best season-opener
of her career - 16.16 meters (53-0.75) - to finish second.
"Austin's opener might be good enough to make nationals and that's incredible for first weekend in January," Braman said. "GG also
impressed me. Anything over 16 meters this early projects to an appearance at nationals."
Junior Shauna Helps supplied the Noles with their third runner-up finish of the day, finishing the
200-meter dash in 23.82. Helps fastest season-opener of her career stands as the No. 2 collegiate time in the country, which left her just behind USA national team member Joanna Atkins' winning
23.58.
"Shauna Helps looked as strong as I've ever seen her and that's really exciting," Braman added. "She's really coming into her own as an elite sprinter."
While that quartet posted the top
finishes of the day for the Noles, they weren't alone when it came to solid openers.
First-year jumps coach Keith Herston saw his group deliver some promising results in the men's long jump and
triple jump. Three of FSU's five long jump entries posted career-best marks as the Noles grabbed three of the top six finishing positions.
Bethune-Cookman graduate transfer Kenneth Fisher was third
(7.52m/24-8.25) and followed by fifth-place Armani Wallace (7.40/24-3.5) and sixth place Corian Knight (7.39/24-3), a transfer from Florida Memorial by way of Wakulla High School.
Wallace, the ACC
Outdoor champion, recorded an indoor personal-best as did sophomore multi-eventer Dante Newberg and freshman Qayyim Ali, with matching marks of 6.91m (22-8).
The Noles enjoyed similar success in
the triple jump as senior All-American Montel Nevers led a 4-6 finish by FSU athletes with an opening 15.28 (50-1.75). He was followed by junior Ashton Butler (15.00/49-2.5) and freshman Jacore Irving
(14.79/48-6.25). Butler's mark was an indoor personal-best while Irving's collegiate debut was more than a meter longer than his outdoor legal best at Sneads High.
"The jumpers did a nice job,"
Braman said. "We got some indoor PB's and several best-ever opening meet marks. Kenneth Fisher showed that he'll be a national qualifier, perhaps before the month's over."
Among the other strong
field event performances, junior Brandon Tirado finished fourth in the weight throw (18.31m/60-1), while pole vaulters Nicole Breske and Elizabeth Eversole each cleared 3.55 meters (11-7.75) to finish
3-4.
"Overall, our field event athletes are ahead of last year and our runners are a bit behind them, comparatively," Braman said.
On the track, freshman Tyricke Dickens appeared unfazed by his
surroundings in the first indoor meet of his life. The former Godby High star qualified for the finals of the 60-meter hurdles with the No. 10 time (8.08) in program history, and finished seventh in
the finale (8.11) after clipping the first hurdle.
Junior All-American Darryl Haraway slipped into the finals of the 60-meter dash, despite being caught off-guard by a quick gun in a preliminary
round 6.84. The 2017 ACC champion lowered his time to 6.76 for seventh in the final.
The next-best finish by the FSU men on the track was Bert Freire's fourth-place finish against a loaded
800-meter field in 1:53.33.
"Tyricke showed the kind of moxie you don't often see in a freshman," Braman said. "Darryl and Humberto were both strong for a first meet."
On the women's side,
junior Madison Harris finished her mile debut with a hard charge to place third in 5:00.88, followed immediately across the line by sophomore Ginelle DeMone in a personal-best 5:06.17. Freshman
Elizabeth Jenkins' indoor debut produced a solid 5:09.95 for seventh in a field of 21. Including junior Althea Hewitt's seventh-place 3,000-meter finish (10:18.16), six of coach Kelly Phillips' seven
distance runners posted personal-bests.
Event 1 - 60 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
7 Darryl Haraway 6.76
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
15 Steven Simpkins 51.35
17 Elijah Knight 52.05
Event 4 - 800 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Bert Freire 1:53.33 2
8 Matt Butler 1:57.91
Event 6 - 3000 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Caleb Pottorff 8:24.28 5
8 Tom Hogarty 8:41.00
12 Tyler Dau 8:49.33
Event 8 - 60 Meter Hurdles
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
7 TyeRicke Dickens 8.08
11 Dante Newberg 8.39
Event 11 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Kenneth Fisher 24- 8.25 7.52m 3
5 Armani Wallace 24- 3.50 7.40m 1
6 Corion Knight 24- 3 7.39m
12T Dante Newberg 22- 8 6.91m
12T Qayyim Ali 22- 8 6.91m
Event 12 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Montel Nevers 50- 1.75 15.28m 2
5 Ashton Butler 49- 2.50 15.00m 1
6 Jacore Irving 48- 6.25 14.79m
Event 15 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Austin Droogsma 62- 6.50 19.06m 4
10 Dante Newberg 40- 6.25 12.35m
Event 16 - Weight Throw
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Brandon Tirado 60- 1 18.31m 2
Larry Wieczorek Invitational, 2nd place
01/20/2018, January 19-20, 2018, Iowa City, Iowa
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Travel Issues Don't Deter Strong Jumps Effort.
Knight wins high jump; Fisher top collegian in long jump.
January 19, 2018
IOWA CITY, IA
- Unfazed by travel issues which had a handful of Florida State athletes arriving for the Larry Wieczorek Invitational just hours before the start of competition, Corion Knight and Kenneth Fisher
turned in strong performances to lead the Noles Friday; the first of two days of competition.
Knight, who transferred from Florida Memorial where he was an NAIA national champion, won his NCAA
Division I men's high jump debut in garnet & gold.
"To slip on the FSU uniform, I was crazy excited," said Knight, who starred at Wakulla High School. "The delay in the flights kind of got to me a
little bit, and I have a little heel injury, but it didn't stop me too much. I could have done a little better, but I was super excited to have my NCAA debut."
Knight won with a winning mark of
2.10 meters (6-10.75) in a competition which was decided by fewer misses. He cleared his first two bars on his first attempt Friday afternoon, after arriving in town just before lunch.
"My first
win for FSU is big for me," Knight said. "The height wasn't what I expected or what my coach expected, but it's a different level. It's a work in progress. We're working hard. We're going to see
bigger results very soon."
While Knight produced the lone outright win by FSU on the day, he wasn't the only bright spot. Graduate transfer Kenneth Fisher, who was also caught up in the travel
issues, produced his best jump on his sixth attempt to finish third overall.
"Coming out I felt great," said Fisher, who scored first place points for the Noles as the top collegian in the field.
"I got through the run-throughs and felt big and explosive, but when it was time to jump my body just shut down. I was like, 'I've got to get to the finals.' I started piecing it together and started
to get it going."
Fisher made the finals, along with FSU freshman Jacore Irving, and delivered when it mattered most. His final attempt produced a season-best 7.55 meters (24-9.25), which trailed
only winner Damar Forbes and runner-up Jarrion Lawson.
Irving, the former Sneads High standout, produced a legal lifetime-best mark of 7.22 meters (23-8.25) to finish seventh overall and fifth
among collegians.
"I'm pretty happy," Fisher said. "I'm consistently jumping 7.5 (meters), which is back to my freshman year when I got my PB, so I'm en route to do some big things this year."
FSU coach Bob Braman was also happy with what he saw from the Noles.
"I couldn't be more proud of those guys who never made excuses for the travel problems and came out and competed really well,"
Braman said. "That's not a common mentality in track & field and it's really encouraging."
Joining Knight and Irving among productive Florida Panhandle natives for the Noles was junior Madison
Harris. Another Wakulla High product, Harris did more than just compete in the first 600-meter race of her career, she won her section by coming from fourth to first on the final time around the
banked 200-meter track.
"It was fun," said Harris, who finished fourth overall and was the third-fastest collegian in 1:33.17. "It was a little nerve-wracking how everyone went out so fast. It
looked like, 'Snap, I'm going so slow.' I knew from watching a couple of the other heats that I'd reel them back in. The first lap I probably looked so slow to everyone. The second lap I would catch
them and the third lap is the race.
"That was my thing is high school so I brought it back, I guess."
The FSU women also got scoring performances from a trio of pole vaulters as Nicole Breske
finished fifth with a season-best 3.70-meter (12-1.5) clearance. Summer Schafers and Amanda Lewis followed in sixth and sixth, each posting personal-best indoor clearances of 3.55 (11-7.75).
The
Noles ladies sit seventh among nine teams after a light opening day schedule, with 15 points. Host Iowa leads with 52.33, followed by Minnesota (51.33), Kansas State (37.33), Wisconsin (31.50), LSU 31
and Virginia (21).
The Seminole men are fifth out of eight teams, thanks to additional scoring contributions from Brandon Tirado and Tom Hogarty. Tirado was fifth in the weight throw with a
season-best heave of 18.89 meters (61-11.75) and Hogarty was fourth in the 3000, also in a season-best (8:36.72).
LSU leads the men's team scoring with 52 points, followed by Wisconsin (43), Iowa
(35.5), Iowa State (31.50) and Florida State (28). Kansas State (19), Arizona (8) and No. 16 Virginia (6) round out the field.
Ewers Steals Show With Record 60-Meter
Triumph.
Noles post four wins, three national and four FSU top-10 marks. January 19, 2018
IOWA CITY, IA - In a weekend full of amazing debuts, Florida State junior transfer Andre
Ewers stole the show Saturday at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational.
Ewers ran away from a Seminole-filled 60-meter dash final in 6.52 - the No. 2 time in the world and top collegiate performance -
grabbing a share of Dentarius Locke's FSU record, set when he won the 2014 NCAA Championship.
"This is a blessing," said Ewers, who was cleared for competition on Thursday after transferring in
from Butler County (Kan.) College. "Florida State has a rich tradition and I didn't come here to be average. I came here to be great. My mindset is to make history and to show up every time I step on
the track."
He had quite a start, improving on his previous lifetime best when he ran 6.63 in the prelims to reach the finals with teammates Darryl Haraway, Darryl Gay, Shamon Ehiemua and Edward
Clarke.
Haraway ran 6.68 for second in the final, while Gay, a freshman, laid down 6.74 for third. Clarke was fourth in a season-best 6.77.
"That puts him in front of all but one of the greatest
sprinters in FSU history," FSU coach Bob Braman said of Ewers. "It's scary to think of what his ceiling is."
Only 2017 NCAA champion and current pro Christian Coleman has run faster this year.
Pending ratification, Coleman broke the world record when he ran 6.37 on Friday at Clemson.
"I thought Darryl Harraway was going to go sub 6.60 as well, but he got a late race cramp," Braman added.
"He'll give us a second sprint weapon by nationals."
Ewers came into the meet with a personal-best of 6.65 and hoped to run somewhere around 6.60, but he wasn't setting any limits on himself. He
won the meet's Track MVP trophy after smashing the facility record.
"I've been making more sacrifices this fall than I have any year of training; eating right, hydrating and stretching," said
Ewers, who had two junior college stops after starring at Piper High School. "I've been doing all the right things on my own…I'm basically locked in.
"I'm not satisfied. I'm excited about the time,
but this race is in the past. I can see what I'm capable of."
Braman and the Noles have a bright outlook on the future following other impressive debuts Saturday, including two more performances
which rank in the top 10 nationally.
Freshman Trey Cunningham won the 60-meter hurdles, racing to an easy win in 7.74 - the No. 6 mark in the nation - which is the No. 4 mark in FSU history. The
World Junior record-holder won his preliminary heat in 7.87 and was uncontested in the final when LSU freshman Damion Thomas, who ranked No. 2 nationally to Cunningham in high school, crashed over the
first hurdle.
Fellow frosh Ka'Tia Seymour posted the fifth-fastest 60-meter dash time in Seminole history when she ran 7.31 for third place in the final. That mark currently stands No. 9 in the
nation after a final which saw finish behind collegiate leader Aleia Hobbs (7.14) and LSU teammate Kortnei Johnson (7.19), who ranks third. Fellow FSU freshman Jayla Kirkland also grabbed the No. 10
spot on FSU's all-time list when she ran 7.40 in the prelims.
"Trey Cunningham showed how great he's going to be," Braman said. "That's a seamless transition from national high school and world
junior record-holder to winning his collegiate debut in a meet of this caliber.
"Ka'Tia showed great composure against some of the best sprinters in the country. Her 7.31 is awful close to what it
takes to make nationals."
The Noles also picked up two more victories on the night. Austin Droogsma claimed the shot put title and Field MVP honors, with a meet record throw of 18.99 meters
(62-3.75). Militsa Mirchevan finished it off with a runaway 3000-meter triumph in 9:25.22, breaking the meet record held by her former teammate Carmela Cardama Baez, while establishing a new facility
record.
"It was my first race this season so I wanted to be a little more conservative at the beginning and just use the people as pace-makers," said Mircheva, who broke away from the pack over the
final half of the race to win by more than 13 seconds. "It was too comfortable a pace so I just decided I'm going to do a 1k max.
"I'm excited, but I'm more excited for the 5k."
Emily Edwards
shaved 10 seconds off her previous personal-best to finish fourth behind Mircheva in 9:47.52.
Junior Peta-Gay Williams was unable to successfully defend her meet title but ran 8.20 in the 60-meter
hurdles final for third behind a pair of LSU runners. Still, she managed to run faster than her year-old facility record of 8.24.
Gleneve Grange was the top collegian in the shot put, finishing
behind former NCAA champion Christina Hillman, with a season-best throw of 16.49m (54-1.25).
"Militsa was outstanding," Braman said. "She absolutely crushed the last 1000 meters. She's really on
top of her game now. She's going to make a run at national qualifying in four weeks and has a real shot to make it.
"GG and Austin we're both impressive in the shot. Those two always compete hard,
so the consistency is great to see. Peta-Gay ran a strong race against the defending national champ. Her 8.20 is her second fastest ever. She'll likely get her nationals ticket punched next week."
Those strong performances kept the Noles moving up the men's and women's leaderboards in the final standings. The FSU men finished second in the eight-team meet with 97 points, trailing only host Iowa
(143.5) but 20 points in front of LSU. The Noles women placed fourth out of nine teams with 77 points as seventh-ranked LSU (114) claimed the team title, followed by No. 13 Minnesota (98.33) and Iowa
(93.33).
Event 1 - 60 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Andre Ewers 6.52 5
2 Darryl Haraway 6.68 4
3 Darryl Gay 6.74 3
4 Edward Clarke 6.77 2
9 Shamon Ehiemua 6.87
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
9 Elijah Knight 51.53
Event 4 - 800 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Bert Freire 1:53.21 3
--- Matt Butler 1:56.42
Event 5 - Mile Run
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
14 Bryce Kelley 4:16.98
Event 6 - 3000 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Tom Hogarty 8:36.72 2
9 Istvan Szogi 8:38.13
Event 8 - 60 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Trey Cunningham 7.74 5
--- Dante Newberg 8.37
Event 9 - 4x400-Meter Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Relay Team A 3:22.64 4
1) Darryl Gay
2) Darryl Haraway
3) Andre Ewers
4) Shamon Ehiemua
Event 11 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Kenneth Fisher 24- 9.25 7.55m 3
7 Jacore Irving 23- 8.25 7.22m
Event 12 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Armani Wallace 50-10.25 15.50m 2
5 Montel Nevers 50- 0.75 15.26m 1
Event 13 - High Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Corion Knight 6-10.75 2.10m 5
Event 15 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Austin Droogsma 62- 3.75 18.99m 5
9 Dante Newberg 41- 8 12.70m
Event 16 - Weight Throw
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Brandon Tirado 61-11.75 18.89m 1
Event 17 - 600 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
12 Bryce Kelley 1:26.34
Razorback Invitational
01/27/2018, January 26-27, 2018, Fayetteville, Ark.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Helps' School Record 200 Highlights Day 1 At Razorback.
Sprinter smashes mark; Knight soars to high jump PB.
January 26, 2018
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - Shauna Helps ventured - quickly - into a new level of success as Friday night's opening action at the Razobrback Invitational wound toward a close.
The junior from the Jamaica
shattered the Florida State record in the 200-meter dash, winning her heat in 23.20; fourth-fastest on the night against a field filled with some of the nation's very best sprinters.
Helps took
down Kala Funderburk's previous FSU record of 23.41, set in 2015. Along the way she beat Texas A&M's Danyel White, the NCAA leader entering the weekend, and USC's Deanna Hill, who placed third at the
2017 NCAA Indoor Championships.
"This is definitely not what I expected at all," Helps said. "I knew that I would run fast, but not this fast. This is a huge personal best. I'm grateful for that.
Coming into the meet I expected to do my best, which I did, but maybe not to this magnitude."
Helps came into the meet with an indoor personal best of 23.56 and exits almost assured of her first
individual event berth at an NCAA Championship event.
"Shauna Helps ran an incredible race," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "She's reaching whole new level. That mark will easily qualify for
nationals."
Behind Helps' fourth-place finish, freshman Ka'Tia Seymour's 200 debut produced the No. 7 time in FSU history. On her first time around Arkansas' high-banked Randal Tyson Track Center,
she produced a 23.84.
Senior transfer Corion Knight more than held his own against a men's high jump field which included NCAA champion Randall Cunningham from USC and SEC champion and All-American
Keenon Lane. The former NAIA national champion from Florida Memorial cleared the first four bars on his first attempt, including two which exceeded his previous indoor best.
"My first jump is
always my best one because I'm so excited about that height," Knight said. "I try to bring everything I can to that first jump…I kind of get that momentum going and always want to put everything into
first jump.
"I was competing with those guys, who are heavy hitters in the high jump. I was really adamant about keeping up to show them what I've got. And this is my first year at Division I so I
was really excited."
Knight finished in a tie for fifth after clearing 2.16 meters (7-1), and narrowly missing twice at 2.19. His performance earned him a share of 10th on FSU's all-time
list.
"Corion did a great job," Braman said. "He led the competition through four bars and had a fantastic third jump at 7-2.25, missing a national qualifying mark on that jump by probably a
quarter-inch."
The lone win of the night for the Noles against the stacked 11-team field of Power 5 programs was delivered by the women's distance medley relay team of Emily Edwards, Madison
Harris, Ginelle DeMone and Jodie Judd, which won easily in 11:37.76.
FSU's men placed third in 9:51.97, despite newcomer Toby Hardwick's tumble on the last lap of the leadoff leg. Kyle Farrington,
Bert Freire and Michael Hall brought the Noles back from sixth place over the final three legs.
"We competed well in both distance medleys but we ran into some bad luck in both races," Braman said.
"The men missed a probable ACC [fast heat] mark when Toby fell on the lead-off leg and the women just needed some competition.
"Tough races for both and some invaluable experience."
Among the
other opening night highlights, freshman Darryl Gay secured an auto qualifying spot in the 200-meter dash when he debuted with an indoor personal best of 21.73. Brandon Tirado was just five
centimeters off his lifetime best in the weight throw, placing sixth in 18.86 meters (61-10.5).
Junior Dante Newberg is on pace for a new personal best in the heptathlon through four events. Buoyed
by an indoor-best in the high jump (1.99 meters/6-6.25) to close out the day - which also matched his outdoor lifetime best - Newberg posted a career-best first day score of 3,058 points and stands in
fifth place. He is just 119 points out of third with the 60 hurdles, pole vault and 1000-meter run remaining Saturday.
Hunter Napier recorded personal best marks in three of four events and is
sixth with 2,421 points.
Wallace, Droogsma Headed To NCAA Championships.
Helps caps three-PB weekend for solid Noles at Razorback Invite. January 27, 2018
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - With Armani Wallace and Austin Droogsma securing trips to the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, Florida State's men and women capped a productive weekend at the
Razorback Invitational.
The Seminoles registered 11 personal-bests on the day - 11 for the men and 10 for the women - with Droogsma, Wallace and Shauna Helps registering top 10 marks in program
history, while competing against some of the nation's best in the 11-team meet at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Droogsma was the first to make a splash, unloading two personal-best shot put marks
in his six-throw series, capped by his final attempt 19.69 meters (64-7.25). That is not only the No. 2 collegiate mark in the country, but second in Seminole history to Garrett Johnson.
"We made
the corrections from Iowa and just competed decently well," said Droogsma, who finished second to NCAA leader Denzel Comenentia of Georgia. "We had some hiccups with the technique early on, but
collected ourselves for the final two throws and I put one out there. I have a solid national mark and I've got to get ready for conference now."
Seemingly tormented by indoor performances that did
not match his outdoor prowess in the triple jump, Wallace laid that narrative to rest. Three of his four legal marks exceeded his previous indoor best, highlighted by a monstrous 16.19 meter (53-1.5)
mark, which he backed up with a 16.14 final attempt.
They are the first 16-meter marks in the career of the junior from Orlando, and it came against a field which included defending NCAA champion
KeAndre Bates of Florida, and USC's Eric Sloan, further sweetening the accomplishment.
"It definitely does," said Wallace, who finished third, but now ranks No. 4 nationally. "I see myself as a
great jumper overall…To be up there with those guys and know what they have done is just icing on the cake."
As an encore to her blistering personal-best and likely NCAA-clinching 200-meter
performance Friday night, Helps advanced to the 60-meter dash finals with a personal-best time of 7.36, then lowered it to 7.33 as she raced to a sixth-place finish in the final.
"Her strength is
phenomenal right now and she'll qualify in the 60 once she sharpens up," FSU coach said of Helps, who moved up a spot to No. 6 on FSU's top 10 list after her first 60-meter competition of the
season.
Of course Helps met the ACC Championships qualifying standard in the event; one of 10 Seminoles - split evenly between the men and women - to do so Saturday.
Others turning in ACC
qualifying performances were:
- Cortney Jones was part of that crew, qualifying for the finals of the 60-meter hurdles in a season-best 8.22. She was eighth in the final;
- Militsa
Mircheva (4:44.89) and Jodie Judd (4:50.32) secured spots in the mile, finishing third and seventh, respectively;
- Ieva Zarankaite's fifth-place shot put finish in a season-best 14.87m (48-9.5)
also clinched a qualifying mark;
- Kyle Fearrington's first 400-meter dash of the season produced a solid 48.18, which will get him into the field at Clemson automatically;
- Raheem Robinson made
his season-debut in the 60-meter dash and posted a personal-best of 6.80 in the prelims;
- Sophomore Bert Freire narrowly missed a personal-best in the 800, but his 1:50.74 in a third-place finish
secured a spot;
- The Noles added two qualifiers in the men's mile as Michael Hall (4:07.87) was fifth overall in the invitational event, while Istvan Szogi (4:09.51) punched his ticket with a
sixth-place finish in the open section.
Among the other highlights on the day, freshman Tye Dickens took over the No. 10 spot on the all-time 60-meter hurdles top 10 list, placing eighth in the
final after qualifying with a personal-best time of 8.04. Junior Dante Newberg capped off a laborious two-day heptathlon with a personal-best total of 5,198 points to place fourth, while sophomore
Hunter Napier was seventh and improved his lifetime-best to 4,129 points after posting personal-bests in five of seven events.
Freshman Caleb Pottorff finished fourth in a tactical 3000-meter
invitational field, carving out a huge personal-best (8:17.40) which is just off the ACC standard.
On the women's side, Gleneve Grange placed second in the shot put (15.95m), while Madison Harris'
season-best 800 (2:10.33) was good for a seventh-place finish. Sophomores Janae Caldwell (56.04) and Kimmie Cunningham (56.56) recorded massive personal-best in the 400-meter dash.
Overall, the men
and women performed at a highly competitive level against quality competition. The No. 23 men placed sixth in the team scoring, in front of No. 13 USC and No. 7 Arkansas, while the unranked women
finished eighth but edged No. 5 Florida and No. 22 Iowa State.
"On the men's side I was pleased that we beat so many ranked teams, especially with Andre [Ewers], Trey [Cunningham] and Darryl
[Haraway] at home," Braman said. "The guys are in a pretty good position right now with a full four weeks until ACC's and six weeks till nationals.
"The women upped their ACC game this weekend and
of course Shauna gave us a huge weekend."
Event 1 - 60 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
8 Raheem Robinson 6.80
9 Edward Clarke 6.81
Event 2 - 200 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
11 Darryl Gay 21.73
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
15 Kyle Fearrington 48.18
33 Elijah Knight 50.58
34 D'Mitry Charlton 50.96
35 Steven Simpkins 52.08
Event 4 - 800 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
8 Bert Freire 1:50.74
24 Matt Butler 1:54.10
Event 5 - Mile Run
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
6 Michael Hall 4:07.87
15 Istvan Szogi 4:09.51
26 Toby Hardwick 4:14.13
32 Bryce Kelley 4:18.16
Event 6 - 3000 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Caleb Pottorff 8:17.40 1
16 Stanley Linton 8:33.48
18 Grant Nykaza 8:34.86
22 Steven Cross 8:38.42
Event 8 - 60 Meter Hurdles
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
8 TyeRicke Dickens 8.04
Event 10 - Distance Medley Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Relay Team A 9:51.97 3
1) Toby Hardwick
2) Kyle Fearrington
3) Bert Freire
4) Michael Hall
Event 11 - Long Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
9 Kenneth Fisher 24- 2.25 7.37m
16 Jacore Irving 22- 8.50 6.92m
18 Armani Wallace 16- 3 4.95m
Event 12 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Armani Wallace 53- 1.50 16.19m 3
6 Montel Nevers 50- 9.25 15.47m
7 Ashton Butler 50- 9.25 15.47m
11 Jacore Irving 46- 0 14.02m
Event 13 - High Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5T Corion Knight 7- 1 2.16m 3.50
Event 15 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Austin Droogsma 64- 7.25 19.69m 4
Event 16 - Weight Throw
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
6 Brandon Tirado 61-10.50 18.86m
Event 20 - Heptathlon
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Dante Newberg 5198 pts 2
7 Hunter Napier 4129 pts
Event 21 - 60 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 7.04 868 pts
Hunter Napier 7.65 665 pts
Event 22 - Long Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 22- 0.75 6.72m 748 pts
Hunter Napier 20- 0.50 6.11m 610 pts
Event 23 - Shot Put
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 41- 7.75 12.69m 648 pts
Hunter Napier 34- 2 10.41m 510 pts
Event 24 - High Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 6- 6.25 1.99m 794 pts
Hunter Napier 5-11.25 1.81m 636 pts
Event 25 - 60 Meter Hurdles
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 8.52 855 pts
Hunter Napier 10.40 468 pts
Event 26 - Pole Vault
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Hunter Napier 13- 9.25 4.20m 673 pts
Dante Newberg 12- 9.50 3.90m 590 pts
Event 27 - 1000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 2:56.88 695 pts
Hunter Napier 3:10.25 567 pts
Tyson Invitational
02/10/2018, February 9-10, 2018, Fayetteville, Ark.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Knight Lands Nation's No. 2 Long Jump At Tyson Invite.
Mircheva takes down Bulgarian national 5k mark in Boston.
February 9, 2018
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - Corion Knight arrived at Florida State as a senior transfer from Florida Memorial University, an NAIA school in Miami, where he earned most of his notoriety as a high jumper but was
also accomplished in the long jump.
Following Friday night's winning long jump performance at the Tyson Invitational, the Crawfordville native is one of the finest in Florida State history - and in
2018 - in the nation.
Overcoming a pair of early fouls, Knight nailed down a spot in the finals with an indoor personal-best third attempt, then launched himself into a different stratosphere on
his sixth and final leap.
Touching down at 8.02 meters (26-3.75), Knight sailed to No. 2 nationally and a share of No. 2 all-time at Florida State. Only Olympic and World Champion finalist Nngoni
Makusha has jumped farther indoors as a Seminole. Makusha holds the FSU record at 8.21m (26-11.25), which he set in 2009.
Knight now owns a share of the No. 2 spot alongside Brian Chibudu, whose
8.02 leap came in 2010.
"We worked two weeks super hard and this is actually my first meet back at 100 percent," Knight said, still basking in a mark which will earn him a trip to the NCAA Indoor
Championships. "We hit weights extra hard. We planned for it, but we didn't expect eight meters at all."
As it turned out Knight's third-attempt leap of 7.64 meters (25-0.75), eclipsing his
previous indoor best of 7.57m (24-10), was a harbinger of things to come.
"It was a little bit of a shock," said FSU first-year jumps coach Keith Herston. "I knew he could jump far, though. We
don't focus as much on long jump as high jump. I knew he was ready to do something special. He's been a lot more focused in practice and it has really shown.
"My bags were packed. I was ready to go
if he was ready to go. He showed up and showed out today and proved to the country that he's ready to make a statement in two events."
Perhaps most remarkable about Knight's performance in the open
long jump competition, was it turned out to be the best mark of the night, beating the entire 12-man field in the touted Invitational section.
"Honestly that was like an unconscious jump," he said
of his winning leap. "I felt like I didn't jump anything spectacular."
Herston's Noles were well-represented in both as all five entrants advanced to the finals. That includes graduate transfer
Kenneth Fisher, who broke a five-year-old personal best on his way to a a runner-up finish in the Invitational long jump.
Fisher's fifth-attempt 7.81-meter leap (25-7.5), moved him to No. 10 on the
NCAA list - the top 16 at the end of the season advance to the NCAA Championships - and No. 7 all-time among Seminoles.
Herston believes the breakthrough can pay big dividends for Fisher, whose
next shot at sealing an NCAA berth will come at the ACC Championships in two weeks.
"It makes a huge difference," Herston said. "Track & field is all about confidence and that's what I try to
instill in everybody; confidence in themselves, confidence in me and confidence in their team. What he did today, making a breakthrough after five years of hard training and doing the best he possibly
could and still not getting that mark, he knows we're doing the right things. The team has his back and is supporting him and what we're doing is right for him."
While Fisher will turn his
attention to the triple jump Saturday, Knight has his sights on the Invitational section of the high jump. With a personal-best of 2.16 meters (7-1), he will likely need to clear another bar - or two
- in order to pull double-duty at the NCAA Indoor Championships next month.
"I'm excited for tomorrow because when I do good in the long jump I always do better in the high jump," Knight said.
Friday's competition also marked the debut for freshman Jakub Andrzejczak, whose opening leap of 7.44 meters (24-5) was good for a seventh-place finish in the Invitational section and second-best
among Noles at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
"He's coming back from injury and this is his opener, which is not a bad opener," Herston said of the young star from Poland. "The mark's not that bad,
but of course it's not what he wants and that's a positive thing. We're hungry and we're going to go back to the drawing board and be ready for ACC's in two weeks."
The Noles came away from the
first day of competition with six personal-best performances, and next to the performances of Knight and Fisher, none was bigger than sophomore Cortney Jones' 8.16 run to a fifth-place finish in the
60-meter hurdle finals.
Coming off a knee injury which denied her a full fall of training, Jones advanced to the finals with a season-best (8.21), then took it to another level against a blazing
field in the finals.
"I didn't train at all last fall, so I feel like my progression is moving like I want it to," said Jones, who hopes to improve on her 2017 third-place ACC Championships finish
and earn a spot at the NCAA Championships. "Going from prelims, I didn't execute everything like I wanted to execute. In the finals I felt like I hit my marks and did what I what I was supposed to do
and the time came with it.
"That's really all I'm trying to worry about, execution, and not about time. If I execute the time will follow."
Jones jumped from No. 22 to a share of No. 13 on the
national list, behind four hurdlers who were already ranked ahead of her.
"It definitely helped to have the competition," Jones said. "Competition pushes you to do well and helps motivate you. The
atmosphere of the entire crowd and running in a field with an Olympian and one of the top [hurdlers] in the world really helped me."
Among other Noles registering new personal-bests, freshman
400-meter runner Calvin Golson cut loose his fastest time (47.46) - indoor or outdoor - in his first open 400 of the season. It was also good for an automatic qualifying time for the ACC
Championships.
Freshmen Jennifer Lima (5:08.97, mile) and Elizabeth Jenkins (2:15.64, 800) accounted for the other personal-bests.
The day wasn't quite as kind to classmate Trey Cunningham, who
was fifth in the 60-meter hurdle finals (7.84).
Mircheva Breaks Bulgarian National 5k Record.
BOSTON, MA - Junior Militsa Mircheva turned in one of the gutsiest performances by an FSU
distance runner in the program's storied history. Running all alone from the start in the fast section of the David Hemery Valentine Invitational 5,000, she set the Bulgarian national record, winning
in 16:07.12.
It's also the No. 15 team collegiately this season, and the fourth-fastest ever by a Seminole.
Mircheva, whose previous indoor best at the distance was 17:05.39, had her eyes set on
a breakout 5000 for some time. And she didn't disappoint, bolting from the pack just three laps into the 25-lap affair at Boston University Track & Tennis Center.
After posting the No. 2 time in
the ACC this season, Mircheva has qualified for the conference meet in three events and ranks among the top nine in all of them.
Senior Emily Edwards led a trio of Seminoles posting personal-best
performances in the mile Friday night as well.
Edwards pared three seconds off her previous best, placing second overall in the third in 4:45.84, securing an automatic qualifying time for the ACC
Indoor Championships in two weeks. Sophomore Maudie Skyring finished fifth in the same heat, also meeting the ACC standard (4:49.31). Junior Madison Harris whacked six seconds off her previous best to
finish fifth in heat four (4:54.64).
Freshman Jodie Judd also registered a personal-best in the 3000, finishing in 9:37.29, while sophomore Ginelle DeMone ran her fastest 800 of the season
(2:11.08) earlier in the day.
"Emily came into today's race on a mission and it showed the second the race went off," FSU women's distance coach Kelly Phillips said. "Jodie, while it was an ugly
way to run a PR, it was still a good race. She just needs to learn to stay focused for the last 600."
Michael Hall Breaks Four-Minute Mile Barrier In Boston.
Senior
fulfills lifelong dream; Seymour shines at Tyson Invitational. February 10, 2018
BOSTON, MA - Michael Hall was breathing rarified air Saturday and it has never tasted sweeter.
After
closing with a furious final lap, Hall now owns just the third sub-four-minute mile in Florida State history, finishing in 3:59.17 for fifth-place finish in the fast section at the David Hemery
Valentine Invitational.
Only former Noles Tom Lancashire (3:58.52, 2006) and David Forrester (3:59.13, 2012) have run faster than the redshirt junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, who has been dreaming of
this moment since his senior year at St. Xavier High School.
That it happened Saturday at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center, in the featured heat led by budding Nike Oregon Project star
Craig Engels (3:53.93), was no accident.
"I decided, and Coach Braman has said this for quite some time, there's no better opportunity than now," Hall said, explaining his frame of mind entering
the race. "You never know whether you're going to feel good or bad, have a lot of bounce in your legs and you're sluggish. So why waste an opportunity? If you're healthy and in shape, go for gold
every single time you step on the track."
Hall did just that, finding his spot in the middle of the single-file train circling the 200-meter track.
"I knew there were going to be a lot of fast
guys and things were going to go," Hall said. "I was thinking, 'Let's just get after it and go. They were going to pull me through. I've just got to get on the train and fight through the pain.'"
After losing contact with Engels and the leaders with just three laps remaining, Hall maintained his composure.
"My main goal was to stay mentally focused and mentally sharp the entire race," he
said. "I think this was one the most complete races I've ever had…At 1200 I saw the clock and it was close to 3-flat. I told myself before the race, 'If I can get close to 3-flat I can bring it home
hard. Historically I finished strong.
"I started moving a little bit. At about 250 meters, when I saw the clock it was, 'This is it. Let's close hard.'"
FSU coach Bob Braman was the first to
congratulate Hall, who came into the meet with a lifetime-best of 4:03.00, and returns home in elite company.
"I'm ecstatic about Mike's race," Braman said. "He's in an exclusive club as an
American sub-four miler. Mike executed his race perfectly. He made no mistakes, maximized his fitness and got that magic mark.
This has been a four-year process but I never doubted he could do
it."
"Now it's time to qualify for Nationals and earn All-American honors."
Hall was already thinking along those lines, just hours after fulfilling the dream he first shared in his high school
coaches' office with Ohio State coach Brice Allen on July 1 before the start of his senior year at St. Xavier.
"The feeling is indescribable," Hall said. "When I crossed the line and I looked at
the clock I was in absolute shock. When it said 3:59 and whatever the decimal was, there was just a big sigh of relief and a big smile came across my face. Coach Braman ran and gave me a big hug. I
was thinking, 'Thank you, God for allowing me to get to this point in my running career.'
"I think I can take another second-and-half off between now and hopefully ACCs and get an indoor spot at
nationals."
Hall wasn't the only Nole to excel in Boston on Saturday, a four others posted lifetime-bests in the mile, including Istvan Szogi (4:05.84), Toby Hardwick (4:07.85) and freshman Tyler
Dau (4:08.54). Hardwick, a junior transfer from Iowa State, and Dau earned ACC qualifying marks for their efforts.
Earlier in the day, Bert Freire battled to a fifth-place finish in the fast
section of the 800 (1:50.81), while three of four Noles competing in the 5000-meter nightcap also came home with lifetime-bests, led by freshman Caleb Pottorff (14:25.05).
"The whole middle
distance crew ran tough as nails," Braman said. "Apart from a few tactical errors it was as good as I could hope for.
"Caleb did a great job. I threw he and Steven [Cross] in with the pros and the
big boys and Caleb held his own. That's a really good freshman 5k time, especially for indoors."
Seymour, Wallace post top Tyson performances.
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - Freshman Ka'Tia Seymour
lowered her already-impressive 200-meter personal-best to 23.66 and Armani Wallace was the top collegian in the invitational triple jump with a leap of 16.06 meters (52-8.25), leading the Noles
competing Saturday at the Tyson Invitational.
Seymour finished sixth in the open section of the 200 and moved to up two spots to No. 5 on FSU's all-time top 10 list. Wallace was fourth overall
behind a trio of professionals, managing to squeeze off his third 16-meter leap of the season between a slew of fouled bigger jumps.
One day after the Noles turned the Randal Tyson Track Center
into their personal playground, the performances were a little more understated, in part due to a late disqualification of Andre Ewers' personal-best 20.92 200-meter dash for stepping out of his lane
coming off the curve. Ewers' time would have ranked among the top 16 nationally and No. 9 in FSU history.
The Noles did get an ACC qualifying mark from Trey Cunningham in the 200-meter dash (21.68)
and fellow freshman Qayyim Ali in the high jump (2.02 meters/6-7.5).
FSU closed out the day with both the men's and women's 4x400 relay teams posting significantly improved season-bests. The men's
team of Calvin Golson, D'Mitry Charlton, Kenny Lane and Kyle Fearrington finished second in their heat in 3:14.74, while the women's quartet of Seymour, Shaquania Dorsett, Kimmie Cunningham and Janae
Caldwell ran 3:42.06.
Event 1 - 60 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
9 Andre Ewers 6.67
11 Edward Clarke 6.78
12 Darryl Gay 6.78
Event 2 - 200 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
20 Trey Cunningham 21.68
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
7 Calvin Golson 47.46
Event 4 - 800 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
6 Matt Butler 1:54.71
Event 8 - 60 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Trey Cunningham 7.82 1
14 TyeRicke Dickens 8.04
Event 9 - 4x400-Meter Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Relay Team A 3:14.74 4
1) Calvin Golson
2) Kenny Lane
3) D'Mitry Charlton
4) Kyle Fearrington
Event 11 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Corion Knight 26- 3.75 8.02m 5
7T Armani Wallace 23-11 7.29m
9 Jacore Irving 23- 7.75 7.21m
Event 12 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Ashton Butler 50- 4.75 15.36m 1
16 Jacore Irving 46- 3.50 14.11m
Event 13 - High Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
11 Qayyim Ali 6- 7.50 2.02m
7T Corion Knight 6- 9.50 2.07m
Event 22 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Kenneth Fisher 25- 7.50 7.81m 4
7 Jakub Andrzejczak 24- 5 7.44m
Event 23 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Armani Wallace 52- 8.25 16.06m 2
8 Montel Nevers 51- 4.50 15.66m
David Hemery Valentine Invite
02/10/2018, February 9-10, 2018, Boston, Mass.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Knight Lands Nation's No. 2 Long Jump At Tyson Invite.
Mircheva takes down Bulgarian national 5k mark in Boston.
February 9, 2018
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - Corion Knight arrived at Florida State as a senior transfer from Florida Memorial University, an NAIA school in Miami, where he earned most of his notoriety as a high jumper but was
also accomplished in the long jump.
Following Friday night's winning long jump performance at the Tyson Invitational, the Crawfordville native is one of the finest in Florida State history - and in
2018 - in the nation.
Overcoming a pair of early fouls, Knight nailed down a spot in the finals with an indoor personal-best third attempt, then launched himself into a different stratosphere on
his sixth and final leap.
Touching down at 8.02 meters (26-3.75), Knight sailed to No. 2 nationally and a share of No. 2 all-time at Florida State. Only Olympic and World Champion finalist Nngoni
Makusha has jumped farther indoors as a Seminole. Makusha holds the FSU record at 8.21m (26-11.25), which he set in 2009.
Knight now owns a share of the No. 2 spot alongside Brian Chibudu, whose
8.02 leap came in 2010.
"We worked two weeks super hard and this is actually my first meet back at 100 percent," Knight said, still basking in a mark which will earn him a trip to the NCAA Indoor
Championships. "We hit weights extra hard. We planned for it, but we didn't expect eight meters at all."
As it turned out Knight's third-attempt leap of 7.64 meters (25-0.75), eclipsing his
previous indoor best of 7.57m (24-10), was a harbinger of things to come.
"It was a little bit of a shock," said FSU first-year jumps coach Keith Herston. "I knew he could jump far, though. We
don't focus as much on long jump as high jump. I knew he was ready to do something special. He's been a lot more focused in practice and it has really shown.
"My bags were packed. I was ready to go
if he was ready to go. He showed up and showed out today and proved to the country that he's ready to make a statement in two events."
Perhaps most remarkable about Knight's performance in the open
long jump competition, was it turned out to be the best mark of the night, beating the entire 12-man field in the touted Invitational section.
"Honestly that was like an unconscious jump," he said
of his winning leap. "I felt like I didn't jump anything spectacular."
Herston's Noles were well-represented in both as all five entrants advanced to the finals. That includes graduate transfer
Kenneth Fisher, who broke a five-year-old personal best on his way to a a runner-up finish in the Invitational long jump.
Fisher's fifth-attempt 7.81-meter leap (25-7.5), moved him to No. 10 on the
NCAA list - the top 16 at the end of the season advance to the NCAA Championships - and No. 7 all-time among Seminoles.
Herston believes the breakthrough can pay big dividends for Fisher, whose
next shot at sealing an NCAA berth will come at the ACC Championships in two weeks.
"It makes a huge difference," Herston said. "Track & field is all about confidence and that's what I try to
instill in everybody; confidence in themselves, confidence in me and confidence in their team. What he did today, making a breakthrough after five years of hard training and doing the best he possibly
could and still not getting that mark, he knows we're doing the right things. The team has his back and is supporting him and what we're doing is right for him."
While Fisher will turn his
attention to the triple jump Saturday, Knight has his sights on the Invitational section of the high jump. With a personal-best of 2.16 meters (7-1), he will likely need to clear another bar - or two
- in order to pull double-duty at the NCAA Indoor Championships next month.
"I'm excited for tomorrow because when I do good in the long jump I always do better in the high jump," Knight said.
Friday's competition also marked the debut for freshman Jakub Andrzejczak, whose opening leap of 7.44 meters (24-5) was good for a seventh-place finish in the Invitational section and second-best
among Noles at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
"He's coming back from injury and this is his opener, which is not a bad opener," Herston said of the young star from Poland. "The mark's not that bad,
but of course it's not what he wants and that's a positive thing. We're hungry and we're going to go back to the drawing board and be ready for ACC's in two weeks."
The Noles came away from the
first day of competition with six personal-best performances, and next to the performances of Knight and Fisher, none was bigger than sophomore Cortney Jones' 8.16 run to a fifth-place finish in the
60-meter hurdle finals.
Coming off a knee injury which denied her a full fall of training, Jones advanced to the finals with a season-best (8.21), then took it to another level against a blazing
field in the finals.
"I didn't train at all last fall, so I feel like my progression is moving like I want it to," said Jones, who hopes to improve on her 2017 third-place ACC Championships finish
and earn a spot at the NCAA Championships. "Going from prelims, I didn't execute everything like I wanted to execute. In the finals I felt like I hit my marks and did what I what I was supposed to do
and the time came with it.
"That's really all I'm trying to worry about, execution, and not about time. If I execute the time will follow."
Jones jumped from No. 22 to a share of No. 13 on the
national list, behind four hurdlers who were already ranked ahead of her.
"It definitely helped to have the competition," Jones said. "Competition pushes you to do well and helps motivate you. The
atmosphere of the entire crowd and running in a field with an Olympian and one of the top [hurdlers] in the world really helped me."
Among other Noles registering new personal-bests, freshman
400-meter runner Calvin Golson cut loose his fastest time (47.46) - indoor or outdoor - in his first open 400 of the season. It was also good for an automatic qualifying time for the ACC
Championships.
Freshmen Jennifer Lima (5:08.97, mile) and Elizabeth Jenkins (2:15.64, 800) accounted for the other personal-bests.
The day wasn't quite as kind to classmate Trey Cunningham, who
was fifth in the 60-meter hurdle finals (7.84).
Mircheva Breaks Bulgarian National 5k Record.
BOSTON, MA - Junior Militsa Mircheva turned in one of the gutsiest performances by an FSU
distance runner in the program's storied history. Running all alone from the start in the fast section of the David Hemery Valentine Invitational 5,000, she set the Bulgarian national record, winning
in 16:07.12.
It's also the No. 15 team collegiately this season, and the fourth-fastest ever by a Seminole.
Mircheva, whose previous indoor best at the distance was 17:05.39, had her eyes set on
a breakout 5000 for some time. And she didn't disappoint, bolting from the pack just three laps into the 25-lap affair at Boston University Track & Tennis Center.
After posting the No. 2 time in
the ACC this season, Mircheva has qualified for the conference meet in three events and ranks among the top nine in all of them.
Senior Emily Edwards led a trio of Seminoles posting personal-best
performances in the mile Friday night as well.
Edwards pared three seconds off her previous best, placing second overall in the third in 4:45.84, securing an automatic qualifying time for the ACC
Indoor Championships in two weeks. Sophomore Maudie Skyring finished fifth in the same heat, also meeting the ACC standard (4:49.31). Junior Madison Harris whacked six seconds off her previous best to
finish fifth in heat four (4:54.64).
Freshman Jodie Judd also registered a personal-best in the 3000, finishing in 9:37.29, while sophomore Ginelle DeMone ran her fastest 800 of the season
(2:11.08) earlier in the day.
"Emily came into today's race on a mission and it showed the second the race went off," FSU women's distance coach Kelly Phillips said. "Jodie, while it was an ugly
way to run a PR, it was still a good race. She just needs to learn to stay focused for the last 600."
Michael Hall Breaks Four-Minute Mile Barrier In Boston.
Senior
fulfills lifelong dream; Seymour shines at Tyson Invitational. February 10, 2018
BOSTON, MA - Michael Hall was breathing rarified air Saturday and it has never tasted sweeter.
After
closing with a furious final lap, Hall now owns just the third sub-four-minute mile in Florida State history, finishing in 3:59.17 for fifth-place finish in the fast section at the David Hemery
Valentine Invitational.
Only former Noles Tom Lancashire (3:58.52, 2006) and David Forrester (3:59.13, 2012) have run faster than the redshirt junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, who has been dreaming of
this moment since his senior year at St. Xavier High School.
That it happened Saturday at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center, in the featured heat led by budding Nike Oregon Project star
Craig Engels (3:53.93), was no accident.
"I decided, and Coach Braman has said this for quite some time, there's no better opportunity than now," Hall said, explaining his frame of mind entering
the race. "You never know whether you're going to feel good or bad, have a lot of bounce in your legs and you're sluggish. So why waste an opportunity? If you're healthy and in shape, go for gold
every single time you step on the track."
Hall did just that, finding his spot in the middle of the single-file train circling the 200-meter track.
"I knew there were going to be a lot of fast
guys and things were going to go," Hall said. "I was thinking, 'Let's just get after it and go. They were going to pull me through. I've just got to get on the train and fight through the pain.'"
After losing contact with Engels and the leaders with just three laps remaining, Hall maintained his composure.
"My main goal was to stay mentally focused and mentally sharp the entire race," he
said. "I think this was one the most complete races I've ever had…At 1200 I saw the clock and it was close to 3-flat. I told myself before the race, 'If I can get close to 3-flat I can bring it home
hard. Historically I finished strong.
"I started moving a little bit. At about 250 meters, when I saw the clock it was, 'This is it. Let's close hard.'"
FSU coach Bob Braman was the first to
congratulate Hall, who came into the meet with a lifetime-best of 4:03.00, and returns home in elite company.
"I'm ecstatic about Mike's race," Braman said. "He's in an exclusive club as an
American sub-four miler. Mike executed his race perfectly. He made no mistakes, maximized his fitness and got that magic mark.
This has been a four-year process but I never doubted he could do
it."
"Now it's time to qualify for Nationals and earn All-American honors."
Hall was already thinking along those lines, just hours after fulfilling the dream he first shared in his high school
coaches' office with Ohio State coach Brice Allen on July 1 before the start of his senior year at St. Xavier.
"The feeling is indescribable," Hall said. "When I crossed the line and I looked at
the clock I was in absolute shock. When it said 3:59 and whatever the decimal was, there was just a big sigh of relief and a big smile came across my face. Coach Braman ran and gave me a big hug. I
was thinking, 'Thank you, God for allowing me to get to this point in my running career.'
"I think I can take another second-and-half off between now and hopefully ACCs and get an indoor spot at
nationals."
Hall wasn't the only Nole to excel in Boston on Saturday, a four others posted lifetime-bests in the mile, including Istvan Szogi (4:05.84), Toby Hardwick (4:07.85) and freshman Tyler
Dau (4:08.54). Hardwick, a junior transfer from Iowa State, and Dau earned ACC qualifying marks for their efforts.
Earlier in the day, Bert Freire battled to a fifth-place finish in the fast
section of the 800 (1:50.81), while three of four Noles competing in the 5000-meter nightcap also came home with lifetime-bests, led by freshman Caleb Pottorff (14:25.05).
"The whole middle
distance crew ran tough as nails," Braman said. "Apart from a few tactical errors it was as good as I could hope for.
"Caleb did a great job. I threw he and Steven [Cross] in with the pros and the
big boys and Caleb held his own. That's a really good freshman 5k time, especially for indoors."
Seymour, Wallace post top Tyson performances.
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - Freshman Ka'Tia Seymour
lowered her already-impressive 200-meter personal-best to 23.66 and Armani Wallace was the top collegian in the invitational triple jump with a leap of 16.06 meters (52-8.25), leading the Noles
competing Saturday at the Tyson Invitational.
Seymour finished sixth in the open section of the 200 and moved to up two spots to No. 5 on FSU's all-time top 10 list. Wallace was fourth overall
behind a trio of professionals, managing to squeeze off his third 16-meter leap of the season between a slew of fouled bigger jumps.
One day after the Noles turned the Randal Tyson Track Center
into their personal playground, the performances were a little more understated, in part due to a late disqualification of Andre Ewers' personal-best 20.92 200-meter dash for stepping out of his lane
coming off the curve. Ewers' time would have ranked among the top 16 nationally and No. 9 in FSU history.
The Noles did get an ACC qualifying mark from Trey Cunningham in the 200-meter dash (21.68)
and fellow freshman Qayyim Ali in the high jump (2.02 meters/6-7.5).
FSU closed out the day with both the men's and women's 4x400 relay teams posting significantly improved season-bests. The men's
team of Calvin Golson, D'Mitry Charlton, Kenny Lane and Kyle Fearrington finished second in their heat in 3:14.74, while the women's quartet of Seymour, Shaquania Dorsett, Kimmie Cunningham and Janae
Caldwell ran 3:42.06.
Event 4 - 800 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
11 Bert Freire 1:59.81
Event 5 - Mile Run
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Michael Hall 3:59.37 1
24 Istvan Szogi 4:05.84
33 Toby Hardwick 4:07.85
38 Tyler Dau 4:08.54
71 Bryce Kelley 4:12.94
XXX Tom Hogarty 4:16.47
Event 6 - 3000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
120 Grant Nykaza 8:44.01
Event 7 - 5000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
15 Caleb Pottorff 14:25.05
33 Steven Cross 14:51.21
36 Stanley Linton 14:52.60
41 Tyson Murray 14:59.52
Texas Tech Matador Qualifier
02/16/2018, Lubbock, Tex.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Throwers Set Tone In Tune-Up For ACC Indoor Championships.
Grange shatters own school record; Droogsma cracks 20-meter mark.
NOTRE DAME, IN
and LUBBOCK, TX - Capitalizing on a three-week block of intense training, the Florida State throws group turned the throws circle at Saturday's Alex Wilson Invitational into their own personal-best
playground.
With Gleneve Grange demolishing her own FSU school record and Austin Droogsma becoming just the second Nole to eclipse the 20-meter indoor benchmark, FSU swept the shot put titles. When
the day with through all five competing Noles throwers had new personal-best marks in the final tune-up for the ACC Indoor Championships, which begin Thursday at Clemson.
Grange got the day started
for director of field events and throws coach Dorian Scott's group, unleashing the furthest of three 17-meter throws on her opening attempt. The 17.24-meters (56-6.75) opener laid waste to her
previous school record of 16.54 and sent her racing up the collegiate national rankings to No. 10; a virtual lock to advance to the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time.
The Jamaica native
followed with legal marks of 17.19 and 17.23 for the finest series of her career, supplanting Louisville's Emmonie Henderson as the No. 1 seed at the ACC Championships. Henderson, who has won the last
five ACC titles between the indoor and outdoor seasons, has a season-best of 17.05.
As an added bonus the Noles also earned a fourth-place finish from graduate transfer Ieva Zarankaite, who dropped
her own lifetime-best (15.41m/50-6.75) and moved up to No. 5 in the ACC rankings. It also moved her to No. 8 on FSU's all-time list. Redshirt freshman Shanice Love (11.90m) also came away with a
career-best effort.
Following the tone-setting women's shot put performance, junior Brandon Tirado was intent on keeping the momentum going in the weight throw. Capping a performance including
three throws over 19 meters, Tirado's sixth attempt personal-best of 19.79 meters (64-11.25) sealed a runner-up finish at the No. 3 seed next week.
Over in the men's shot put circle, Droogsma was
gnashing his teeth in anticipation of something special. Despite an opening foul, he wouldn't have to wait for long.
With a second-attempt blast of 20.10 meters (65-11.5), the Gulf Breeze, Fla.
native became just the second Seminole in program history to eclipse 20 meters. Only former NCAA champion Garrett Johnson's 2006 20.48-meter mark (67-2.25) in longer in Noles lore.
Proving that the
monster was no fluke, Droogsma - currently residing at No. 4 among all NCAA Division I throwers this season - added three more throws further than his outdoor career best, closing out the completion
with a 19.91 sixth attempt.
"Coach Scott's group was on fire today," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "Gleneve and Austin were in peak form. They really made a national-level statement. Brandon had three
lifetime-bests in one series and that's a huge help toward us competing for the ACC title."
It wasn't a perfect day for the Noles competing at Notre Dame's Loftus Center, but it was a productive
one. Returning to the scene of her ACC Indoor triumph last season, Eleonora Omoregie won the high jump with a season-best leap of 1.74 meters (5.-8.5). Meanwhile the men's distance medley relay team
of Toby Hardwick, Calvin Golson, Bert Freire and Istvan Szogi raced their way into the fast heat the ACC Championships with a time of 9:48.45 against a loaded field.
"The distance medley simply
wanted to get an ACC fast section mark, so mission accomplished, but we were definitely a little flat coming off our big meet in Boston," Braman said.
Still, the quartet still managed the
eight-best DMR time in Noles history; lowering the team's previous season-best of 9:51.97.
Michael Hall wasn't as fortunate in his encore to last week's 3:59.37 mile run at Boston University's
David Hemery Valentine Invitational. While hoping to improve and move into the top 16 nationally, Hall went down in a second-lap crash, which fortunately did not result in injury.
"Mike was simply
unlucky," Braman said. "The pacer was dragging a bit and the whole field got tangled up on the second lap. Mike went down and that was the end of any chance at a national qualifier."
On Friday at
Texas Tech's Matador Qualifier in Lubbock, a quartet of FSU competitors came away with three victories and a runner-up finish.
Freshmen Jayla Kirkland and Ka'Tia Seymour went 1-2 in the women's
60-meter dash, with Kirkland lowering her collegiate-best to 7.34 for the win. That moved Kirkland to No. 7 on FSU's all-time list. Seymour was second in 7.36.
The Noles swept the 60-meter hurdles
races with sophomore Cortney Jones claiming the women's title (8.32) and freshman Trey Cunningham (7.85) claiming the men's title.
Event 8 - 60 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Trey Cunningham 7.85 5
Alex Wilson Invitational
02/17/2018, South Bend, Ind.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Throwers Set Tone In Tune-Up For ACC Indoor Championships.
Grange shatters own school record; Droogsma cracks 20-meter mark.
NOTRE DAME, IN
and LUBBOCK, TX - Capitalizing on a three-week block of intense training, the Florida State throws group turned the throws circle at Saturday's Alex Wilson Invitational into their own personal-best
playground.
With Gleneve Grange demolishing her own FSU school record and Austin Droogsma becoming just the second Nole to eclipse the 20-meter indoor benchmark, FSU swept the shot put titles. When
the day with through all five competing Noles throwers had new personal-best marks in the final tune-up for the ACC Indoor Championships, which begin Thursday at Clemson.
Grange got the day started
for director of field events and throws coach Dorian Scott's group, unleashing the furthest of three 17-meter throws on her opening attempt. The 17.24-meters (56-6.75) opener laid waste to her
previous school record of 16.54 and sent her racing up the collegiate national rankings to No. 10; a virtual lock to advance to the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time.
The Jamaica native
followed with legal marks of 17.19 and 17.23 for the finest series of her career, supplanting Louisville's Emmonie Henderson as the No. 1 seed at the ACC Championships. Henderson, who has won the last
five ACC titles between the indoor and outdoor seasons, has a season-best of 17.05.
As an added bonus the Noles also earned a fourth-place finish from graduate transfer Ieva Zarankaite, who dropped
her own lifetime-best (15.41m/50-6.75) and moved up to No. 5 in the ACC rankings. It also moved her to No. 8 on FSU's all-time list. Redshirt freshman Shanice Love (11.90m) also came away with a
career-best effort.
Following the tone-setting women's shot put performance, junior Brandon Tirado was intent on keeping the momentum going in the weight throw. Capping a performance including
three throws over 19 meters, Tirado's sixth attempt personal-best of 19.79 meters (64-11.25) sealed a runner-up finish at the No. 3 seed next week.
Over in the men's shot put circle, Droogsma was
gnashing his teeth in anticipation of something special. Despite an opening foul, he wouldn't have to wait for long.
With a second-attempt blast of 20.10 meters (65-11.5), the Gulf Breeze, Fla.
native became just the second Seminole in program history to eclipse 20 meters. Only former NCAA champion Garrett Johnson's 2006 20.48-meter mark (67-2.25) in longer in Noles lore.
Proving that the
monster was no fluke, Droogsma - currently residing at No. 4 among all NCAA Division I throwers this season - added three more throws further than his outdoor career best, closing out the completion
with a 19.91 sixth attempt.
"Coach Scott's group was on fire today," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "Gleneve and Austin were in peak form. They really made a national-level statement. Brandon had three
lifetime-bests in one series and that's a huge help toward us competing for the ACC title."
It wasn't a perfect day for the Noles competing at Notre Dame's Loftus Center, but it was a productive
one. Returning to the scene of her ACC Indoor triumph last season, Eleonora Omoregie won the high jump with a season-best leap of 1.74 meters (5.-8.5). Meanwhile the men's distance medley relay team
of Toby Hardwick, Calvin Golson, Bert Freire and Istvan Szogi raced their way into the fast heat the ACC Championships with a time of 9:48.45 against a loaded field.
"The distance medley simply
wanted to get an ACC fast section mark, so mission accomplished, but we were definitely a little flat coming off our big meet in Boston," Braman said.
Still, the quartet still managed the
eight-best DMR time in Noles history; lowering the team's previous season-best of 9:51.97.
Michael Hall wasn't as fortunate in his encore to last week's 3:59.37 mile run at Boston University's
David Hemery Valentine Invitational. While hoping to improve and move into the top 16 nationally, Hall went down in a second-lap crash, which fortunately did not result in injury.
"Mike was simply
unlucky," Braman said. "The pacer was dragging a bit and the whole field got tangled up on the second lap. Mike went down and that was the end of any chance at a national qualifier."
On Friday at
Texas Tech's Matador Qualifier in Lubbock, a quartet of FSU competitors came away with three victories and a runner-up finish.
Freshmen Jayla Kirkland and Ka'Tia Seymour went 1-2 in the women's
60-meter dash, with Kirkland lowering her collegiate-best to 7.34 for the win. That moved Kirkland to No. 7 on FSU's all-time list. Seymour was second in 7.36.
The Noles swept the 60-meter hurdles
races with sophomore Cortney Jones claiming the women's title (8.32) and freshman Trey Cunningham (7.85) claiming the men's title.
Event 5 - Mile Run
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
23 Michael Hall 4:20.16
Event 10 - Distance Medley Relay
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
15 Relay Team A 9:48.45
1) Toby Hardwick
2) Calvin Golson
3) Bert Freire
4) Istvan Szogi
Event 15 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Austin Droogsma 65-11.50 20.10m 5
Event 16 - Weight Throw
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Brandon Tirado 64-11.25 19.79m 4
ACC Indoor Championship, 1st place
02/24/2018, February 22-24, 2018, Clemson, S.C.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. DMRs Get Noles On Scoreboard; Newberg In Second Place.
Season-best relay performances lead way heading into heavy Friday action.
February
22, 2018
CLEMSON, SC - Dante Newberg is in second place with three events remaining in the heptathlon and with the Florida State women's and men's distance medley relay teams delivering season-best
times in Thursday's final event, the Seminoles are on the scoreboard after Thursday's opening of the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
FSU's women got on the scoreboard with a fifth-place
finish in the distance medley relay, whacking 20 seconds off their sixth-seeded qualifying time to finish in 11:17.73. The Noles came into the meet seeded sixth in the field and Jodie Judd's hard
charge off the final curve was good enough to nip Boston College at the finish line for fifth in the first final event of the three-day meet.
"That was fantastic," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "The
ladies competed like crazy and did a super job. That's four big points."
Emily Edwards, Madison Harris, Maudie Skyring and Judd each turned in their fastest times of the season as the Noles mixed
it up well until midway through the final leg behind Virginia Tech (10:57.60) and Clemson (10:58.83), who finished 1-2 with the top two times in the nation.
Battling gamely in the fast section
throughout the men's relay team was not as fortunate, as a late surge by the leaders over the final 400 meters left the FSU quartet of Toby Hardwick, Calvin Golson, Bert Freire and Istvan Szogi with
an eighth-place finish (9:46.05). It was not only the Noles' fastest time of the year, but the sixth-fastest in program history.
"There was just a lot of firepower out there," Braman said.
"Everybody put their best guys' out there."
Virginia Tech, the defending ACC champions and most serious challengers to sixth-ranked FSU's title hopes, set the tone early by winning the event.
Newberg closed out the first day of heptathlon competition in second place overall, just 111 points behind the leader, Louisville's Joe Delgado. The Tampa native came into the meet as the No. 3 seed
with designs on a top-three podium finish for the first time in his career.
He was sixth last season.
"I think I'm in a good position overall and my first hep [this season] was not a great
second day, so with a better second day I should at least keep my position - maybe try to move up - but podium is always the goal," Newberg said.
Newberg's bid for a top-three finish received a big
boost with a lifetime-best shot put mark of 13.23 meters (43-5), which was good for 681 points and ranked second in the field of 13 competitors, pushing him from fifth to third after three events.
"That was a huge," Newberg said. "I've been throwing that in practice for a while now, but to get it in a meet finally over 13 [meters] - and a good amount over 13 - felt great."
Newberg opened
the day with solid marks in the 60-meter dash (7.05) and long jump (6.82 meters), placing third and fifth, respectively against field. He finished fourth overall against the field in the high jump,
climbing one spot in the overall standings, with a clearance of 1.92 meters (6-3.5). That pushed his day one total to 3,048 points; just 10 shy of his previous career-best at the Razorback
Invitational.
"I feel pretty confident going into tomorrow," said Newberg, who has a 32-point advantage over Duke's Jacob Sabota in third place. "I've had a pretty decent year overall practicing
these events. I'm back up to a longer approach and a bigger pole in pole vault and I'm way better conditioned for the 1,000. So I'm pretty confident going in that I can have a solid day 2 and lead to
a big PR and hopefully second or first."
"When you look at what he did and he's in a good position," Braman said. "If he hits a good hurdle race and a decent pole vault, he'll be in a position to
get on the podium and that's fantastic.
"He just needs to have a good day. He doesn't have to be a home run hitter. Things happen. You've got 16 more events to go [in the meet]. People are going to
drop batons; people are going to get DQ'd."
Hunter Napier stands 12th in the field with a day 1 career-best 2,441 points, aided by new personal-bests in the 60-meter dash and the shot put.
In
addition to the conclusion of the heptathlon, Friday's schedule includes finals in the high jump, weight throw, long jump and 5,000 meters. There's also a matter of taking care of business in
qualifying as many athletes for the finals through the preliminary rounds of the 60, 400 and 200 dashes, the 60 hurdles and the 800.
Braman doesn't want his team to focus on what it's capable of
doing and leave the scoreboard watching to fans and others.
"At some point we have to focus on us and not be concerned with what Virginia Tech does," Braman said. "They're going to fight like they
always do. I'd rather focus on us, put a big number up there if we can and try to steal some points where we can. That's what we've got to do."
Long Jumpers' Sweep Puts Men In
Front; Mircheva Leads Women.
Noles well-positioned in Saturday championships quests at Clemson. February 23, 2018
CLEMSON, SC - After sweeping the first four places in the long
jump, Florida State's sixth-ranked men are carrying an eight-point lead into the final day of ACC Indoor Track & Field Championship competition at Clemson.
Graduate transfer Kenneth Fisher's
victory in 7.79 meters (25-6.75) was the crowning piece as the Noles turned the long jump pit into their own sand box of fun. Corion Knight (7.75m/25-5.25), Armani Wallace (7.57/24-10) and Jakub
Andrzejczak (7.54/24-9) were right behind Fisher, contributing to a 29-point haul which gives the Noles a two-day total of 43 points.
Florida State's women are a little further back in the
standings, sitting sixth with 18 points, following a silver medal performance by Militsa Mircheva in the 5000-meter run and Eleonora Omoregie's bronze in the high jump. Their hopes for a title will
rest on nine qualifiers for Saturday's final between the sprints and middle distance races, as well as Gleneve Grange and Ieva Zarankaite in the shot put, and Mircheva coming back for the 3000
final.
Friday's buzz, however, centered around the remarkable sweep of the men's long jump.
"This means a lot to me," Fisher said, following his victory. "It was big. I just wanted to come out
here, do what we've been doing in practice and dominate. Every day it's a competition in practice and to come out and go 1-2-3-4…We had one plan in mind coming into this championship."
The sweeping
performance was just the boost the Noles needed in pursuit of their 11th ACC Indoor team title, which will require unseating defending champion Virginia Tech, which is lurking in fifth-place with 23
points.
The 17th-ranked Hokies, like the Noles, are well-positioned through Friday's qualifying events to put up big numbers in what will likely be a shootout for the team trophy.
"That's how
Virginia Tech has beaten us [before], going 1-4 in the pole vault," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "I knew we'd do well in the long jump. I picked up for 21 points and 29 points is just fantastic. We
competed well.
"Corion didn't have the best high jump and we challenged him a bit. 'You didn't come here to be a fifth-place scorer.' He stepped it up…They just went out there, had fun and they
really, really charged our program going into tomorrow."
Knight also provided the Noles with fifth-place points in the high jump, though his 2.12-meter (6-11.5) clearance left him shy of his
fourth-place seeding.
"After the high jump I was on a new level of angry because I didn't perform as I was supposed to perform," Knight said. "It was a necessity from me to do my best and try to
put the team on my back for the long jump."
Knight did that well enough to leave defending champion Chris McBride fifth, in a wake of Garnet & Gold.
Junior Dante Newberg rode a huge
personal-best in the pole vault (4.20m/13-9.25) and a gutty 1000-meter run to finish off a bronze medal finish in the heptathlon with a new career-best of 5,291 points. It was a significant
contribution for the Tampa native, who hasn't been able to practice for three weeks.
"He's been in a boot with a really angry Achilles for three weeks, and he comes out and has that confidence
about him," Braman said. "He doesn't look at his limitations. He says, 'What do I have to get done?'
"I'm really proud of him because we needed him to gut-check it…If everybody fights like Dante it
will definitely increase our chances of winning the trophy on Saturday."
Brandon Tirado delivered a sixth-place finish in the weight throw (19.20m/63-0), but the Noles' hopes for their first indoor
title since 2014 were enhanced by a strong day of qualifying, led by junior sprinter Andre Ewers.
Ewers led a trio of Seminole qualifiers for the 60-meter dash finals in 6.69 - fastest in the field
- and will have teammates, junior Edward Clarke (6.75) and freshman Darryl Gay (6.78) at his side. But he was only warming up. Ewers' 20.72 qualifying mark for the 200-meter dash not only led everyone
in the field, but moved him to No. 8 in the nation. It's the fifth-fastest 200 in Florida State's rich sprint history.
"Man, it's going to take a big man to beat Andre Ewers in either race
tomorrow," Braman said. "And that looked like freshman Ed; like national qualifying, old Ed…and Darryl Gay did a great job."
Freshman Trey Cunningham qualified second-fastest in the 60-meter
hurdles in 7.79, and he too will have a teammate accompanying him in the final. Tye Dickens picked the perfect time to drop a huge personal-best, qualifying in 7.91, which moves him to No. 8 on FSU's
all-time list.
"Tyricke in the hurdles with that huge PR from 8.04 to 7.91 may be our biggest upset of the day which really helps," Braman said. "That's the best Trey has looked since week one. I
like where those guys are. We checked the box in terms of putting ourselves in position to win."
Mircheva was at her very best in what proved to be a tactical 5000-meter final, demonstrating the
same savvy that middle distances qualifiers Madison Harris, Maudie Skyring and Jodie Judd showed earlier in the day.
"Militsa has been on her game," Braman said. "She's so strong now, she'll come
back and race like that tomorrow [in the 3000]. You kind of felt like a tactical race might not work for her, but she was spectacular. She was up to it and did a phenomenal job."
The sit and kick
race with a pack of a half-dozen was whittled down to two over the final two laps with Mircheva crossing in 16:34.93; less than a second behind Louisville's Dorcas Wasike.
"I wish I could have
finished first and brought the full 10 points for the team, but unfortunately I couldn't," Mircheva said. "At least I have a small contribution. I hope that tomorrow I can bring some more points to
the team."
Mircheva wasn't the only member of the women's middle distance group to show up big on moving day.
Judd (4:45.85) and Skyring (4:46.04) nabbed auto qualifying finishes with
expertly-navigated second-place heat finishes. They qualified third and fourth overall on time for the 10-woman final. Emily Edwards was equally game, missing the final by one spot in 4:49.88.
"They were phenomenal," Braman raved.
Two hours later, Harris and Ginelle DeMone were mimicking their teammates in the opening qualifying heat of the 800. Despite drawing the fastest heat of the
day they delivered monster personal-bests of 2:07.57 and 2:08.70, respectively. Harris' time was a near three-second personal-best and gave her sole possession of No. 6 on FSU's all-time list. DeMone
suffered Edwards' cruel fate when she was bumped from the eighth and final qualifying spot on time by the last heat.
"Madison has been stuck on 2:10 for years and she kicked the door down today,"
Braman said. "She never dies. She will not be eighth place, I promise you."
Sophomore Cortney Jones set the tone earlier in the day for the women hurdlers and sprinters, blasting out a
lifetime-best of 8.12 in the 60-meter hurdles. That's not only good for a share of the top seed with Georgia Tech's Jeanine Williams, but likely clinched a trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships for
the first time.
It was clearly the highlight of a tough week for Jones, whose grandfather passed away.
"You go up there to Philadelphia for the funeral, fly in here on Wednesday night and less
than 48 hours later and you may have punched your ticket to nationals," Braman said, shaking his head. "And she's going to run faster."
Junior Shauna Helps and her precocious freshmen sprint mates
Ka'Tia Seymour and Jayla Kirkland bolstered the women's title hopes with outstanding performances in the 60- and 200-meter dashes.
All three moved on to the 60-meter final, with Kirkland leading
the charge in 7.31, followed by Seymour (7.34) and Helps (7.36). Kirkland's collegiate-best time was just two one-thousandths of a second off the top seed.
"The final is going to be a blanket
finish at an elite level that this conference has never seen before," Braman surmised.
Seymour and Helps were even closer in the 200-meter qualifying rounds - rocking nearly-identical 23.43s - in
23.422 and 23.423, from separate heats to lock up the Nos. 1-2 qualifying times.
"We've got a shot," Braman said of the ladies. "The women put themselves in position."
Noles
Deliver Two ACC Indoor Track & Field Titles.
Stars abound as men, women claim first titles since 2014 sweep. February 24, 2018
CLEMSON, SC - It's been quite a journey back to the
top of the Atlantic Coast Conference mountain, but that's where the Florida State men and women reside, after delivering spectacular Saturday performances to claim the ACC Indoor Track & Field
Championship team titles.
The Noles were the class of the field on the final day at the Clemson Track & Field Complex, replicating their 2014 sweep at the same venue for their last indoor titles.
It's the 11th ACC indoor title for the men and the third for the women.
They are also the first ACC titles for Florida State athletics during the 2017-18 school year.
"It's always special to
come out of here with a title, but it's an exceptional and rare occurrence when we can double up and come out of here with both trophies," said FSU redshirt-senior Austin Droogsma, who is the only
member of either squad who competed when the Noles brought home both titles from Clemson four years ago.
Droogsma's late-in-the-day shot put victory - the first ACC title of his career - which
provided the sixth-ranked Noles with their title-sealing, final points as the men unseated defending champion Virginia Tech by a 111-107 final margin.
FSU's women, a decided underdog entering the
meet, built an insurmountable lead behind dominant work across virtually every event area. The blazing 1-2 finish in the 200-meter dash by freshman Ka'Tia Seymour - the meet's Most Valuable Track
Performer - and junior Shauna Helps, coupled with Militsa Mircheva's fifth-place finish in the 3000-meter run, pushed the Noles' final total to 91 points. Virginia Tech was second, again, this time
with 81.
"It was amazing to actually win the way we did," said Helps, who also finished fourth in the 60-meter dash on Saturday. "I realized in the fall that we've always moved in unison. Even
though the men and women are scored separately, we've always moved together as a unit and a family. That bond is what helped carry us through."
Florida State has now accounted for the last three
title sweeps in ACC, of which there have only been six since 1992.
"Gosh, sweeps are hard to do," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "This has been a three-year rebuild since the end of 2015, when we had
huge staff changes with two historically great coaches. How are you going to come back from that and rebuild the Florida State brand? That's hard to do."
The Noles weren't stingy stacking up style
points either. FSU athletes secured six more NCAA Indoor Championship qualification standards and a host of personal-bests on the way to their team titles.
- Sophomore Cortney Jones took
down the FSU record in the 60-meter hurdles in the opening track event of the day, racing to a second-place finish in 8.05 seconds to secure her first trip to indoor nationals;
- Junior Armani
Wallace walked off with the men's Most Valuable Field Performer trophy following his third-place finish in the triple jump with a monster PB of 16.33 meters (53-7), to back up his third-place long
jump finish. That's the No. 5 mark nationally and moved him to No. 3 on FSU's all-time list. Montel Nevers was fourth in a season-best 15.84;
- Freshman Trey Cunningham set a new personal-best in
the men's 60-meter hurdles, winning in 7.70, with classmate Tye Dickens backing up his outstanding prelim run with a fifth-place finish;
- Two more freshmen - Jayla Kirkland and Seymour - finished
1-2, respectively, in the 60-meter dash in a virtual dead-heat at 7.24, which secured their trips to the NCAA Indoor Championships. They will also occupy the No. 3 position all-time among Noles. Helps
was fourth in the personal-best in 7.28;
- As an encore, Seymour and Helps finished 1-2 in the 200, with Seymour's winning time of 22.85 registering as the No. 2 mark in the nation this season. She
had to work to break Helps' school record as the junior came home in 23.02. Both will compete at the NCAA Championships in two weeks;
- Junior transfer Andre Ewers followed up with a runaway victory
in the men's 200, securing double-duty action at the NCAA meet - he owns the nation's No. 1 time in the 60 - by lowering his day-old lifetime-best to 20.60; eighth-fastest in the nation.
Beyond
the record-setters and national qualifiers, there were no shortage of surprising and inspiring developments throughout the day, perhaps highlighted by junior Edward Clarke's 60-meter dash victory in a
lifetime-best 6.64. He edged Ewers by six-thousandths of a second for his first major victory since 2016. Freshman Darryl Gay was fifth in the personal-best 6.72. "Words can't explain how I feel in
terms of my team depending on me and I was there to pull through," Clarke said. "When [the starter] said set, my mind was clear. It was time to go, go, go. At the end, I said, 'That was quick.'
"I
started celebrating because I had a good race. I didn't know if I had won or not. I was just happy."
Braman and the Noles were celebrating that finish, one of the meet's turning points, as well.
"I was hoping for 1-4-6 finish," Braman said "Eddie had blinders on. He just blew up the start and Andre had to go and get him and couldn't quite pull him back. When you get 22 points and you're
thinking 17 or so, that's five points that could take you two hours to get and it happened in six seconds. That was huge.
"And our two freshmen in the hurdles finishing 1-5 and we came into the
meet [seeded] 2-11, and came into the final 2-8. And oh, by the way, they took the No. 4 or 5 seed from Virginia Tech and smashed him down to seventh place. So that was a seven-point swing."
The
FSU women's middle-distance and distance groups chipped in some heady contributions as well, beginning with the 5-7 finish by freshmen Maudie Skyring and Jodie Judd in the mile. Mircheva finished off
an 11-point personal haul over the weekend for the Noles, placing fifth in the 3000 (9:23.87). Madison Harris was also eighth in her first ACC 800 final.
"Those are big points," Braman said of the
women's contributions on the distance side.
Gleneve Grange and Ieva Zarankaite dropped 14 points on the field of 15 teams by finishing 2-3, in the women's shot put. Grange was second (17.19 meters)
and Zarankaite capped her breakout series with a personal-best 15.97 mark which moved her to No. 5 all-time for the Noles.
"The women really, really maximized," Braman said.
That so many
first-year Noles - freshmen and transfers alike - stepped up on the biggest stage to date was clearly instrumental in the sweep. And it helped that they had their teammates at their side.
"It just
makes the atmosphere 10 times better than a normal track meet," Cunningham said. "All the track meets we've been to have been kind of cutthroat with the competition. This one means something because
we actually get a team title if we all do our part."
Kirkland echoed similar sentiments.
"The atmosphere was amazing," said the 60-meter dash champ. "I've never in my life been to a track meet
like this where the atmosphere felt like this, even the World Championships. It was so different, with the team coming together and supporting each other. It was just an amazing feeling."
And it
produced amazing results across the board.
Event 1 - 60 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Edward Clarke 6.64 10
2 Andre Ewers 6.64 8
5 Darryl Gay 6.72 4
12T Raheem Robinson 6.84
Event 2 - 200 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Andre Ewers 20.60 10
9 Darryl Gay 21.30
13 Trey Cunningham 21.43
24 Darryl Haraway 22.70
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
9 Kyle Fearrington 47.41
14 Calvin Golson 47.78
Event 4 - 800 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
17 Bert Freire 1:55.03
Event 5 - Mile Run
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
10 Michael Hall 4:09.37
16 Istvan Szogi 4:11.63
23 Toby Hardwick 4:14.82
33 Tyler Dau 4:16.85
Event 6 - 3000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
17 Caleb Pottorff 8:23.44
24 Steven Cross 8:28.99
Event 7 - 5000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
20 Caleb Pottorff 14:46.79
Event 8 - 60 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Trey Cunningham 7.70 10
5 TyeRicke Dickens 7.91 4
Event 9 - 4x400-Meter Relay
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
13 Relay Team A 3:19.69
1) D'Mitry Charlton
2) Bert Freire
3) Kenny Lane
4) Kyle Fearrington
Event 10 - Distance Medley Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
8 Relay Team A 9:46.05 1
1) Toby Hardwick
2) Calvin Golson
3) Bert Freire
4) Istvan Szogi
Event 11 - High Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Corion Knight 6-11.50 2.12m 4
12 Qayyim Ali 6- 5 1.96m
Event 13 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Kenneth Fisher 25- 6.75 7.79m 10
2 Corion Knight 25- 5.25 7.75m 8
3 Armani Wallace 24-10 7.57m 6
4 Jakub Andrzejczak 24- 9 7.54m 5
13 Jacore Irving 22-11.75 7.00m
Event 14 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Armani Wallace 53- 7 16.33m 6
4 Montel Nevers 51-11.75 15.84m 5
8 Ashton Butler 50- 1.25 15.27m 1
16 Jacore Irving 45-11.25 14.00m
Event 15 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Austin Droogsma 65- 7.50 20.00m 10
Event 16 - Weight Throw
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
6 Brandon Tirado 63- 0 19.20m 3
Event 20 - Heptathlon
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Dante Newberg 5291 pts 6
13 Hunter Napier 3410 pts
Event 21 - 60 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
3 Dante Newberg 7.05 865 pts
13 Hunter Napier 7.57 690 pts
Event 22 - Long Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
6 Dante Newberg 22- 4.50 6.82m 771 pts
12 Hunter Napier 19- 5.50 5.93m 571 pts
Event 23 - Shot Put
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
2 Dante Newberg 43- 5 13.23m 681 pts
11 Hunter Napier 35- 1 10.69m 527 pts
Event 24 - High Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
4 Dante Newberg 6- 3.50 1.92m 731 pts
7T Hunter Napier 6- 0 1.83m 653 pts
Event 25 - 60 Meter Hurdles
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
4T Dante Newberg 8.48 865 pts
13 Hunter Napier 9,89 562 pts
Event 26 - Pole Vault
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
6T Dante Newberg 13- 9.25 4.20m 673 pts
NH Hunter Napier
Event 27 - 1000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
10 Dante Newberg 2:55.86 705 pts
12 Hunter Napier 3:29.13 407 pts
NCAA Indoor Championship, 21st place
03/10/2018, March 9-10, 2018, College Station, Tex.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Droogsma Fourth; Grange, Fisher Also Come Through At NCAA Indoors.
Noles score three, advance four on opening day of action.
March 9,
2018
COLLEGE STATION, TX - Out-performing their seeds, three Florida State athletes climbed the podium following scoring performances on the opening night of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field
Championships Friday at Texas A&M's Gilliam Indoor Track Center.
Senior Austin Droogsma's fourth-place finish in the shot put led the way, joining former NCAA champion Garrett Johnson as just the
second Seminole to earn first-team All-American honors in the event.
Overcoming an opening attempt foul, Droogsma's second attempt heave of 19.87 meters (65-2.25) stood up through six rounds of
competition.
"It's huge…a dream come true," Droogsma said, after collecting the first, first-team All-American honor of his career. "I really wish I could have got in the top three, but there's a
lot of stiff competition and I knew that it would be there. I knew that it was going to take 20.20 or 20.30 to get in that top three, and that's what it was.
"I'm super happy with where I am right
now and where we are going into the outdoor season. I don't see any reason why we won't be in that top three outdoors."
Florida State's first points of the night also came in the shot put with
senior Gleneve Grange's steady hand in the circle delivering an eighth-place finish. Grange built on a finals-qualifying opening throw of 16.63 meters, improving to 16.65 and topping out with a
fifth-attempt throw of 17.00 meters (55-9.25).
Grange, FSU's first woman to qualify in the shot put indoors, had a few anxious moments waiting out third attempts from the competition to see if she
would advance to the final. Once she did, the Jamaican star kept the pressure on while delivering the women's team their first points at the meet since 2015.
"It was a breath of fresh air, like,
'Whoo, I can do it. I have three more three throws,'" Grange said. "It is a wonderful feeling knowing that I came out here and did my best."
While Grange was working the circle, long jumpers
Kenneth Fisher and Corion Knight were toiling in the long jump pit. While Knight, the No. 3 seed, never found his rhythm on the runway and finished 13th, Fisher rose to the occasion.
A graduate
transfer who made three NCAA Championships appearances as an undergrad at Bethune-Coookman, advanced to the finals for the first time in his career when he flew 7.62 meters (25-0) on his second
attempt. As it turned out, that number was good enough to deliver the ACC champion an eighth-place finish.
"There was so much relief, once I realized I was in the finals," said Fisher, whose two
days of practice leading up to the competition were not overly encouraging. "All the years I've made it to nationals, I've never made it to the finals. To be able to come out and make it to the finals
and actually place, it's a blessing."
Crediting rest the night before the competition for the revival of his legs, Fisher came through when it mattered most.
"The most important thing is you
have to do it when it counts and that's why I'm proud of myself," he said. "I did it when it counted."
FSU coach Bob Braman was pleased with the Noles' opening night performance, which not only
produced three scorers, but four qualifying efforts for Saturday's finals.
Hurdlers Trey Cunningham and Cortney Jones were leading the qualifying parade. Cunningham, a freshman, nabbed an automatic
spot in the finals by placing second in heat 2. Maintaining his composure with hurdles crashing around him in adjoining lanes, he finished in 7.79 to draw lane 6 for the final.
"That was a gut
check for Trey," Braman said. "It wasn't his best race, but he closed the last two hurdles to take an automatic qualifying spot."
Closing in a fury, Jones posted the second-fastest time of her
career (8.06) in a third-pace heat finish. Not only was the sophomore the fastest qualifier on time - she came into the meet as the No. 10 seed - but is now the first Nole woman to qualify for the
finals in the NCAA era.
"Cortney was awesome," Braman said. "She was the fastest time qualifier and fifth-fastest overall. She competes like a tiger every time out."
Junior Andre Ewers and
freshman Ka'Tia Seymour rounded out the qualifiers, nabbing top-eight spots on time in the 200-meter dash.
It was sweet redemption for Ewers, whose came into the meet as the No. 1 seed in the
60-meter dash - the junior college transfer was seeded ninth in the 200 - but was ushered from the track following a false start earlier in the program.
"Andre tried to do too much," Braman said,
of his stars' false start. "He wanted to drop a bomb in the prelims and got away just a tick early. He'll rebound."
Ewers did by finishing third in his heat behind the night's two fastest
qualifiers, holding it together up on the front stretch to post the sixth-best qualifying time overall in 20.69.
"It was do-or-die for Andre and he gutted it out," Braman said. "I'm proud of him
for keeping his composure. He'll be special in the final."
Seymour's heat assignment was both a blessing and a curse. She drew lane 5, sandwiched between Georgia's Lynna Irby, the world leader in
the 200, and Kentucky's Sydney McLaughlin, the top seed in the 400.
Riding the wave of the highly anticipated Irby-McLaughlin match-up, Seymour came home third (23.10), behind the 22.66-22.68
finish of the front-runners. As it turned out, the blazing pace was just enough to enable Seymour to edge USC senior Deanna Hill by two-thousandths of a second for the eighth and final qualifying
position.
"Freshmen aren't supposed to make finals in their first attempt," Braman said. "She'll be even better tomorrow."
The only other missed opportunities on the night for the Noles came in
the women's 60-meter dash where ACC champ Jayla Kirkland (7.25) and runner-up Seymour (7.27) finished 11th and 12th, respectively.
"I was happy with our freshmen sprint ladies," Braman said. "They
ran their second-fastest fastest times of their lives and even a PB wouldn't have made the final."
Jones Breaks Own Hurdles Mark In Fourth-Place Finish.
Cunningham,
Seymour and Ewers add All-American performances. March 10, 2018
COLLEGE STATION, TX - Cortney Jones' breakout sophomore indoor season continued Saturday on the biggest stage of her career
with a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdle finals at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Jones broke her own Florida State record with a near-flawless final, finishing in 8.02
seconds. It's the best indoor national hurdles finish in program history and a fitting tribute to what could have been a tumultuous season.
"Simply fantastic," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "She rises
to the occasion every time."
Jones' climb from No. 10 seed to the upper steps of the podium at Texas A&M's Gilliam Indoor Track Center was no less difficult than what she endured along the way. A
knee injury in the fall derailed her training until January and led to a slow start. Then, the week of the ACC Championships, her grandfather passed away.
Her runner-up finish at the ACC
Championships produced a school record (8.05), which she trimmed substantially in the biggest race of her life. Despite the setback and obstacles, Jones has taken her 60-meter time from 8.18 to 8.02
this season and is almost assured for joining the sub-8 club.
"Everything I'm doing now I'm doing for my family," Jones said. "I'm doing it for my grandfather who recently passed away. I'm doing
it for my parents. They are the reason why I'm here. For them to actually be here watching me do what I do is the best feeling I could ever imagine. I'm so grateful for the things they've done for me.
This is the least I could do for them."
Which explains why Jones raised her fourth-place trophy overhead and shouted in joy to her parents and family in the stands.
"I feel like I had something
to prove to myself," Jones said, adding that she was surprisingly calm before the race. "I feel like a lot of people look at me as an underdog and don't expect me to be that person in the top three or
top four. That was really motivating me to do what I did today.
"I'm proud. This is something I've been working for. Now I've got to go out and repeat it outdoors."
Jones' run came moments after
freshman Trey Cunningham locked down a sixth-place finish in the men's 60-meter hurdle finals. His 7.74 dash over five barriers extended an impressive run by indoor hurdlers in FSU history.
All-time the Noles have qualified 10 hurdlers for the indoor championships, and Cunningham extended the streak to 10 scoring finalists. It's a run which began with eventual two-time national champion
Danny Smith (1973-75) through national champions Phillip Riley (1995) and Drew Brunson (2008), and now adds a young man with championship aspirations of his own.
"Obviously I wanted to win, but I
came out All-American, in sixth place; not bad for my first-ever Indoor Nationals," Cunningham said. "I got out with them and I ran my own race. It couldn't have been executed any better. I think I
hit hurdle three and that might have bumped my rhythm off a little bit, but nothing major.
"I ended up being the fastest freshman in the nation. That's a plus. There's a little more growth to go.
That's what I'm taking away from it."
Braman called it: "A great first NCAA meet for a promising freshman."
Fellow freshman Ka'Tia Seymour capped her inaugural collegiate indoor season with a
sixth-place finish in the 200-meter dash, posting a 23.01 in the final; the second-best time of her career.
"It was a wonderful experience," Seymour said. "Just being a freshman and being able to
be here was awesome."
That's no small feat for the youngster, who had never run indoor track before this season and ended up setting the school record (28.85), earning ACC Track MVP honors while
helping the Noles to that title.
As for her performance on the big stage, she clearly grew from the experience.
"I'm pretty pleased," she said. "I'm excited that I had the chance to run with
people like Lynna Irby and Sydney McLaughlin. They pushed me a little faster than I expected in the prelims and they got me to the finals. I think I was a little more relaxed. I knew that anything was
possible."
"Ka'Tia did a great job," Braman said. "She fought her way out of Lane 3 and got up for sixth-place. I'm so proud of how she's competed all season."
Junior Andre Ewers wrapped up the
Seminole scorers with an eighth-place finish in the 200-meter dash finals in 20.88. It wasn't the NCAA Championships debut the junior college transfer had hoped for, but he wasn't coming away
empty-handed.
"I take away experience, going into outdoors," Ewers said. "I'm grateful because I came into the season with [personal-bests of] 6.65 and 20.90 and ended with 20.60 and 6.52. The work
continues for outdoor to keep my accomplishments going."
Braman believes he will be better for having come through the adversity of a false start in the 60, while rising up to score in the 200,
where he was the No. 9 seed.
"Andre will learn from his first NCAA meet," Braman said. "First-team All-American is nothing to apologize for, but I know he'll clean up his technique with Coach Argro
and move up Outdoors in three events."
FSU's men tied for 21st place with 10 points, which is their best finish since placing fourth in 2014. Meanwhile the women finished 26th with nine points,
marking their first scoring performance at the meet since placing 24th in 2015.
The men and women combined for seven first-team All-American honors.
"Overall it's been a great season," Braman
said. "We're super young and inexperienced and this meet is a tough one to cut your teeth on. The guys will learn and make some noise at the outdoor meet, of that I'm certain.
"The women continue
to amaze me. They've out-performed their seed position all year, and when you do that at this meet that's really saying something."
Event 1 - 60 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
FS Andre Ewers
Event 2 - 200 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
8 Andre Ewers 20.69 1
Event 8 - 60 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
6 Trey Cunningham 7.74 3
Event 11 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
8 Kenneth Fisher 25- 0 7.62m 1
13 Corion Knight 24- 4.50 7.43m
Event 12 - Triple Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
13 Armani Wallace 51-11.75 15.84m
Event 15 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Austin Droogsma 65- 2.25 19.87m 5
Bulls Invitational
03/17/2018, March 16-17, 2018, Tampa, Fla.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Cross Wins Season-Opening Outdoor Debut In 5k.
Noles knock off rust in Atlanta, Orlando; more to come Saturday.
March 16, 2018
ATLANTA,
GA - Florida State redshirt freshman Steven Cross won his outdoor debut for the Noles, capturing the 5000-meter title at the Yellow Jacket Invitational Friday night.
Finishing with a 56-second last
lap around Georgia Tech's George C. Griffin track, Cross won in 14:28.04, just off his previous personal-best (14:21.33) set last season while competing unattached at the Seminole Twilight.
"He ran
great and looked like the Steven who won Junior Nationals last year," FSU coach Bob Braman said.
Grad transfer David Barney (14:43.89) finished fifth in his track debut with the Noles and was
followed by Michael Callegari (seventh, 14:48.53), Tyson Murray (12th, 15:08.53) and Thomas Hogarty (19th, 15:19.52) in the 42-man field.
FSU women's distance coach Kelly Phillips sent nine runners
to the starting line in the 5000-meter run, including six competing on the track at that distance for the first time. One of those newbies was freshman Addi Coggins, pacing the Noles crew with a
third-place finish in 17:22.67.
Veteran Mackenzie Landa was on Coggins' heels, finishing fourth in 17:23.18, while sophomore Hailey Hendry's 78-second personal-best (17:30.88) was good for fifth
overall. Redshirt junior Forever Young picked up where she left off in cross country, placing seventh (17:44.70). Freshman Jen Lima was 21st (18:12.81).
Junior Fatema Jaffer (18:12.81) guided
freshmen Sarah Myers (18:46.53), Sarah Myers (18:46.53), Micaela Torres (18:48.45) and Kate Bernicke (19:05.61) rounded out the crew.
Field events take center stage at UCF Black & Gold.
ORLANDO, FL - Orlando area native Nicole Breske's second-place pole vault finish led a solid showing by FSU field event athletes Friday at the UCF Black & Gold Challenge.
Breske, a sophomore from
Winter Park High School, celebrated her homecoming with an outdoor opening clearance of 3.80 meters (12-5.5). Fellow sophomore and Orlando native Summer Schafers was seventh (3.65m/11-11.75) and
redshirt freshman Oliva Ogles (3.50m/11-5.75) was 14th.
Brandon Tirado opened his junior season with a fifth-place finish in the hammer (58.01m/190-4).
Redshirt sophomore Kayla Maczuga
registered the lone personal-best of the day, placing seventh in the javelin (39.95m/131-1).
Sophomore Conor McClain's season-opening javelin best of 56.87 meters (186-7) was good enough to reach
the finals and place ninth. Dante Newberg (47.28m/155-1) and Conner Flynn (45.80m/150-3) rounded out the competitors.
Yellow Jacket Invitational
03/17/2018, Atlanta, Ga.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Cross Wins Season-Opening Outdoor Debut In 5k.
Noles knock off rust in Atlanta, Orlando; more to come Saturday.
March 16, 2018
ATLANTA,
GA - Florida State redshirt freshman Steven Cross won his outdoor debut for the Noles, capturing the 5000-meter title at the Yellow Jacket Invitational Friday night.
Finishing with a 56-second last
lap around Georgia Tech's George C. Griffin track, Cross won in 14:28.04, just off his previous personal-best (14:21.33) set last season while competing unattached at the Seminole Twilight.
"He ran
great and looked like the Steven who won Junior Nationals last year," FSU coach Bob Braman said.
Grad transfer David Barney (14:43.89) finished fifth in his track debut with the Noles and was
followed by Michael Callegari (seventh, 14:48.53), Tyson Murray (12th, 15:08.53) and Thomas Hogarty (19th, 15:19.52) in the 42-man field.
FSU women's distance coach Kelly Phillips sent nine runners
to the starting line in the 5000-meter run, including six competing on the track at that distance for the first time. One of those newbies was freshman Addi Coggins, pacing the Noles crew with a
third-place finish in 17:22.67.
Veteran Mackenzie Landa was on Coggins' heels, finishing fourth in 17:23.18, while sophomore Hailey Hendry's 78-second personal-best (17:30.88) was good for fifth
overall. Redshirt junior Forever Young picked up where she left off in cross country, placing seventh (17:44.70). Freshman Jen Lima was 21st (18:12.81).
Junior Fatema Jaffer (18:12.81) guided
freshmen Sarah Myers (18:46.53), Sarah Myers (18:46.53), Micaela Torres (18:48.45) and Kate Bernicke (19:05.61) rounded out the crew.
Field events take center stage at UCF Black & Gold.
ORLANDO, FL - Orlando area native Nicole Breske's second-place pole vault finish led a solid showing by FSU field event athletes Friday at the UCF Black & Gold Challenge.
Breske, a sophomore from
Winter Park High School, celebrated her homecoming with an outdoor opening clearance of 3.80 meters (12-5.5). Fellow sophomore and Orlando native Summer Schafers was seventh (3.65m/11-11.75) and
redshirt freshman Oliva Ogles (3.50m/11-5.75) was 14th.
Brandon Tirado opened his junior season with a fifth-place finish in the hammer (58.01m/190-4).
Redshirt sophomore Kayla Maczuga
registered the lone personal-best of the day, placing seventh in the javelin (39.95m/131-1).
Sophomore Conor McClain's season-opening javelin best of 56.87 meters (186-7) was good enough to reach
the finals and place ninth. Dante Newberg (47.28m/155-1) and Conner Flynn (45.80m/150-3) rounded out the competitors.
FSU Relays
03/23/2018, Tallahassee, Fla.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Records, Rivalry, Jersey Retirements Highlight FSU Relays.
Noles shine through in present before past stars honored on Friday.
TALLAHASSEE,
FL – Toppling a 28-year-old school record, redshirt freshman Lauri Paredes’ Florida State debut in the javelin was one of a handful of highlights for the Seminoles at Friday’s 39th running of the FSU
Relays.
With her mother and aunt in the Mike Long Track stands while visiting from Paraguay, Paredes’ throw of 53.50 meters (175-6) took down Kari Keith’s 1990 mark of 53.30m; one of the oldest in
the FSU record and the last one among the throws events which pre-dated sixth-year throws coach Dorian Scott’s tenure.
“You can’t ask for much more than a school record in your collegiate debut,”
FSU coach Bob Braman said. “She’s really going to be a special athlete over the next four years.”
Paredes’ mark was among several special performances on the day by the Noles men and women, who
combined for five victories in the single-day, seven-team collegiate meet. Three of those victories produced nation-leading marks.
In all, there were six new entries to FSU’s top-10, all-time list,
and even more certain NCAA postseason qualifying marks. Those are pretty healthy consolation prizes for the men’s second-place finish in the team scoring behind fourth-ranked Florida (161-113), and
the women’s third-place 119.5-point total behind Southern Miss (130) and Florida (128) in a team battle which wasn’t decided until the closing 4x400 relay.
Equal to the performances on the track
and in the field was the celebration of two incredible careers as Florida State retired the jerseys of eight-time NCAA champion Walter Dix and former world record-holder Kim Batten before an
impressive crowd.
Hurdlers Trey Cunningham and Cortney Jones set the tone in the first track event of the afternoon. Cunningham laid down a winning time of 13.63 in his first collegiate 110-meter
hurdles race, which ranks No. 4 all-time at FSU, trailing only an Olympian and a pair of national title winners.
“He’s just learning the event, and he’s able to run one of the top FSU times ever,”
Braman said, referring to the 42-inch hurdles. Fellow freshman Tye Dickens was fifth in an impressive 13.98.
“Breaking 14 seconds in just his second collegiate 110-meter hurdles race is no small
feat.”
Jones, racing for the first time since placing fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60-meter hurdles, matched her lifetime-best in the 100-meter hurdles season-opener to win in
13.06. Naturally, it was the fastest opener of the sophomore’s career.
Both times are perched atop NCAA Division I.
It wasn’t the only time the Noles women seemingly rode the wave behind a men’s
effort in a similar event. While the men’s 4x100 relay team of Raheem Chambers, Andre Ewers, Darryl Gay and Edward Clarke were second in a certain NCAA postseason qualifying mark (39.65), the women
were just a little bit better.
FSU’s quartet of freshman Jayla Kirkland, junior Shauna Helps, Jones and freshman Ka’Tia Seymour roared to victory in 44.16, and also punched their postseason
ticket.
“The women were spectacular, especially considering this is their first time together,” Braman said. “The men ran well with a patched together group and they should be nationally
competitive once they get Darryl Haraway healthy and back in the lineup.”
As it turned out, Seymour and Helps were merely warming up for an even bigger performance in the 200-meter dash. On the
heels of her sixth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Seymour dropped a personal-best winning time of 22.75, with Helps on her heels in her personal-best of 22.97.
“Those are amazing
March times for anyone,” Braman said.
Not only do they rank 1-3 nationally, Seymour is now No. 3 on FSU’s all-time list, with Helps checking in at No. 8.
Paredes wasn’t the only Nole shining in
the field events. Sophomore Shanice Love posted her second consecutive discus victory – and personal-best – leading a 1-3-5 finish by the Noles with a winning hurl of 56.52 meters (185-5). That mark
ranks No. 3 nationally and all-time among Seminoles.
Ieva Zarankaite, who was third in the discus, picked up a position in the shot put when she crushed a personal-best mark (16.32m/53-6.5), which
is No. 3 on FSU’s all-time list.
The Seminoles also posted quite a few postseason qualifying marks, including Kenneth Fisher (7.53m/24-8.5) and Armani Wallace (7.50/24-7.25) in the long jump, where
Montel Nevers (7.34/24-1) also recorded an encouraging personal-best. Corion Knight most certainly punched his postseason ticket in the high jump (2.15m/7-0.5) with a runner-up finish.
In all, it
was great start to the two-day meet, which also produced three high school meet records as well as a facility record by Florida’s Anders Eriksson (71.75m/235-4) in the hammer.
Event 1 - 100 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Edward Clarke 10.44 4
5 Raheem Robinson 10.64 1
14 Hunter Napier 12.00
Event 2 - 200 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
7 Kyle Fearrington 21.27
11 Darryl Haraway 21.95
14 TyeRicke Dickens 22.28
Event 3 - 4000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
14 Steven Simpkins 51.06
Event 4 - 800 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Bert Freire 1:51.93 2
8 Matt Butler 1:53.61
Event 5 - 1500 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
9 Toby Hardwick 3:49.57
10 David Barney 3:50.06
15 Michael Callegari 3:55.21
16 Istvan Szogi 3:55.47
19 Tom Hogarty 3:57.91
Event 6 - 5000 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Steven Cross 15:10.34 1
9 Tyson Murray 15:17.80
Event 8 - 110 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Trey Cunningham 13.63 5
5 TyeRicke Dickens 13.98 1
Event 10 - 2000-Meter Steeplechase
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Michael Hall 5:53.75 5
Event 11 - 4x100-Meter Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Relay Team A 39.65 4
1) Raheem Robinson
2) Andre Ewers
3) Darryl Gay
4) Edward Clarke
4 Relay Team B 40.95 2
1) Keniel Grant
2) Darryl Haraway
3) Shamon Ehiemua
4) TyeRicke Dickens
7 Relay Team C 41.58
1) Trey Cunningham
2) Kyle Fearrington
3) TyeRicke Dickens
4) Elijah Knight
Event 12 - 4x400-Meter Relay
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
7 Relay Team C 3:18.79
1) TyeRicke Dickens
2) Trey Cunningham
3) D'Mitry Charlton
4) Dante Newberg
Event 13 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Kenneth Fisher 24- 8.50 7.53m 2
5 Armani Wallace 24- 7.25 7.50m 1
8 Montel Nevers 24- 1 7.34m
10 Keniel Grant 23- 8.25 7.22m
13 Jacore Irving 22- 3.25 6.79m
15 Hunter Napier 20- 6.50 6.26m
Event 15 - High Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Corion Knight 7- 0.75 2.15m 4
4 Qayyim Ali 6- 7.50 2.02m 2
Event 17 - Shot Put
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
6 Noah Agwu 48-11.75 14.93m
9 Dante Newberg 42- 7.75 13.00m
Event 18 - Discus
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Noah Agwu 170- 4 51.93m 3
Event 19 - Hammer
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Brandon Tirado 190- 8 58.11m 2
Event 20 - Javelin
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
11 Conor McClain 184- 8 56.28m
Florida Relays
03/31/2018, March 29-31, 2018, Gainesville, Fla.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Love, Seymour Keep Winning; Noles Stockpile Runner-Up Finishes.
March 30, 2018
by Bob Thomas
GAINESVILLE, FL – Shanice Love and Ka’Tia Seymour
continued their winning ways Friday at the Pepsi Florida Relays, while their Florida State track & field teammates stacked up four runner-up finishes and a third under less than ideal conditions.
Unfazed by the rainfall throughout the day at Florida’s Percy Beard Stadium, Love won her third discus title – with her third personal-best of the season – in as many meets to claim in the
invitational section. Seymour, a freshman raced to victory in the 200-meter invitational section.
“I’ve just been working on technique and trying to get things right,” said Love, a sophomore who
moved to No. 2 on FSU’s all-time list with her winning mark of 57.39 meters (188-3). “The competition today brought a good bit out of me. It pushed me to go after it.”
By posting the No. 4 mark
collegiately this season, Love was able to hold off runner-up Laulauga Tausaga of Iowa, who finished six centimeters back. And as has been the case all season, teammates Ieva Zarankaite
(53.59m/175-10) and Gleneve Grange (49.22/161-6) joined her in the finals. Zarankaite finished third.
Seymour ran down the field off the final turn to win the 200-meter dash in 22.96, while
teammate Shauna Helps finished fifth.
It was another freshman, 110-meter hurdler Trey Cunningham, who began the days’ parade of runner-up finishes. The Winfield, Ala. native was second to defending
NCAA champion Grant Holloway of Florida in 13.70.
The Seminoles advanced three men to the finals of the invitational long jump and senior Corion Knight emerged with the top mark of the trio,
placing second in a certain NCAA postseason-qualifying mark of 7.64 meters (25-0.75). Senior Keniel Grant finished fourth in a season-best 7.45m (24-5.5), while indoor All-American Kenneth Fisher
(7.36) was seventh.
Sophomore transfer Noah Agwu placed second in the college section of the men’s discus with a top mark of 51.43 meters (168-9).
In the final field event of the night, redshirt
freshman Lauri Paredes strong together a solid javelin series, topped out by her second-place mark of 52.38 meters (171-10).
Late Thursday, junior Brandon Tirado came through with a new
personal-best in the men’s hammer, placing fourth in the college section with a mark of 61.58 meters (202-2).
Friday’s foul weather led to the postponement of several events until Saturday morning,
including the men’s invitational high jump (Corion Knight) and the women’s pole vault (Nicole Breske).
Saturday’s action will feature senior Austin Droogsma in the invitational section of the
discus, followed by a title defense in the invitational shot put. Armani Wallace, Montel Nevers and Ashton Butler will make their outdoor season debuts in the triple jump, while Grange and Zarankate
will compete in the women’s invitational shot put.
Ewers advances to 100-meter final at Texas Relays.
AUSTIN, TX - Junior transfer Andre Ewers’ outdoor debut in the 100-meter dash
produced a slightly wind-aided time of 10.18, which qualified him fourth-fastest out of 97 athletes for Saturday’s finals at the 91st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Earlier in the day Friday, the
Seminoles’ 4×100 relay team of Edward Clarke, Ewers, Darryl Gay and Darryl Haraway came up one-hundredth of the second shy of advancing to Saturday’s nine-team final. Sloppy exchanges and a tough
headwind on the home stretch led the FSU quartet 10th overall in 40.20, just behind ninth-place Sam Houston State (40.19), which was one of four teams out of the fifth and final section to advance.
Trio of 1500-meter ladies shine at Raleigh Relays.
RALEIGH, NC - Sophomore Maudie Skyring paced a strong trio of Seminole women in Friday’s 1500-meter run at the Raleigh Relays, placing 15th
overall with her collegiate-best time of 4:24.47; just off the Australia native’s personal-best set last summer.
Emily Edwards (4:27.34) and Madison Harris (4:29.29) registered lifetime-bests in
the event.
“Madi races smart, went out at a solid pace stayed in the 3-4 position the whole time,” FSU women’s distance coach Kelly Phillips said. “She finished strong the last 200, placing second
in her heat. She looked very strong with a new PR.
“Maudie probably went out a bit quick and then settled a little too much on second lap. She finished very strong over the last 200 and was
catching people. Emily was fighting a bit of a stomach bug over the past week, so we weren’t sure how today would play out, but she ran tough and while feeling a little miserable still ran a PB.”
Hall’s 5000 debut at Stanford is solid.
STANFORD, CA - Redshirt junior Michael Hall produced a rock-solid 14:07.77 in his 5000-meter debut Friday night at the Stanford Invitational. The
miler-turned-steeplechaser closed with a 59-second final lap to place sixth in section three.
David Barney ran near the front most of the way but came home 11th in 14:17.45.
Still to race were
Militsa Mircheva, Steven Cross and Stanley Linton in the 10,000 meters.
Droogsma Repeats With Collegiate-Best; Ewers, Wallace Post Top-3 Marks.
Seminoles put a wrap
up long, productive weekend of competition. March 31, 2018
GAINESVILLE, FL - Senior Austin Droogsma successfully defended Pepsi Florida Relays shot put title in style Saturday at Percy Beard
Stadium, unloading a lifetime-best second attempt of 20.32 meters (66-8) for the win.
Droogsma's winning throw is the top mark collegiately this season, highlighting a day where the Noles produced
three, top-three national performances.
At the Texas Relays, junior transfer Andre Ewers sailed to a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash in a wind-aided time of 10.04, which should stand as
the No. 2 time among NCAA Division I sprinters.
Junior Armani Wallace posted the best season-opening triple jump of his career, covering 16.07 meters (52-8.75) to finish three inches behind
Florida's KeAndre Bates (16.14/52-11.5) for top individual honors. Those are the second- and third-best marks collegiately this season.
Droogsma came into the meet with an outdoor-best of 19.70
meters, which was his winning mark at the 2017 Florida Relays, though he had posted an indoor-best of 20.10 meters (65-11.5) at Notre Dame in February.
I really didn't know how I was going to open
up," Droogsma said. "I had a little hiccup in training this past week, so I was a little uncertain, but I felt good in practice yesterday.
"I just wanted to come out here and work on a couple
things. I didn't really do that, but I hit a big throw…and had three throws over 19.50 for the day. I can't be mad at that for an opener."
Droogsma moved to No. 2 on FSU's all-time list outdoors,
passing his coach Dorian Scott (20.21m). He trails only Garrett Johnson (20.84).
"To have done it indoors and now to have done it outdoors is a great thing," Droogsma said, after eclipsing the
20-meter standard of excellence. "I think we're in a great spot to continue on with the 20 meter throws throughout the season…
"Hopefully those 20-meter throws will come more readily and continue
to get farther and farther."
As it stands, Droogsma ranks 14th in the World and is the No. 2 American in the shot put. His winning throw also eclipsed the qualifying standard (20.15m) for the June
USATF Championships.
Wallace's top season-opening triple jump mark of his career was also the first time he has ever eclipsed 16 meters in the month of March; no small feat considering the volume
of training work he and his jumps group have been under leading up to the meet.
"I actually wanted to start around 16.30 because that's what I'm capable of," said Wallace, who also recorded a
16.05-meter mark in his series. "We've been training pretty hard…Everything isn't firing like it was at conference and nationals [indoors]. In reality, where we are in our training, it's good."
All
three Seminoles advanced to the finals of the men's triple jump with senior Montel Nevers placing fifth (15.57m/51-1) and Ashton Butler finishing seventh (15.41m/50-6.75). Those too were
season-opening best performances.
Gleneve Grange finished second in the women's invitational shot put, posting a top mark of 16.54 meters (54-3.25), while Ieva Zarankaite was fifth in 15.62m
(51-3).
All in all, the Noles enjoyed a strong weekend as they spanned out across the country, competing in four meets in three different time zones.
Event 1 - 100 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
43 Keniel Grant 10.88
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
11 Kyle Fearrington 46.96
Event 4 - 800 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
41 Bert Freire 1:51.84
58 Matt Butler 1:56.33
Event 6 - 5000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
28 Tom Hogarty 15:04.05
Event 8 - 110 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Trey Cunningham 13.70 4
24 TyeRicke Dickens 14.35
62 Dante Newberg 15.94
Event 9 - 400 Meter Hurdles
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
35 D'Mitry Charlton 54.98
Event 12 - 4x400-Meter Relay
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
21 Relay Team A 3:15.96
1) TyeRicke Dickens
2) Kyle Fearrington
3) Trey Cunningham
4) Steven Simpkins
Event 13 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Corion Knight 25- 0.75 7.64m 4
4 Keniel Grant 24- 5.25 7.45m 2
7 Kenneth Fisher 24- 1.75 7.36m
Event 14 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Armani Wallace 52- 8.75 16.07m 4
5 Montel Nevers 51- 1 15.57m 1
7 Ashton Butler 50- 6.75 15.41m
Event 15 - High Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
8 Corion Knight 6- 9 2.06m
Event 17 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Austin Droogsma 66- 8 20.32m 5
Event 18 - Discus
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Noah Agwu 168- 9 51.43m 4
8 Austin Droogsma 180- 9 55.09m
Event 19 - Hammer
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Brandon Tirado 202- 0 61.58m 2
Texas Relays
03/31/2018, March 28-31, 2018, Austin, Tex.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Love, Seymour Keep Winning; Noles Stockpile Runner-Up Finishes.
March 30, 2018
by Bob Thomas
GAINESVILLE, FL – Shanice Love and Ka’Tia Seymour
continued their winning ways Friday at the Pepsi Florida Relays, while their Florida State track & field teammates stacked up four runner-up finishes and a third under less than ideal conditions.
Unfazed by the rainfall throughout the day at Florida’s Percy Beard Stadium, Love won her third discus title – with her third personal-best of the season – in as many meets to claim in the
invitational section. Seymour, a freshman raced to victory in the 200-meter invitational section.
“I’ve just been working on technique and trying to get things right,” said Love, a sophomore who
moved to No. 2 on FSU’s all-time list with her winning mark of 57.39 meters (188-3). “The competition today brought a good bit out of me. It pushed me to go after it.”
By posting the No. 4 mark
collegiately this season, Love was able to hold off runner-up Laulauga Tausaga of Iowa, who finished six centimeters back. And as has been the case all season, teammates Ieva Zarankaite
(53.59m/175-10) and Gleneve Grange (49.22/161-6) joined her in the finals. Zarankaite finished third.
Seymour ran down the field off the final turn to win the 200-meter dash in 22.96, while
teammate Shauna Helps finished fifth.
It was another freshman, 110-meter hurdler Trey Cunningham, who began the days’ parade of runner-up finishes. The Winfield, Ala. native was second to defending
NCAA champion Grant Holloway of Florida in 13.70.
The Seminoles advanced three men to the finals of the invitational long jump and senior Corion Knight emerged with the top mark of the trio,
placing second in a certain NCAA postseason-qualifying mark of 7.64 meters (25-0.75). Senior Keniel Grant finished fourth in a season-best 7.45m (24-5.5), while indoor All-American Kenneth Fisher
(7.36) was seventh.
Sophomore transfer Noah Agwu placed second in the college section of the men’s discus with a top mark of 51.43 meters (168-9).
In the final field event of the night, redshirt
freshman Lauri Paredes strong together a solid javelin series, topped out by her second-place mark of 52.38 meters (171-10).
Late Thursday, junior Brandon Tirado came through with a new
personal-best in the men’s hammer, placing fourth in the college section with a mark of 61.58 meters (202-2).
Friday’s foul weather led to the postponement of several events until Saturday morning,
including the men’s invitational high jump (Corion Knight) and the women’s pole vault (Nicole Breske).
Saturday’s action will feature senior Austin Droogsma in the invitational section of the
discus, followed by a title defense in the invitational shot put. Armani Wallace, Montel Nevers and Ashton Butler will make their outdoor season debuts in the triple jump, while Grange and Zarankate
will compete in the women’s invitational shot put.
Ewers advances to 100-meter final at Texas Relays.
AUSTIN, TX - Junior transfer Andre Ewers’ outdoor debut in the 100-meter dash
produced a slightly wind-aided time of 10.18, which qualified him fourth-fastest out of 97 athletes for Saturday’s finals at the 91st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Earlier in the day Friday, the
Seminoles’ 4×100 relay team of Edward Clarke, Ewers, Darryl Gay and Darryl Haraway came up one-hundredth of the second shy of advancing to Saturday’s nine-team final. Sloppy exchanges and a tough
headwind on the home stretch led the FSU quartet 10th overall in 40.20, just behind ninth-place Sam Houston State (40.19), which was one of four teams out of the fifth and final section to advance.
Trio of 1500-meter ladies shine at Raleigh Relays.
RALEIGH, NC - Sophomore Maudie Skyring paced a strong trio of Seminole women in Friday’s 1500-meter run at the Raleigh Relays, placing 15th
overall with her collegiate-best time of 4:24.47; just off the Australia native’s personal-best set last summer.
Emily Edwards (4:27.34) and Madison Harris (4:29.29) registered lifetime-bests in
the event.
“Madi races smart, went out at a solid pace stayed in the 3-4 position the whole time,” FSU women’s distance coach Kelly Phillips said. “She finished strong the last 200, placing second
in her heat. She looked very strong with a new PR.
“Maudie probably went out a bit quick and then settled a little too much on second lap. She finished very strong over the last 200 and was
catching people. Emily was fighting a bit of a stomach bug over the past week, so we weren’t sure how today would play out, but she ran tough and while feeling a little miserable still ran a PB.”
Hall’s 5000 debut at Stanford is solid.
STANFORD, CA - Redshirt junior Michael Hall produced a rock-solid 14:07.77 in his 5000-meter debut Friday night at the Stanford Invitational. The
miler-turned-steeplechaser closed with a 59-second final lap to place sixth in section three.
David Barney ran near the front most of the way but came home 11th in 14:17.45.
Still to race were
Militsa Mircheva, Steven Cross and Stanley Linton in the 10,000 meters.
Droogsma Repeats With Collegiate-Best; Ewers, Wallace Post Top-3 Marks.
Seminoles put a wrap
up long, productive weekend of competition. March 31, 2018
GAINESVILLE, FL - Senior Austin Droogsma successfully defended Pepsi Florida Relays shot put title in style Saturday at Percy Beard
Stadium, unloading a lifetime-best second attempt of 20.32 meters (66-8) for the win.
Droogsma's winning throw is the top mark collegiately this season, highlighting a day where the Noles produced
three, top-three national performances.
At the Texas Relays, junior transfer Andre Ewers sailed to a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash in a wind-aided time of 10.04, which should stand as
the No. 2 time among NCAA Division I sprinters.
Junior Armani Wallace posted the best season-opening triple jump of his career, covering 16.07 meters (52-8.75) to finish three inches behind
Florida's KeAndre Bates (16.14/52-11.5) for top individual honors. Those are the second- and third-best marks collegiately this season.
Droogsma came into the meet with an outdoor-best of 19.70
meters, which was his winning mark at the 2017 Florida Relays, though he had posted an indoor-best of 20.10 meters (65-11.5) at Notre Dame in February.
I really didn't know how I was going to open
up," Droogsma said. "I had a little hiccup in training this past week, so I was a little uncertain, but I felt good in practice yesterday.
"I just wanted to come out here and work on a couple
things. I didn't really do that, but I hit a big throw…and had three throws over 19.50 for the day. I can't be mad at that for an opener."
Droogsma moved to No. 2 on FSU's all-time list outdoors,
passing his coach Dorian Scott (20.21m). He trails only Garrett Johnson (20.84).
"To have done it indoors and now to have done it outdoors is a great thing," Droogsma said, after eclipsing the
20-meter standard of excellence. "I think we're in a great spot to continue on with the 20 meter throws throughout the season…
"Hopefully those 20-meter throws will come more readily and continue
to get farther and farther."
As it stands, Droogsma ranks 14th in the World and is the No. 2 American in the shot put. His winning throw also eclipsed the qualifying standard (20.15m) for the June
USATF Championships.
Wallace's top season-opening triple jump mark of his career was also the first time he has ever eclipsed 16 meters in the month of March; no small feat considering the volume
of training work he and his jumps group have been under leading up to the meet.
"I actually wanted to start around 16.30 because that's what I'm capable of," said Wallace, who also recorded a
16.05-meter mark in his series. "We've been training pretty hard…Everything isn't firing like it was at conference and nationals [indoors]. In reality, where we are in our training, it's good."
All
three Seminoles advanced to the finals of the men's triple jump with senior Montel Nevers placing fifth (15.57m/51-1) and Ashton Butler finishing seventh (15.41m/50-6.75). Those too were
season-opening best performances.
Gleneve Grange finished second in the women's invitational shot put, posting a top mark of 16.54 meters (54-3.25), while Ieva Zarankaite was fifth in 15.62m
(51-3).
All in all, the Noles enjoyed a strong weekend as they spanned out across the country, competing in four meets in three different time zones.
Event 1 - 100 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Andre Ewers 10.04w 3
25 Edward Clarke 10.45
62 Raheem Robinson 10.73
Event 11 - 4x100-Meter Relay
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
10 Relay Team A 40.20
1) Edward Clarke
2) Andre Ewers
3) Darryl Gay
4) Darryl Haraway
Raleigh Relays
03/31/2018, March 30-31, 2018, Raleigh, N.C.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Love, Seymour Keep Winning; Noles Stockpile Runner-Up Finishes.
March 30, 2018
by Bob Thomas
GAINESVILLE, FL – Shanice Love and Ka’Tia Seymour
continued their winning ways Friday at the Pepsi Florida Relays, while their Florida State track & field teammates stacked up four runner-up finishes and a third under less than ideal conditions.
Unfazed by the rainfall throughout the day at Florida’s Percy Beard Stadium, Love won her third discus title – with her third personal-best of the season – in as many meets to claim in the
invitational section. Seymour, a freshman raced to victory in the 200-meter invitational section.
“I’ve just been working on technique and trying to get things right,” said Love, a sophomore who
moved to No. 2 on FSU’s all-time list with her winning mark of 57.39 meters (188-3). “The competition today brought a good bit out of me. It pushed me to go after it.”
By posting the No. 4 mark
collegiately this season, Love was able to hold off runner-up Laulauga Tausaga of Iowa, who finished six centimeters back. And as has been the case all season, teammates Ieva Zarankaite
(53.59m/175-10) and Gleneve Grange (49.22/161-6) joined her in the finals. Zarankaite finished third.
Seymour ran down the field off the final turn to win the 200-meter dash in 22.96, while
teammate Shauna Helps finished fifth.
It was another freshman, 110-meter hurdler Trey Cunningham, who began the days’ parade of runner-up finishes. The Winfield, Ala. native was second to defending
NCAA champion Grant Holloway of Florida in 13.70.
The Seminoles advanced three men to the finals of the invitational long jump and senior Corion Knight emerged with the top mark of the trio,
placing second in a certain NCAA postseason-qualifying mark of 7.64 meters (25-0.75). Senior Keniel Grant finished fourth in a season-best 7.45m (24-5.5), while indoor All-American Kenneth Fisher
(7.36) was seventh.
Sophomore transfer Noah Agwu placed second in the college section of the men’s discus with a top mark of 51.43 meters (168-9).
In the final field event of the night, redshirt
freshman Lauri Paredes strong together a solid javelin series, topped out by her second-place mark of 52.38 meters (171-10).
Late Thursday, junior Brandon Tirado came through with a new
personal-best in the men’s hammer, placing fourth in the college section with a mark of 61.58 meters (202-2).
Friday’s foul weather led to the postponement of several events until Saturday morning,
including the men’s invitational high jump (Corion Knight) and the women’s pole vault (Nicole Breske).
Saturday’s action will feature senior Austin Droogsma in the invitational section of the
discus, followed by a title defense in the invitational shot put. Armani Wallace, Montel Nevers and Ashton Butler will make their outdoor season debuts in the triple jump, while Grange and Zarankate
will compete in the women’s invitational shot put.
Ewers advances to 100-meter final at Texas Relays.
AUSTIN, TX - Junior transfer Andre Ewers’ outdoor debut in the 100-meter dash
produced a slightly wind-aided time of 10.18, which qualified him fourth-fastest out of 97 athletes for Saturday’s finals at the 91st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Earlier in the day Friday, the
Seminoles’ 4×100 relay team of Edward Clarke, Ewers, Darryl Gay and Darryl Haraway came up one-hundredth of the second shy of advancing to Saturday’s nine-team final. Sloppy exchanges and a tough
headwind on the home stretch led the FSU quartet 10th overall in 40.20, just behind ninth-place Sam Houston State (40.19), which was one of four teams out of the fifth and final section to advance.
Trio of 1500-meter ladies shine at Raleigh Relays.
RALEIGH, NC - Sophomore Maudie Skyring paced a strong trio of Seminole women in Friday’s 1500-meter run at the Raleigh Relays, placing 15th
overall with her collegiate-best time of 4:24.47; just off the Australia native’s personal-best set last summer.
Emily Edwards (4:27.34) and Madison Harris (4:29.29) registered lifetime-bests in
the event.
“Madi races smart, went out at a solid pace stayed in the 3-4 position the whole time,” FSU women’s distance coach Kelly Phillips said. “She finished strong the last 200, placing second
in her heat. She looked very strong with a new PR.
“Maudie probably went out a bit quick and then settled a little too much on second lap. She finished very strong over the last 200 and was
catching people. Emily was fighting a bit of a stomach bug over the past week, so we weren’t sure how today would play out, but she ran tough and while feeling a little miserable still ran a PB.”
Hall’s 5000 debut at Stanford is solid.
STANFORD, CA - Redshirt junior Michael Hall produced a rock-solid 14:07.77 in his 5000-meter debut Friday night at the Stanford Invitational. The
miler-turned-steeplechaser closed with a 59-second final lap to place sixth in section three.
David Barney ran near the front most of the way but came home 11th in 14:17.45.
Still to race were
Militsa Mircheva, Steven Cross and Stanley Linton in the 10,000 meters.
Droogsma Repeats With Collegiate-Best; Ewers, Wallace Post Top-3 Marks.
Seminoles put a wrap
up long, productive weekend of competition. March 31, 2018
GAINESVILLE, FL - Senior Austin Droogsma successfully defended Pepsi Florida Relays shot put title in style Saturday at Percy Beard
Stadium, unloading a lifetime-best second attempt of 20.32 meters (66-8) for the win.
Droogsma's winning throw is the top mark collegiately this season, highlighting a day where the Noles produced
three, top-three national performances.
At the Texas Relays, junior transfer Andre Ewers sailed to a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash in a wind-aided time of 10.04, which should stand as
the No. 2 time among NCAA Division I sprinters.
Junior Armani Wallace posted the best season-opening triple jump of his career, covering 16.07 meters (52-8.75) to finish three inches behind
Florida's KeAndre Bates (16.14/52-11.5) for top individual honors. Those are the second- and third-best marks collegiately this season.
Droogsma came into the meet with an outdoor-best of 19.70
meters, which was his winning mark at the 2017 Florida Relays, though he had posted an indoor-best of 20.10 meters (65-11.5) at Notre Dame in February.
I really didn't know how I was going to open
up," Droogsma said. "I had a little hiccup in training this past week, so I was a little uncertain, but I felt good in practice yesterday.
"I just wanted to come out here and work on a couple
things. I didn't really do that, but I hit a big throw…and had three throws over 19.50 for the day. I can't be mad at that for an opener."
Droogsma moved to No. 2 on FSU's all-time list outdoors,
passing his coach Dorian Scott (20.21m). He trails only Garrett Johnson (20.84).
"To have done it indoors and now to have done it outdoors is a great thing," Droogsma said, after eclipsing the
20-meter standard of excellence. "I think we're in a great spot to continue on with the 20 meter throws throughout the season…
"Hopefully those 20-meter throws will come more readily and continue
to get farther and farther."
As it stands, Droogsma ranks 14th in the World and is the No. 2 American in the shot put. His winning throw also eclipsed the qualifying standard (20.15m) for the June
USATF Championships.
Wallace's top season-opening triple jump mark of his career was also the first time he has ever eclipsed 16 meters in the month of March; no small feat considering the volume
of training work he and his jumps group have been under leading up to the meet.
"I actually wanted to start around 16.30 because that's what I'm capable of," said Wallace, who also recorded a
16.05-meter mark in his series. "We've been training pretty hard…Everything isn't firing like it was at conference and nationals [indoors]. In reality, where we are in our training, it's good."
All
three Seminoles advanced to the finals of the men's triple jump with senior Montel Nevers placing fifth (15.57m/51-1) and Ashton Butler finishing seventh (15.41m/50-6.75). Those too were
season-opening best performances.
Gleneve Grange finished second in the women's invitational shot put, posting a top mark of 16.54 meters (54-3.25), while Ieva Zarankaite was fifth in 15.62m
(51-3).
All in all, the Noles enjoyed a strong weekend as they spanned out across the country, competing in four meets in three different time zones.
Event 6 - 5000 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
42 Michael Callegari 14:37.07 2
84 Istvan Szogi 14:49.47
98 Toby Hardwick 14:54.25
Stanford Invitational
03/31/2018, March 30-31, 2018, Stanford, Calif.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Love, Seymour Keep Winning; Noles Stockpile Runner-Up Finishes.
March 30, 2018
by Bob Thomas
GAINESVILLE, FL – Shanice Love and Ka’Tia Seymour
continued their winning ways Friday at the Pepsi Florida Relays, while their Florida State track & field teammates stacked up four runner-up finishes and a third under less than ideal conditions.
Unfazed by the rainfall throughout the day at Florida’s Percy Beard Stadium, Love won her third discus title – with her third personal-best of the season – in as many meets to claim in the
invitational section. Seymour, a freshman raced to victory in the 200-meter invitational section.
“I’ve just been working on technique and trying to get things right,” said Love, a sophomore who
moved to No. 2 on FSU’s all-time list with her winning mark of 57.39 meters (188-3). “The competition today brought a good bit out of me. It pushed me to go after it.”
By posting the No. 4 mark
collegiately this season, Love was able to hold off runner-up Laulauga Tausaga of Iowa, who finished six centimeters back. And as has been the case all season, teammates Ieva Zarankaite
(53.59m/175-10) and Gleneve Grange (49.22/161-6) joined her in the finals. Zarankaite finished third.
Seymour ran down the field off the final turn to win the 200-meter dash in 22.96, while
teammate Shauna Helps finished fifth.
It was another freshman, 110-meter hurdler Trey Cunningham, who began the days’ parade of runner-up finishes. The Winfield, Ala. native was second to defending
NCAA champion Grant Holloway of Florida in 13.70.
The Seminoles advanced three men to the finals of the invitational long jump and senior Corion Knight emerged with the top mark of the trio,
placing second in a certain NCAA postseason-qualifying mark of 7.64 meters (25-0.75). Senior Keniel Grant finished fourth in a season-best 7.45m (24-5.5), while indoor All-American Kenneth Fisher
(7.36) was seventh.
Sophomore transfer Noah Agwu placed second in the college section of the men’s discus with a top mark of 51.43 meters (168-9).
In the final field event of the night, redshirt
freshman Lauri Paredes strong together a solid javelin series, topped out by her second-place mark of 52.38 meters (171-10).
Late Thursday, junior Brandon Tirado came through with a new
personal-best in the men’s hammer, placing fourth in the college section with a mark of 61.58 meters (202-2).
Friday’s foul weather led to the postponement of several events until Saturday morning,
including the men’s invitational high jump (Corion Knight) and the women’s pole vault (Nicole Breske).
Saturday’s action will feature senior Austin Droogsma in the invitational section of the
discus, followed by a title defense in the invitational shot put. Armani Wallace, Montel Nevers and Ashton Butler will make their outdoor season debuts in the triple jump, while Grange and Zarankate
will compete in the women’s invitational shot put.
Ewers advances to 100-meter final at Texas Relays.
AUSTIN, TX - Junior transfer Andre Ewers’ outdoor debut in the 100-meter dash
produced a slightly wind-aided time of 10.18, which qualified him fourth-fastest out of 97 athletes for Saturday’s finals at the 91st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Earlier in the day Friday, the
Seminoles’ 4×100 relay team of Edward Clarke, Ewers, Darryl Gay and Darryl Haraway came up one-hundredth of the second shy of advancing to Saturday’s nine-team final. Sloppy exchanges and a tough
headwind on the home stretch led the FSU quartet 10th overall in 40.20, just behind ninth-place Sam Houston State (40.19), which was one of four teams out of the fifth and final section to advance.
Trio of 1500-meter ladies shine at Raleigh Relays.
RALEIGH, NC - Sophomore Maudie Skyring paced a strong trio of Seminole women in Friday’s 1500-meter run at the Raleigh Relays, placing 15th
overall with her collegiate-best time of 4:24.47; just off the Australia native’s personal-best set last summer.
Emily Edwards (4:27.34) and Madison Harris (4:29.29) registered lifetime-bests in
the event.
“Madi races smart, went out at a solid pace stayed in the 3-4 position the whole time,” FSU women’s distance coach Kelly Phillips said. “She finished strong the last 200, placing second
in her heat. She looked very strong with a new PR.
“Maudie probably went out a bit quick and then settled a little too much on second lap. She finished very strong over the last 200 and was
catching people. Emily was fighting a bit of a stomach bug over the past week, so we weren’t sure how today would play out, but she ran tough and while feeling a little miserable still ran a PB.”
Hall’s 5000 debut at Stanford is solid.
STANFORD, CA - Redshirt junior Michael Hall produced a rock-solid 14:07.77 in his 5000-meter debut Friday night at the Stanford Invitational. The
miler-turned-steeplechaser closed with a 59-second final lap to place sixth in section three.
David Barney ran near the front most of the way but came home 11th in 14:17.45.
Still to race were
Militsa Mircheva, Steven Cross and Stanley Linton in the 10,000 meters.
Droogsma Repeats With Collegiate-Best; Ewers, Wallace Post Top-3 Marks.
Seminoles put a wrap
up long, productive weekend of competition. March 31, 2018
GAINESVILLE, FL - Senior Austin Droogsma successfully defended Pepsi Florida Relays shot put title in style Saturday at Percy Beard
Stadium, unloading a lifetime-best second attempt of 20.32 meters (66-8) for the win.
Droogsma's winning throw is the top mark collegiately this season, highlighting a day where the Noles produced
three, top-three national performances.
At the Texas Relays, junior transfer Andre Ewers sailed to a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash in a wind-aided time of 10.04, which should stand as
the No. 2 time among NCAA Division I sprinters.
Junior Armani Wallace posted the best season-opening triple jump of his career, covering 16.07 meters (52-8.75) to finish three inches behind
Florida's KeAndre Bates (16.14/52-11.5) for top individual honors. Those are the second- and third-best marks collegiately this season.
Droogsma came into the meet with an outdoor-best of 19.70
meters, which was his winning mark at the 2017 Florida Relays, though he had posted an indoor-best of 20.10 meters (65-11.5) at Notre Dame in February.
I really didn't know how I was going to open
up," Droogsma said. "I had a little hiccup in training this past week, so I was a little uncertain, but I felt good in practice yesterday.
"I just wanted to come out here and work on a couple
things. I didn't really do that, but I hit a big throw…and had three throws over 19.50 for the day. I can't be mad at that for an opener."
Droogsma moved to No. 2 on FSU's all-time list outdoors,
passing his coach Dorian Scott (20.21m). He trails only Garrett Johnson (20.84).
"To have done it indoors and now to have done it outdoors is a great thing," Droogsma said, after eclipsing the
20-meter standard of excellence. "I think we're in a great spot to continue on with the 20 meter throws throughout the season…
"Hopefully those 20-meter throws will come more readily and continue
to get farther and farther."
As it stands, Droogsma ranks 14th in the World and is the No. 2 American in the shot put. His winning throw also eclipsed the qualifying standard (20.15m) for the June
USATF Championships.
Wallace's top season-opening triple jump mark of his career was also the first time he has ever eclipsed 16 meters in the month of March; no small feat considering the volume
of training work he and his jumps group have been under leading up to the meet.
"I actually wanted to start around 16.30 because that's what I'm capable of," said Wallace, who also recorded a
16.05-meter mark in his series. "We've been training pretty hard…Everything isn't firing like it was at conference and nationals [indoors]. In reality, where we are in our training, it's good."
All
three Seminoles advanced to the finals of the men's triple jump with senior Montel Nevers placing fifth (15.57m/51-1) and Ashton Butler finishing seventh (15.41m/50-6.75). Those too were
season-opening best performances.
Gleneve Grange finished second in the women's invitational shot put, posting a top mark of 16.54 meters (54-3.25), while Ieva Zarankaite was fifth in 15.62m
(51-3).
All in all, the Noles enjoyed a strong weekend as they spanned out across the country, competing in four meets in three different time zones.
Event 6 - 5000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
6 Michael Hall 14:07.77
11 David Barney 14:17.45
Event 7 - 10000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
27 Steven Cross 29:53.78
28 Stanley Linton 29:56.34
Bryan Clay Invitational
04/20/2018, April 18-20, 2018, Azusa, Calif.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Newberg Gets Cali Competition Started In Decathlon.
Sore knee contributes to uneven first day; distance crew races Thursday.
April 18,
2018
AZUSA, CA - Dante Newberg's first decathlon of the 2018 season got off to a slow start - literally - and included a few plot twists along the way.
By the time the Florida State junior put
Day 1 at the Bryan Clay Invitational behind him, he stood in 12th place with 3,534 points; well off what he had hoped for but with a chance to rebound over Thursday's five-event finale.
Newberg's
day began with a lethargic start in the 100-meter dash, which he salvaged with a second half to finish in 11.17 at Aszua Pacific's Cougar Stadium. It was the seventh-fastest time from the 14-man Group
3 pairing.
Then things began to get interesting. A bothersome right knee prompted the Tampa, Fla. native to switch to a left leg takeoff in both the long jump and high jump; less than ideal and
more akin to being forced to complete an essay exam writing with your off hand.
Newberg persevered, and while he didn't flourish, he didn't flounder either. Sandwiched between a long jump mark of
6.55 meters (21-6) which netted him only 709 points and a 1.89-meter (6-2.25) high jump clearance for 705 points, was a new decathlon personal-best in the shot put.
His second-attempt throw of
13.03 meters (42-9) was not only his best effort in five career decathlons, but just five centimeters of his personal-best, set earlier this season.
With a four-event total of 2,906 points Newberg
was sixth entering the final event, only to languish to the 54.27 400-meter dash time which dropped him all the way back to 12th.
Coggins, 5K Men Lead Action At Thursday’s
Bryan Clay Invite. April 19, 2018
AZUSA, CA and TORRANCE, CA - Freshman Addi Coggins provided a proper cap to Thursday’s racing action at the Bryan Clay Invitational, paring 25 seconds off
her previous 5000-meter personal best and very nearly delivering a victory as well.
Racing with confidence, Coggins ran with the front pack from the start and led most of the way before settling
for a runner-up heat finish in 16:57.90. It was a major breakthrough for the Franklin, Tenn. native who came into the race with a personal-best of 17:22.67 and a determination to dip below 17 minutes
for the first time.
“I’ve been really excited for this,” said Coggins, who was coming off her first 10,000-meter race at the Raleigh Relaysd. “I went pretty easy this week in practice, which is
nice. I felt really good. It was a lot of fun.”
Coggins moved to the front shortly after the PA announcer at Azusa Pacific’s Cougar Stadium announced that the leaders were on 17:05 pace just 1600
meters into the contest. Roughly 200 meters later she surged to the front of the field of 32.
“I had a goal in mind,” Coggins added. “I wanted to break 17 and the pace actually started to slow
down, so I knew if I wanted to break 17 I’d have to make a move then. I’m not going to lie, it was a little scary to take the lead, but I was confident knowing that it was a little slower than I was
hoping it would be. I felt strong.”
Coggins led until the final 200 meters before walking off with a goal met to a hug from her parents and coach Kelly Phillips.
The 5000-meter distance proved
to be the highlight event of the day for the Noles.
Junior Toby Hardwick and senior Michael Callegari did their part. Competing together in the same heat, Hardwick’s methodically-paced performance
proved just enough to get the best of Callegari, closing to finish in 37-second personal best of 14:17.85. Callegari, who ran with the lead pack throughout the first half of the race, rallied late for
his U.S. collegiate best of 14:18.15.
Competing in one of the faster heats earlier in the day, graduate transfer David Barney was unable to match the early pace and finished in 14:24.26.
Junior
Althea Hewitt’s 3000-meter steeplechase debut produced a time of 11:26.06.
The day also included some disappointment. Junior decathlete Dante Newberg began Day 2 by testing his sore right knee in
the first event of the day – the 110-meter hurdles – only to drop out of the competition afterward.
Down at the Mt. SAC Relays, which are being contested at El Camino Community College in Torrance,
Calif., redshirt freshman Steven Cross was forced to drop out of his 10,000-meter race with a tender hip, while graduate student Stanley Linton was unable to stay on PB pace and finished the
late-night race in 30:11.95.
Knight Wins Twice; Hall, Mircheva Post Top 10 All-Time Times.
Three wins, three top-10s and six PBs highlight Friday in
California. April 20, 2018
AZUSA, CA and TORRANCE, CA - Maximizing outstanding conditions and even better competition, Florida State track & field athletes posted three wins, three new
top-10 marks and six personal-best performances between Friday's Bryan Clay Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays.
Corion Knight won both the long jump and high jump at the Bryan Clay Invitational,
edging teammate Kenneth Fisher is a see-saw finals battle. With the two playing to the Azusa Pacific Cougar Stadium crowd, Knight prevailed with a fifth-round leap of 7.85 meters (25-9.25), which was
not only an outdoor best but the No. 9 mark in program history.
Knight's winning long jump came after he narrowly missed a career-best in the high jump, which was being contested simultaneously.
"I was running back-and-forth in the finals to the high jump and actually almost PR'd in the high jump, too," said Knight. "The back-and-forth made me a little tired, but it woke me up for the 7.85
long jump."
It also denied Fisher (7.75m/25-5.25) a victory, despite his lifetime, outdoor best. And as it turned out, Knight's 2.16m (7-1) high jump clearance was good enough for the win as
well.
"It's always good jumping against teammates, pushing each other to go further and do our best," Fisher said. "We put on a show for the crowd."
"Zeus is on fire right now," FSU coach Bob
Braman said, referring to Knight by his nickname. "Coach [Keith] Herston really has him in a groove. And Kenneth was really good, as he always is. He's our most consistent performer on the entire
team."
The Seminole jumpers also produced the third win of the day, as junior Armani Wallace summoned a 16.25-meter (53-3.75) sixth attempt to steal the win. Senior teammate Montel Nevers'
season-best 15.65-meter (51-4.25) was good enough for third place.
"That's a nice win for Armani," Braman said. "The big one is right around the corner. Montel made a solid first step back. He's a
two-time All-American when he's healthy so I'm excited about his upcoming meets."
About 90 minutes of Los Angeles traffic away, two more Noles were carving out their places in program history with
strong performances at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Redshirt junior Michael Hall's 3000-meter steeplechase debut was a rousing success as he locked down an NCAA postseason qualifying time with the
seventh-fastest time in program history (8:55.82).
"My biggest goal was to come out here and have fun, because I knew as a first-time steeplechase it was going to be a learning experience," Hall
said. "I really didn't have any expectations; come out here, have fun, compete hard and see what I can do.
"I'm happy with it; a little disappointed because I know there's more work to be done. I
checked one box. I was 100 percent on my goal, to come out here and have fun. I did that."
Hall led early and paid a bit for his exuberance in an event which he finally agreed to try after four
years of prodding from Braman.
"I agreed with it because of my athleticism and I wanted to give it a try," Hall said. "They've been trying to get me to steeplechase since my freshman year…Now that
I'm fully healthy and able to give it 100-percent, 'Let's give it a go.' I've been working with Coach [Terry] Long a lot and that's really where it came from."
Both Braman and Long, FSU's Hall of
Fame former head coach who still serves as a volunteer assistant, were excited about Hall's maiden voyage.
"That's a really quality debut for Mike Hall," Braman said. "He's punched his regional
ticket and clearly he can go much faster. It's a race that you have to learn and he just picked up some valuable lessons."
Hall seemed to agree.
"I'm always for at least trying things once or
twice," he said. "That was it for this weekend: give it a try, see how things evolve. I see a future for steeplechase. It was fun. I think I can be competitive at it, so we'll see where it leads to at
the end of the season."
A short time later, junior Militsa Mircheva etched her name amidst some of the Noles greats, shattering her previous best in the 5000-meter run. The Bulgarian star finished
in 16:10.96, and like Hall, moved into the No. 7 spot on FSU's all-time list.
She shattered her previous outdoor collegiate best by 32 seconds and bettered he all-time best, set before she came to
the United States, by 16 seconds. Mircheva now owns NCAA postseason qualifying marks in both the 5000 and 10,000 this season.
"Militsa ran really tough, like she always does," Braman said. "She'll
be sub 16:00 when she gets to her peaking phase."
Two other Seminoles, sophomore Noah Agwu and freshman Maudie Skyring, also registered new personal-bests in their respective specialties.
Agwu's
recorded his third discus personal-best of the season - he only arrived on campus in January - with a runner-up finish in the college division competition at the Mt. SAC Relays. His top mark in a
strong series carried 53.49 meters (175-6).
Back at Azusa Pacific, Skyring struck for a two-second personal-best in the 1500-meter run. Battling against a quality field in an electric environment
at the Bryan Clay Invitational, the Australian raced to a second-place finish in her heat in 4:20.82.
The Seminoles will wrap up their California trip on Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays with the
throws group of Austin Droogsma, Shanice Love, Gleneve Grange and Ieva Zarankaite competing in invitational sections of the discus and shot put.
Zarankaite Joins Love In NCAA
Discus Top 10.
Noles cap California trip with discus success at Mt. SAC Relays. April 21, 2018
TORRANCE, CA - Continuing her ascent as one of the nation's elite discus throwers,
Florida State sophomore Shanice Love registered her fourth personal-best mark in as many meets this season, Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Love's opening throw of 57.77 meters (189-6) stood up for
a second-place finish in the invitational field; edged out by fellow Jamaican Tarasue Barnett from Grand Canyon, who delivered a winning throw of 58.27 meters (191-2). Though she suffered her first
setback of the season, Love solidified her No. 9 ranking in NCAA Division I this season.
At No. 10 on the national list?
That would be FSU graduate transfer Ieva Zarankaite, who put together the
finest series of her collegiate career, capped by a final round hurl of 57.15m (187-6). That secured a third-place finish in the competition at El Camino Community College.
It also moved her to No.
3 on FSU's all-time list behind record-holder Kellion Knibb and sandwiched between teammates Love and Gleneve Grange.
"My warm-ups were pretty good and yesterday we did our pre-meet and I felt
really good technically," Zarankaite said. "Today I was just relaxed. We were standing down there and didn't know what results we were throwing, so we were really confused. When I hit the last throw
and it was 57 (meters), I was like, 'Whoa.'"
With the event scoreboard turned away from the competitors at the discus cage, Love had no idea she opened with a lifetime-best. Nor did Zarankaite, who
came into the meet with a season-best of 54.00 meters, but proceeded to produce four throws (54.06m, 54.31, 55.29 and 57.15) better than that mark.
Saturday was major breakthrough for the former
Oklahoma State standout from Lithuania, whose previous best throw was 54.62 meters (179-2) in a fifth-place finish at the 2017 Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
FSU Director of Field Events and Throws
coach Dorian Scott has been working with Zarankaite, a three-time Lithuania national silver medalist, to refine her technique throughout the past three months.
"I think now we came up with a
technique that fits me well," she said. "I feel comfortable and strong using it."
Zarankaite has thoroughly enjoyed her experience as a Seminole, which began in January, when the three-time All-Big
12 Academic selection and management degree holder enrolled in graduate school. Not only has she excelled in the discus, but she placed second in the shot put at the ACC Indoor Championships and
already ranks third all-time in that event as well.
"It's been amazing," Zarankaite said. "I love the team. I love the coach. I'm improving. Practices are hard, obviously, but I like it. I like
being a Seminole. I came here to succeed and be better at what I do and that's what I'm doing.
"The team, the throwers - Shanice, GG, Austin and Coach - are helping me a lot and that means a lot to
me."
The discus wasn't the sole domain of the Noles women on Saturday. Senior Austin Droogsma strung together a fine series, capped by a fifth-round mark of 57.07 meters (187-3) - just six
centimeters off his lifetime-best - to grab a silver medal as well.
"That's a good mid-season mark for Austin," said FSU coach Bob Braman. "The big man is capable of being at double throws threat
at nationals. He's certainly capable of throwing 60 meters by the championship season."
In addition to the discus, Grange and Zarankaite finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the invitational
shot put. Grange popped a sixth-round toss of 16.08 meters (52-9.25), while Zarankaite - the lone Nole to compete in two events over four days in California - checked in with a mark of 15.46m
(50-8.75).
Scott held Grange out of the discus and Droogsma, the NCAA leader, out of the shot put in preparation for next weekend.
Event 4 - 800 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
26 Bert Freire 1:51.27
Event 6 - 5000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
14 Toby Hardwick 14:17.85
16 Michael Callegari 14:18.15
22 David Barney 14:24.26
Event 13 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Corion Knight 25- 9.25 7.85m 5
2 Kenneth Fisher 25- 5.25 7.75m 4
Event 14 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Armani Wallace 53- 3.75 16.25m 5
3 Montel Nevers 51- 4.25 15.65m 3
12 Ashton Butler 49- 1.50 14.97m
Event 15 - High Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Corion Knight 7- 1 2.16m 5
Event 20 - Javelin
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
12 Conor McClain 166-11 50.87m
Event 21 - 100 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 11.17 823 pts
Event 22 - Long Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 21- 6 6.55m 709 pts
Event 23 - Shot Put
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 42- 9 13.03m 669 pts
Event 24 - High Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 6- 2.25 1.89m 705 pts
Event 25 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 54.27 628 pts
Event 26 - 110 Meter Hurdles
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 16.31 698 pts
Mt. Sac Relays
04/21/2018, April 19-21, 2018, Torrance, Calif.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Newberg Gets Cali Competition Started In Decathlon.
Sore knee contributes to uneven first day; distance crew races Thursday.
April 18,
2018
AZUSA, CA - Dante Newberg's first decathlon of the 2018 season got off to a slow start - literally - and included a few plot twists along the way.
By the time the Florida State junior put
Day 1 at the Bryan Clay Invitational behind him, he stood in 12th place with 3,534 points; well off what he had hoped for but with a chance to rebound over Thursday's five-event finale.
Newberg's
day began with a lethargic start in the 100-meter dash, which he salvaged with a second half to finish in 11.17 at Aszua Pacific's Cougar Stadium. It was the seventh-fastest time from the 14-man Group
3 pairing.
Then things began to get interesting. A bothersome right knee prompted the Tampa, Fla. native to switch to a left leg takeoff in both the long jump and high jump; less than ideal and
more akin to being forced to complete an essay exam writing with your off hand.
Newberg persevered, and while he didn't flourish, he didn't flounder either. Sandwiched between a long jump mark of
6.55 meters (21-6) which netted him only 709 points and a 1.89-meter (6-2.25) high jump clearance for 705 points, was a new decathlon personal-best in the shot put.
His second-attempt throw of
13.03 meters (42-9) was not only his best effort in five career decathlons, but just five centimeters of his personal-best, set earlier this season.
With a four-event total of 2,906 points Newberg
was sixth entering the final event, only to languish to the 54.27 400-meter dash time which dropped him all the way back to 12th.
Coggins, 5K Men Lead Action At Thursday’s
Bryan Clay Invite. April 19, 2018
AZUSA, CA and TORRANCE, CA - Freshman Addi Coggins provided a proper cap to Thursday’s racing action at the Bryan Clay Invitational, paring 25 seconds off
her previous 5000-meter personal best and very nearly delivering a victory as well.
Racing with confidence, Coggins ran with the front pack from the start and led most of the way before settling
for a runner-up heat finish in 16:57.90. It was a major breakthrough for the Franklin, Tenn. native who came into the race with a personal-best of 17:22.67 and a determination to dip below 17 minutes
for the first time.
“I’ve been really excited for this,” said Coggins, who was coming off her first 10,000-meter race at the Raleigh Relaysd. “I went pretty easy this week in practice, which is
nice. I felt really good. It was a lot of fun.”
Coggins moved to the front shortly after the PA announcer at Azusa Pacific’s Cougar Stadium announced that the leaders were on 17:05 pace just 1600
meters into the contest. Roughly 200 meters later she surged to the front of the field of 32.
“I had a goal in mind,” Coggins added. “I wanted to break 17 and the pace actually started to slow
down, so I knew if I wanted to break 17 I’d have to make a move then. I’m not going to lie, it was a little scary to take the lead, but I was confident knowing that it was a little slower than I was
hoping it would be. I felt strong.”
Coggins led until the final 200 meters before walking off with a goal met to a hug from her parents and coach Kelly Phillips.
The 5000-meter distance proved
to be the highlight event of the day for the Noles.
Junior Toby Hardwick and senior Michael Callegari did their part. Competing together in the same heat, Hardwick’s methodically-paced performance
proved just enough to get the best of Callegari, closing to finish in 37-second personal best of 14:17.85. Callegari, who ran with the lead pack throughout the first half of the race, rallied late for
his U.S. collegiate best of 14:18.15.
Competing in one of the faster heats earlier in the day, graduate transfer David Barney was unable to match the early pace and finished in 14:24.26.
Junior
Althea Hewitt’s 3000-meter steeplechase debut produced a time of 11:26.06.
The day also included some disappointment. Junior decathlete Dante Newberg began Day 2 by testing his sore right knee in
the first event of the day – the 110-meter hurdles – only to drop out of the competition afterward.
Down at the Mt. SAC Relays, which are being contested at El Camino Community College in Torrance,
Calif., redshirt freshman Steven Cross was forced to drop out of his 10,000-meter race with a tender hip, while graduate student Stanley Linton was unable to stay on PB pace and finished the
late-night race in 30:11.95.
Knight Wins Twice; Hall, Mircheva Post Top 10 All-Time Times.
Three wins, three top-10s and six PBs highlight Friday in
California. April 20, 2018
AZUSA, CA and TORRANCE, CA - Maximizing outstanding conditions and even better competition, Florida State track & field athletes posted three wins, three new
top-10 marks and six personal-best performances between Friday's Bryan Clay Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays.
Corion Knight won both the long jump and high jump at the Bryan Clay Invitational,
edging teammate Kenneth Fisher is a see-saw finals battle. With the two playing to the Azusa Pacific Cougar Stadium crowd, Knight prevailed with a fifth-round leap of 7.85 meters (25-9.25), which was
not only an outdoor best but the No. 9 mark in program history.
Knight's winning long jump came after he narrowly missed a career-best in the high jump, which was being contested simultaneously.
"I was running back-and-forth in the finals to the high jump and actually almost PR'd in the high jump, too," said Knight. "The back-and-forth made me a little tired, but it woke me up for the 7.85
long jump."
It also denied Fisher (7.75m/25-5.25) a victory, despite his lifetime, outdoor best. And as it turned out, Knight's 2.16m (7-1) high jump clearance was good enough for the win as
well.
"It's always good jumping against teammates, pushing each other to go further and do our best," Fisher said. "We put on a show for the crowd."
"Zeus is on fire right now," FSU coach Bob
Braman said, referring to Knight by his nickname. "Coach [Keith] Herston really has him in a groove. And Kenneth was really good, as he always is. He's our most consistent performer on the entire
team."
The Seminole jumpers also produced the third win of the day, as junior Armani Wallace summoned a 16.25-meter (53-3.75) sixth attempt to steal the win. Senior teammate Montel Nevers'
season-best 15.65-meter (51-4.25) was good enough for third place.
"That's a nice win for Armani," Braman said. "The big one is right around the corner. Montel made a solid first step back. He's a
two-time All-American when he's healthy so I'm excited about his upcoming meets."
About 90 minutes of Los Angeles traffic away, two more Noles were carving out their places in program history with
strong performances at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Redshirt junior Michael Hall's 3000-meter steeplechase debut was a rousing success as he locked down an NCAA postseason qualifying time with the
seventh-fastest time in program history (8:55.82).
"My biggest goal was to come out here and have fun, because I knew as a first-time steeplechase it was going to be a learning experience," Hall
said. "I really didn't have any expectations; come out here, have fun, compete hard and see what I can do.
"I'm happy with it; a little disappointed because I know there's more work to be done. I
checked one box. I was 100 percent on my goal, to come out here and have fun. I did that."
Hall led early and paid a bit for his exuberance in an event which he finally agreed to try after four
years of prodding from Braman.
"I agreed with it because of my athleticism and I wanted to give it a try," Hall said. "They've been trying to get me to steeplechase since my freshman year…Now that
I'm fully healthy and able to give it 100-percent, 'Let's give it a go.' I've been working with Coach [Terry] Long a lot and that's really where it came from."
Both Braman and Long, FSU's Hall of
Fame former head coach who still serves as a volunteer assistant, were excited about Hall's maiden voyage.
"That's a really quality debut for Mike Hall," Braman said. "He's punched his regional
ticket and clearly he can go much faster. It's a race that you have to learn and he just picked up some valuable lessons."
Hall seemed to agree.
"I'm always for at least trying things once or
twice," he said. "That was it for this weekend: give it a try, see how things evolve. I see a future for steeplechase. It was fun. I think I can be competitive at it, so we'll see where it leads to at
the end of the season."
A short time later, junior Militsa Mircheva etched her name amidst some of the Noles greats, shattering her previous best in the 5000-meter run. The Bulgarian star finished
in 16:10.96, and like Hall, moved into the No. 7 spot on FSU's all-time list.
She shattered her previous outdoor collegiate best by 32 seconds and bettered he all-time best, set before she came to
the United States, by 16 seconds. Mircheva now owns NCAA postseason qualifying marks in both the 5000 and 10,000 this season.
"Militsa ran really tough, like she always does," Braman said. "She'll
be sub 16:00 when she gets to her peaking phase."
Two other Seminoles, sophomore Noah Agwu and freshman Maudie Skyring, also registered new personal-bests in their respective specialties.
Agwu's
recorded his third discus personal-best of the season - he only arrived on campus in January - with a runner-up finish in the college division competition at the Mt. SAC Relays. His top mark in a
strong series carried 53.49 meters (175-6).
Back at Azusa Pacific, Skyring struck for a two-second personal-best in the 1500-meter run. Battling against a quality field in an electric environment
at the Bryan Clay Invitational, the Australian raced to a second-place finish in her heat in 4:20.82.
The Seminoles will wrap up their California trip on Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays with the
throws group of Austin Droogsma, Shanice Love, Gleneve Grange and Ieva Zarankaite competing in invitational sections of the discus and shot put.
Zarankaite Joins Love In NCAA
Discus Top 10.
Noles cap California trip with discus success at Mt. SAC Relays. April 21, 2018
TORRANCE, CA - Continuing her ascent as one of the nation's elite discus throwers,
Florida State sophomore Shanice Love registered her fourth personal-best mark in as many meets this season, Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Love's opening throw of 57.77 meters (189-6) stood up for
a second-place finish in the invitational field; edged out by fellow Jamaican Tarasue Barnett from Grand Canyon, who delivered a winning throw of 58.27 meters (191-2). Though she suffered her first
setback of the season, Love solidified her No. 9 ranking in NCAA Division I this season.
At No. 10 on the national list?
That would be FSU graduate transfer Ieva Zarankaite, who put together the
finest series of her collegiate career, capped by a final round hurl of 57.15m (187-6). That secured a third-place finish in the competition at El Camino Community College.
It also moved her to No.
3 on FSU's all-time list behind record-holder Kellion Knibb and sandwiched between teammates Love and Gleneve Grange.
"My warm-ups were pretty good and yesterday we did our pre-meet and I felt
really good technically," Zarankaite said. "Today I was just relaxed. We were standing down there and didn't know what results we were throwing, so we were really confused. When I hit the last throw
and it was 57 (meters), I was like, 'Whoa.'"
With the event scoreboard turned away from the competitors at the discus cage, Love had no idea she opened with a lifetime-best. Nor did Zarankaite, who
came into the meet with a season-best of 54.00 meters, but proceeded to produce four throws (54.06m, 54.31, 55.29 and 57.15) better than that mark.
Saturday was major breakthrough for the former
Oklahoma State standout from Lithuania, whose previous best throw was 54.62 meters (179-2) in a fifth-place finish at the 2017 Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
FSU Director of Field Events and Throws
coach Dorian Scott has been working with Zarankaite, a three-time Lithuania national silver medalist, to refine her technique throughout the past three months.
"I think now we came up with a
technique that fits me well," she said. "I feel comfortable and strong using it."
Zarankaite has thoroughly enjoyed her experience as a Seminole, which began in January, when the three-time All-Big
12 Academic selection and management degree holder enrolled in graduate school. Not only has she excelled in the discus, but she placed second in the shot put at the ACC Indoor Championships and
already ranks third all-time in that event as well.
"It's been amazing," Zarankaite said. "I love the team. I love the coach. I'm improving. Practices are hard, obviously, but I like it. I like
being a Seminole. I came here to succeed and be better at what I do and that's what I'm doing.
"The team, the throwers - Shanice, GG, Austin and Coach - are helping me a lot and that means a lot to
me."
The discus wasn't the sole domain of the Noles women on Saturday. Senior Austin Droogsma strung together a fine series, capped by a fifth-round mark of 57.07 meters (187-3) - just six
centimeters off his lifetime-best - to grab a silver medal as well.
"That's a good mid-season mark for Austin," said FSU coach Bob Braman. "The big man is capable of being at double throws threat
at nationals. He's certainly capable of throwing 60 meters by the championship season."
In addition to the discus, Grange and Zarankaite finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the invitational
shot put. Grange popped a sixth-round toss of 16.08 meters (52-9.25), while Zarankaite - the lone Nole to compete in two events over four days in California - checked in with a mark of 15.46m
(50-8.75).
Scott held Grange out of the discus and Droogsma, the NCAA leader, out of the shot put in preparation for next weekend.
Event 7 - 10000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
19 Stanley Linton 30:11.95
Event 10 - 3000 Meter Steeplechase
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
9 Michael Hall 8:55.82
Event 18 - Discus
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Noah Agwu 175- 6 53.49m 4
2 Austin Droogsma 187- 3 57.07m 4
Penn Relays
04/28/2018, April 26-28, 2018, Philadelphia, Pa.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Grange, Paredes Launch Weekend With Bronze Throwing Marks.
Noles split up between Penn Relays, National Relays and UNF Invite.
April 26,
2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Florida State women's throwers took center stage on the opening day of the 124th Penn Relays, emerging with a pair of third-place finishes to get a busy weekend started
for the Seminoles.
Senior Gleneve Grange's fourth-round throw of 16.40 meters (53-9.5) propelled the Kingston, Jamaica native to a third-place finish in the college women's championship shot put.
Graduate student Ieva Zarankaite was close behind, placing fifth with a top mark of 15.92 meters (52-2.75).
Director of Field Events Dorian Scott said he was pleased with the progress his
conference-leading duo demonstrated, especially on film, and is confident Grange and Zarankaite will be peaking come the postseason.
Freshman Lauri Paredes put together a solid series in her Penn
Relays debut, highlighted by a fifth-round throw of 52.46 meters (172-1) to finish third. It was the second-best throw of the season from the Paraguayan standout, who opened the year with a
school-record 53.50 at the FSU Relays and followed with a 52.38 at the Florida Relays.
The night ended with Caleb Pottorff, competing unattached as a true freshman as he takes a redshirt season,
finished 18th in the 10,000-meter run (31:03.06).
Seymour's ACC Record, Love, Droogsma Wins Lead On Friday.
Noles spread out for productive day at three
venues. April 27, 2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA, FAYETTEVILLE, AR and JACKSONVILLE, FL - Shanice Love and Austin Droogsma won Penn Relays titles Friday, but were upstaged by Florida State freshman
Ka'Tia Seymour, whose 100-meter debut in Fayetteville, Ark. produced an Atlantic Coast Conference record and the third-fastest time in program history.
Seymour was among the Seminole sprinters,
hurdlers and jumpers on stage at the inaugural National Relay Championship, joining classmate Jayla Kirkland in their first collegiate 100-meter races. They did not disappoint.
Seymour sailed to
victory in the fast heat - she was second overall - in 11.24, faster than all previous Noles except record-holder Michelle Finn (11.20) and Brenda Cliette (11.23). In the process the Palatka, Fla.
native broke the ACC record previously shared by her junior teammate Shauna Helps and Clemson's Dezerea Bryant (11.26).
"Ka'Tia is so special that she does something as amazing as breaking the ACC
record, and we're all expecting her to do something even bigger," Florida State coach Bob Braman said. "You congratulate her for the record, but get the feeling that she's capable of going under 11
seconds.
"Very few freshmen have run this fast."
Spread out across the country and competing in three different meets the Noles produced two wins, the aforementioned ACC record, 13 personal-best
performances and celebrated some promising efforts by athletes returning from injury.
At Philadelphia's Franklin Field, Love got things started in the invitational section of the women's discus,
delivering the Noles their fourth title in five years of the event. The sophomore from Jamaica, followed back-to-back wins by former teammate Kellion Knibb, who also won the 2014 title, with a winning
throw of 56.10 meters (184-0).
Ieva Zarankaite was third (53.18m/174-5) and Gleneve Grange eighth (49.63m/162-9).
A short time later Droogsma delivered the FSU men their first invitational shot
put victory since Garrett Johnson's record-setting 2006 win, connecting with a third-round winning mark of 20.19 meters (66-2.75). The redshirt senior avenged his runner-up finish in 2017 to by
becoming just the second champion to eclipse 20 meters since Johnson's Penn Relays and FSU record 20.84-meter throw.
In the process he beat South Carolina's Josh Awotunde, the defending champion,
and Indiana's Willie Morrison in a tight battle.
Beyond a handful of outstanding performances of John McDonell Field, the return to competition from injury by sprint standouts Kirkland and Darryl
Haraway - and their healthy emergence from Friday competition - was most encouraging.
Kirkland was seventh in Seymour's record-setting heat win, finishing in 11.48 and placing 10th overall. The
Birmingham, Ala. native, who has been limited by a nagging hamstring injury, wasn't the only Seminole sprinter on the mend to rise up and emerge from the meet healthy.
Junior Darryl Haraway,
competing in his first 100-meter dash race since May of 2016 due a chronic hamstring injury, won his heat in 10.32 - equaling his collegiate-best - and finished fourth overall against quality
competition.
Braman called Haraway's heat win the "highlight of the day."
"I give Coach [Brandon] Hon and Coach [Rick] Argro credit for being patient and bringing Jayla and Darryl back to good
health at the right time," "Braman said. "Gwen Davis and her training room staff are our MVP's for the month of April. We're not 100% for everyone yet, but we have a chance to be at ACC's."
Among
the other highlights, freshman Trey Cunningham's personal-best of 13.61 was good for a runner-up finish in the 110-meter hurdles, while classmate Tye Dickens was fifth in the fast heat (13.99); just
.01 off his personal-best.
"Trey ran a strong race," Braman said. "He's getting his technique down and should be a factor at Nationals like he did Indoors. Another good race for Tryricke as well.
He's close to a breakthrough race after all these consistently good ones."
Dickens wasn't done, shaving nearly two full seconds off his 400-meter hurdles personal-best (52.66) in just his second
race over that distance. The Godby High grad won his heat and finished 13th overall against a star-filled field.
"Tyreke is growing by leaps and bounds in the 400 hurdles," Braman said. "He
literally had no one to chase over the last four hurdles."
Corion Knight was unable to extend his streak of consecutive two-win meets to three, finishing second in the high jump (2.08m) and fifth
in the invitational long jump, which were contested simultaneously. Kenneth Fisher was fourth in the long jump, edging Knight by a single centimeter in 7.75 meters (25-5.25).
"I thought Corion and
Kenneth held their own in a truly elite field," Braman said. "They're competing their tails off and have a chance to make a splash at Nationals."
At the UNF Osprey Invitational in Jacksonville,
Fla., where nine of 11 competing Noles established new personal-bests. Junior Fatema Jaffer's fourth-place finish in the 5000-meter run (17:35.44) paced the group. Sarah Candiano also cracked the
11-minute barrier in the 3000-meter steeplechase (10:59.76) to finish second.
Relay Progress, Droogsma MVP Cap Busy Weekend.
Wallace, Nevers rise up alongside relays
in Fayetteville. April 28, 2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA and FAYETTEVILLE, AR - With Darryl Haraway returning to good health and form, Florida State's 4x100 relay took a major step forward Saturday
at the National Relay Championships.
Haraway was on the leadoff leg as the Noles turned out a season-best time of 39.52, teaming with Andre Ewers, Darryl Gay and Edward Clarke as they finished
fourth overall behind Arkansas' nation-leading 38.59, Florida (39.05) and Kentucky (39.35). Entering the meet tied for 16th nationally, the Noles quartet moved up two spot to No. 14 with more room to
grow by tidying up a couple shaky baton passes.
"The men found their best legs and best order, now," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "A healthy Darryl Haraway puts us back into the nationals mix. With
better handoffs we'll definitely be a threat for sub-39 seconds."
The women's 4x100 turned in a solid 44.42 performance with a reworked quartet of Jayla Kirkland, Janae Caldwell, Shauna Helps and
Ka'Tia Seymour, due to injury, for a sixth-place finish.
"Both relays competed well," Braman said. "The women have had to make lots of switches due to a ton of injuries but they have a legitimate
chance to make nationals in a month."
The action in Fayetteville began with six of the top nine collegiate triple jumpers in the nation competing in the invitational section at John McDonnell
Field. Braman called it, "the best collegiate triple jump" he's ever seen.
Armani Wallace's wind-aided season-best of 16.27 meters (53-4.5) was only good enough for sixth place against the
star-studded field, while Montel Nevers matched his U.S. collegiate best (15.99m/52-5.5) for eighth place.
"Armani would have won the meet with three of his jumps," FSU jumps coach Keith Herston
said. "He just could not get his foot down on the board.
"Montel had his best in-season jump. He's working on some technical things and starting to put things together. It's good to see him put
things together. We're hopeful heading into the championships."
The top five finishers took over the top five spots on the national descending order list, but Herston and his jumpers did not come
away empty-handed.
"They have a lot of confidence coming from this competition," Herston said. "They're in the best condition of their careers at this point."
The women's 4x400 relay team of
Caldwell, Helps, Seymour and Kimmie Cunningham ran 3:41.39, with some promising splits from the quartet, highlighted by 54.9, 54.5 and 54.9 over the final three legs.
"That was a gutsy effort for
our ladies," Braman said. "Shauna and Ka'Tia showed impressive strength for short sprinters."
At the 124th Penn Relays, Austin Droogsma did not make the finals of the invitational section of the
men's discus on Saturday, but he did walk away with the College Men's Athlete of the Meet for Individual Events award. The redshirt senior won the invitational shot put on Friday with a throw of 20.19
meters (66-2.75), the second-best mark in the last 10 years of the world's largest and oldest competition.
Droogsma is the third Seminole in as many years to walk off with Athlete of the Meet
honors, following discus standout Kellion Knibb, whose record-setting performances led to the College Women's award in 2016 and 2017.
In the shadow of historic Franklin Field, FSU sophomore Noah
Agwu recorded a personal-best of 53.72 meters (176-2) to finish fifth in the invitational discus. Brandon Tirado was seventh in the hammer (59.49m/195-7).
Event 17 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Austin Droogsma 66- 2.75 20.19m 5
Event 18 - Discus
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Noah Agwu 176- 3 53.72m 1
10 Austin Droogsma 165-10 50.54m
Event 19 - Hammer
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
7 Brandon Tirado 195- 7 59.63m
National Relay Championship
04/28/2018, April 27-28, 2018, Fayetteville, Ark.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Grange, Paredes Launch Weekend With Bronze Throwing Marks.
Noles split up between Penn Relays, National Relays and UNF Invite.
April 26,
2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Florida State women's throwers took center stage on the opening day of the 124th Penn Relays, emerging with a pair of third-place finishes to get a busy weekend started
for the Seminoles.
Senior Gleneve Grange's fourth-round throw of 16.40 meters (53-9.5) propelled the Kingston, Jamaica native to a third-place finish in the college women's championship shot put.
Graduate student Ieva Zarankaite was close behind, placing fifth with a top mark of 15.92 meters (52-2.75).
Director of Field Events Dorian Scott said he was pleased with the progress his
conference-leading duo demonstrated, especially on film, and is confident Grange and Zarankaite will be peaking come the postseason.
Freshman Lauri Paredes put together a solid series in her Penn
Relays debut, highlighted by a fifth-round throw of 52.46 meters (172-1) to finish third. It was the second-best throw of the season from the Paraguayan standout, who opened the year with a
school-record 53.50 at the FSU Relays and followed with a 52.38 at the Florida Relays.
The night ended with Caleb Pottorff, competing unattached as a true freshman as he takes a redshirt season,
finished 18th in the 10,000-meter run (31:03.06).
Seymour's ACC Record, Love, Droogsma Wins Lead On Friday.
Noles spread out for productive day at three
venues. April 27, 2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA, FAYETTEVILLE, AR and JACKSONVILLE, FL - Shanice Love and Austin Droogsma won Penn Relays titles Friday, but were upstaged by Florida State freshman
Ka'Tia Seymour, whose 100-meter debut in Fayetteville, Ark. produced an Atlantic Coast Conference record and the third-fastest time in program history.
Seymour was among the Seminole sprinters,
hurdlers and jumpers on stage at the inaugural National Relay Championship, joining classmate Jayla Kirkland in their first collegiate 100-meter races. They did not disappoint.
Seymour sailed to
victory in the fast heat - she was second overall - in 11.24, faster than all previous Noles except record-holder Michelle Finn (11.20) and Brenda Cliette (11.23). In the process the Palatka, Fla.
native broke the ACC record previously shared by her junior teammate Shauna Helps and Clemson's Dezerea Bryant (11.26).
"Ka'Tia is so special that she does something as amazing as breaking the ACC
record, and we're all expecting her to do something even bigger," Florida State coach Bob Braman said. "You congratulate her for the record, but get the feeling that she's capable of going under 11
seconds.
"Very few freshmen have run this fast."
Spread out across the country and competing in three different meets the Noles produced two wins, the aforementioned ACC record, 13 personal-best
performances and celebrated some promising efforts by athletes returning from injury.
At Philadelphia's Franklin Field, Love got things started in the invitational section of the women's discus,
delivering the Noles their fourth title in five years of the event. The sophomore from Jamaica, followed back-to-back wins by former teammate Kellion Knibb, who also won the 2014 title, with a winning
throw of 56.10 meters (184-0).
Ieva Zarankaite was third (53.18m/174-5) and Gleneve Grange eighth (49.63m/162-9).
A short time later Droogsma delivered the FSU men their first invitational shot
put victory since Garrett Johnson's record-setting 2006 win, connecting with a third-round winning mark of 20.19 meters (66-2.75). The redshirt senior avenged his runner-up finish in 2017 to by
becoming just the second champion to eclipse 20 meters since Johnson's Penn Relays and FSU record 20.84-meter throw.
In the process he beat South Carolina's Josh Awotunde, the defending champion,
and Indiana's Willie Morrison in a tight battle.
Beyond a handful of outstanding performances of John McDonell Field, the return to competition from injury by sprint standouts Kirkland and Darryl
Haraway - and their healthy emergence from Friday competition - was most encouraging.
Kirkland was seventh in Seymour's record-setting heat win, finishing in 11.48 and placing 10th overall. The
Birmingham, Ala. native, who has been limited by a nagging hamstring injury, wasn't the only Seminole sprinter on the mend to rise up and emerge from the meet healthy.
Junior Darryl Haraway,
competing in his first 100-meter dash race since May of 2016 due a chronic hamstring injury, won his heat in 10.32 - equaling his collegiate-best - and finished fourth overall against quality
competition.
Braman called Haraway's heat win the "highlight of the day."
"I give Coach [Brandon] Hon and Coach [Rick] Argro credit for being patient and bringing Jayla and Darryl back to good
health at the right time," "Braman said. "Gwen Davis and her training room staff are our MVP's for the month of April. We're not 100% for everyone yet, but we have a chance to be at ACC's."
Among
the other highlights, freshman Trey Cunningham's personal-best of 13.61 was good for a runner-up finish in the 110-meter hurdles, while classmate Tye Dickens was fifth in the fast heat (13.99); just
.01 off his personal-best.
"Trey ran a strong race," Braman said. "He's getting his technique down and should be a factor at Nationals like he did Indoors. Another good race for Tryricke as well.
He's close to a breakthrough race after all these consistently good ones."
Dickens wasn't done, shaving nearly two full seconds off his 400-meter hurdles personal-best (52.66) in just his second
race over that distance. The Godby High grad won his heat and finished 13th overall against a star-filled field.
"Tyreke is growing by leaps and bounds in the 400 hurdles," Braman said. "He
literally had no one to chase over the last four hurdles."
Corion Knight was unable to extend his streak of consecutive two-win meets to three, finishing second in the high jump (2.08m) and fifth
in the invitational long jump, which were contested simultaneously. Kenneth Fisher was fourth in the long jump, edging Knight by a single centimeter in 7.75 meters (25-5.25).
"I thought Corion and
Kenneth held their own in a truly elite field," Braman said. "They're competing their tails off and have a chance to make a splash at Nationals."
At the UNF Osprey Invitational in Jacksonville,
Fla., where nine of 11 competing Noles established new personal-bests. Junior Fatema Jaffer's fourth-place finish in the 5000-meter run (17:35.44) paced the group. Sarah Candiano also cracked the
11-minute barrier in the 3000-meter steeplechase (10:59.76) to finish second.
Relay Progress, Droogsma MVP Cap Busy Weekend.
Wallace, Nevers rise up alongside relays
in Fayetteville. April 28, 2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA and FAYETTEVILLE, AR - With Darryl Haraway returning to good health and form, Florida State's 4x100 relay took a major step forward Saturday
at the National Relay Championships.
Haraway was on the leadoff leg as the Noles turned out a season-best time of 39.52, teaming with Andre Ewers, Darryl Gay and Edward Clarke as they finished
fourth overall behind Arkansas' nation-leading 38.59, Florida (39.05) and Kentucky (39.35). Entering the meet tied for 16th nationally, the Noles quartet moved up two spot to No. 14 with more room to
grow by tidying up a couple shaky baton passes.
"The men found their best legs and best order, now," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "A healthy Darryl Haraway puts us back into the nationals mix. With
better handoffs we'll definitely be a threat for sub-39 seconds."
The women's 4x100 turned in a solid 44.42 performance with a reworked quartet of Jayla Kirkland, Janae Caldwell, Shauna Helps and
Ka'Tia Seymour, due to injury, for a sixth-place finish.
"Both relays competed well," Braman said. "The women have had to make lots of switches due to a ton of injuries but they have a legitimate
chance to make nationals in a month."
The action in Fayetteville began with six of the top nine collegiate triple jumpers in the nation competing in the invitational section at John McDonnell
Field. Braman called it, "the best collegiate triple jump" he's ever seen.
Armani Wallace's wind-aided season-best of 16.27 meters (53-4.5) was only good enough for sixth place against the
star-studded field, while Montel Nevers matched his U.S. collegiate best (15.99m/52-5.5) for eighth place.
"Armani would have won the meet with three of his jumps," FSU jumps coach Keith Herston
said. "He just could not get his foot down on the board.
"Montel had his best in-season jump. He's working on some technical things and starting to put things together. It's good to see him put
things together. We're hopeful heading into the championships."
The top five finishers took over the top five spots on the national descending order list, but Herston and his jumpers did not come
away empty-handed.
"They have a lot of confidence coming from this competition," Herston said. "They're in the best condition of their careers at this point."
The women's 4x400 relay team of
Caldwell, Helps, Seymour and Kimmie Cunningham ran 3:41.39, with some promising splits from the quartet, highlighted by 54.9, 54.5 and 54.9 over the final three legs.
"That was a gutsy effort for
our ladies," Braman said. "Shauna and Ka'Tia showed impressive strength for short sprinters."
At the 124th Penn Relays, Austin Droogsma did not make the finals of the invitational section of the
men's discus on Saturday, but he did walk away with the College Men's Athlete of the Meet for Individual Events award. The redshirt senior won the invitational shot put on Friday with a throw of 20.19
meters (66-2.75), the second-best mark in the last 10 years of the world's largest and oldest competition.
Droogsma is the third Seminole in as many years to walk off with Athlete of the Meet
honors, following discus standout Kellion Knibb, whose record-setting performances led to the College Women's award in 2016 and 2017.
In the shadow of historic Franklin Field, FSU sophomore Noah
Agwu recorded a personal-best of 53.72 meters (176-2) to finish fifth in the invitational discus. Brandon Tirado was seventh in the hammer (59.49m/195-7).
Event 1 - 100 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Darryl Haraway 10.32 2
17 Raheem Robinson 10.65w
Event 2 - 200 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
13 Darryl Gay 21.35
16 Edward Clarke 21.47
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
25 Calvin Golson 48.25
Event 5 - 1500 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
15 Michael Callegari 3:50.30
23 Istvan Szogi 3:57.30
Event 8 - 110 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Trey Cunningham 13.61 4
6 TyeRicke Dickens 13.99
Event 9 - 400 Meter Hurdles
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
13 TyeRicke Dickens 52.66
24 D'Mitry Charlton 54.65
Event 11 - 4x100-Meter Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Relay Team A 39.52 2
1) Darryl Haraway
2) Andre Ewers
3) Darryl Gay
4) Edward Clarke
Event 12 - 4x400-Meter Relay
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
9 Relay Team A 3:18.99
1) Trey Cunningham
2) TyeRicke Dickens
3) D'Mitry Charlton
4) Kenny Lane
Event 13 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Kenneth Fisher 25- 5.25 7.75m 2
5 Corion Knight 25- 4 7.72m 1
Event 14 - Triple Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
6 Armani Wallace 53- 4.50w 16.27mw
8 Montel Nevers 52- 5.50 15.99m
Event 15 - High Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Corion Knight 6- 9.75 2.08m 4
ACC Outdoor Championship, 1st place
05/12/2018, May 10-12, 2018, Coral Gables, Fla.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Knight Soars On ACC Opening Day; Much Work To Be Done.
Noles in chase mode right from start after tough qualifying day at Miami.
May 10,
2018
CORAL GABLES, FL - Corion Knight was at his best when it meant the most in Thursday's ACC Outdoor Championships men's high jump, and while his effort did not produce a victory, it did provide
the highlight of the opening day of competition.
Locked in a three-man battle for the title, Knight cleared a lifetime-best 2.21 meters (7-3) to secure a silver medal for the Seminole men. Coupled
with Brandon Tirado's sixth-place hammer finish, the 10th-ranked Noles have 11 points and stand alone in fourth place behind Syracuse (23 points), Louisville (19) and Notre Dame (12.5) amidst the
15-team field competing at Miami's Cobb Stadium.
"I just want to do my part," Knight said. "We have a great team. We're in a good position to win another ACC Championship and I just want to do my
part."
FSU's women did all of their scoring damage in the high jump as well, with Eleonora Omoregie grabbing a share of third place with a clearance of 1.69 meters (5-6.5) and teammates Hannah
Welsh and Kayla Maczuga sharing sixth place at 1.64 meters (5-4.5).
The Seminole women are in eighth place with 7.5 points, but well behind Virginia Tech (37 points), Louisville (25.5), Miami (21)
and Duke (15.5).
It's a deficit the Noles will likely need two days to overcome in their attempt to match their indoor performance with an outdoor ACC title.
"We did OK in the high jump, getting
pretty close to what I predicted, but the big hit was in the 200," FSU coach Bob Braman said, after assessing a less-than-best opening day. "A couple of people who weren't predicted to make the final
did; the two Miami girls did, and obviously our two stars didn't make. Thank God Jayla made."
Freshman Jayla Kirkland advanced to the 200 final automatically by winning the fourth heat of
Thursday's prelims in 23.56. Teammates Ka'Tia Seymour and Shauna Helps were not as fortunate.
The top two seeds entering the meet did not advance, with Helps finishing behind Kirkland in 23.63 and
Seymour placing third in her section in 23.54. Their absence from Saturday's final could prove pivotal in the Noles' quest for title.
"So instead of feeling like we're a 10 or 12-point favorite,
we're feeling like we're back to the familiar indoor role of chasing the leaders," Braman said. "This will be a good gut-check for the ladies to see if we can gather ourselves and make up some of
those points in the 100 and the 4x100 relay and come back and get after it.
"Nobody ever got better by winning all the time. People get better in this sport by getting kicked in the teeth, pull
yourself off the mat and do something about it."
What the Seminole women need now are more qualifying efforts like the one turned in by Maudie Skyring, who automatically qualified for the
1500-meter final with a third-place heat finish in 4:24.63.
They will get those opportunities on Friday in the preliminary heats of the 100 hurdles, 400 dash, 100 dash and 800-meter run. Plus,
Gleneve Grange and Ieva Zarankate, the top two seeds in the shot put, should be able to pad the Noles' point-total as well.
"On the men's side we've been kind of Steady Eddy," Braman said. "Getting
Dave Barney to the 1500-meter final where he's not picked to get any points gives us a weapon; gives us a chance. We just missed with Darryl Haraway in the 200. That wasn't a loss, it was a missed
opportunity. The same thing with Brandon in the hammer. He could have been fifth, but he gets sixth. It's just a missed opportunity, but one point is not going to undo us."
Tirado provided the
first points of the meet for the Noles with a sixth-place toss of 56.15 meters (184-2). Knight followed close behind in the high jump.
"It's about time," said Knight, who was fifth at the ACC
Indoor Championships. "Me and Coach Herston have been preparing for a long time…We've had time to actually work on the high jump and I've had a PR ever since. We're making steady progress and it's
getting exciting."
Like the women, the Noles only advanced one of three 200-meter runners to the final. Andre Ewers took care of that by laying down the fastest time of the day (20.66), but Haraway
ended up 11th after running 20.20 in his preliminary heat and Darryl Gay (PB, 21.32) was further back.
Barney, a graduate transfer, nabbed one of 12 qualifying spots in the 1500 by finishing third
in his heat in 3:49.22. Freshman Tyricke Dickens punched his ticket to Saturday's 400-meter hurdles final with a strong, late surge to qualifying eight in 52.98.
"Tomorrow is a big day for the
guys," Braman said. "We can be mediocre and leave the door open, or we can put ourselves in a great spot to get ready for the final on Saturday."
The Seminole men will have the same qualifying race
opportunities as the ladies on Friday, but should get an added scoring boost as three finals will be contested. Austin Droogsma is the top seed in the shot put, while the long jump contingent of
Knight, Kenneth Fisher, defending champion Armani Wallace, Keniel Grant and Jacore Irving hope to near the productivity of the Noles' indoor group which produced 29 points.
Michael Hall heads into
the men's steeplechase final as the No. 4 seed.
The Noles also hope that Dante Newberg can hold on for two points in the decathlon after suffering a hamstring injury in Thursday's second event, the
long jump, which took him out of contention for a much bigger prize. The junior is in seventh place in the seven-man, 10-event field, and merely needs to start Friday's final five events to hang on to
that position.
Braman is hopeful that the lessons learned on the opening day of competition, some of them difficult, will prompt a resurgence with plenty opportunities ahead over the next two
days.
"What we're finding out - and if we haven't found out yet, we better think about it - is this conference is getting much, much better and it's coming from everywhere," Braman said. "It's
coming from, maybe not the traditional sources…
"Tomorrow there is a lot of qualifying with some field event finals. We've got to get out there and compete."
Long Jump, Shot
Puts Push Team Into ACC Title Contention.
Men carry lead into final day; women lurking after strong Friday effort.
May 11, 2018 CORAL GABLES, FL - In a matter of minutes Friday
at Miami's Cobb Stadium, the Florida State men "leapt and shot" from the middle of the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championship standings to the top, which is where they will begin their quest for a
12th conference title on Saturday.
Just as they did three months ago on the way to the ACC Indoor title, the Noles men dominated the long jump with a 1-2-3 finish, led by senior Corion Knight's
winning final attempt bust of 8.06 meters (26-5.5). Kenneth Fisher and Armani Wallace followed close behind and Keniel Grant chipped in a seventh-place effort with a season-best mark.
On their way
to the awards podium they met senior Austin Droogsma, who there to collect his shot put gold, following a winning throw of 20.02 meters (65-8.25).
Those 36 points were decisive in the Noles'
day-ending 54-48 advantage over Louisville, with Syracuse (41) and two-time defending champion Virginia Tech (37.5) close behind.
"The jumpers were simply fantastic today," FSU coach Bob Braman
said. "They earned the only sweep of the meet so far, and Keniel grabbed two more points as well. Droogs was his usual beast self and I never take those points for granted. Dante [Newberg] managed to
finish the decathlon on one good leg and that was big as well."
Newberg was seventh in the decathlon, surviving the two-day, 10-event ordeal despite a hamstring injury in the second event which
took him out of contention.
Then to finish the night, Michael Hall's second career 3000-meter steeplechase produced another personal-best (8:55.61), and more importantly a five-point, fourth-place
finish.
"I was really pleased with Mike's race," Braman said. "Those were five big points for us."
Unlike the men, FSU's women will be battling from behind, beginning the final day in a
fifth-place tie with Duke and 25.5 points. Defending champion Virginia Tech leads with 53 points, followed by Louisville (43.5), Miami (38) and Virginia (32).
The ladies made the most of their lone
scoring event as seniors Gleneve Grange and Ieva Zarankaite turned in season- and personal-best marks, respectively, for a 1-2 finish and 18 points.
"Complete domination," Braman said.
Grange
claimed the first ACC title of her career with a throw of 16.89 meters (55-5), which finally turned away Zarankaite (16.58m/54-4.75), who twice took the lead during the competition.
"Mentally I was
struggling because I left my [throwing] shoes at the hotel," said Grange, whose shoes arrived just before the start of competition. "Ieva put on a good show and I had to follow up and do my best."
Their performances set the tone, one day after Thursday's disastrous 200-meter qualifying effort threatened to hamper their title hopes.
"I was really pleased with the way our ladies responded with
two heat winners in 100-meter qualifying and Cortney also dominating her 100 hurdles heat in victory," Braman said.
The touted Seminole women's sprint trio of Ka'Tia Seymour, Jayla Kirkland and
Shauna Helps easily advanced to the 100-meter finals. Seymour (11.44) and Kirkland (11.45) won their heats and Helps, the two-time defending ACC champ, advanced on time (11.59). Kirkland was the only
one of the group to advance in the 200.
Sophomore Cortney Jones continued her penchant for performing in the clutch, dropping down the fastest 100-meter hurdles mark (13.19) from the field. Those
four will join Thursday 1500-meter qualifier Maudie Skyring.
The Noles also expect contributions in the women's discus, 4x100 relay, javelin and 5000-meter run.
"Miami had another good day and
we're still chasing, but we positioned ourselves well for a run at the title," Braman added.
FSU's men qualified with quality, if not quantity, with Trey Cunningham (13.75) and Tyricke Dickens
(14.20) advancing to the 110-meter hurdle finals as the first and fifth seeds, respectively. Andre Ewers' encore to Thursday's leading 200-meter qualifying performance was a field-best 10.30 in the
100-meter dash, followed closely by Darryl Haraway's 10.36; the second-fastest time.
In addition to the Friday qualifiers, the Noles will also look to David Barney in the 1500-meter finals and
Dickens in the 400-meter hurdles. Those qualifiers will be supported by projected scoring opportunities in the triple jump, 4x100 relay and discus.
"I really liked the way Darryl Haraway looked
today," Braman said. "He looked like the former ACC Athlete of the Year and that'll be important in the 100-meter final and on the relay.
"Andre Ewers will have a busy day tomorrow, so I'm glad
that he looked so good and in control. We missed a few opportunities but we really didn't underperform and give up any ground. I'm pleased that we did our job on moving day."
Men Claim 12th ACC Title; Women Charge To Third At Miami.
Ewers, Knight claim MVP honors at conclusion of dramatic day. May 12, 2018
CORAL GABLES, FL - Hoisting the ACC Outdoor
Track & Field Championship trophy into the air at the University of Miami's Cobb Stadium Saturday night was the perfect conclusion to an imperfect and nerve-wracking final day for the Florida State
men's team.
The Seminole men won their 12th ACC title - the most of an active conference school - by holding off a hard charge from Syracuse and two-time defending champion Virginia Tech.
While
junior Andre Ewers' Track MVP performance - a dominating sweep of the 100- and 200-meter dashes - earned him a place among the Noles' all-time greats, it was junior Armani Wallace's triple jump
victory with one event remaining which sealed the title.
The Noles finished with 116 points, edging the Orange (108) and Hokies (105.5) at the end of a day that didn't exactly follow the form
sheet.
"We had a whale of a meet," Braman said. "We missed very few points and our kids stepped up and met the usual Virginia Tech challenge… These are never easy and we cherish every one."
Ewers was the undisputed star as the Noles clung to their overnight lead, first contributing a second-place 4x100 relay finish, before he took over the solo sprint events. The junior college transfer,
running in front of family - including his three-year-old son Aiden - and friends, started things off with a 10.13 to dominate the 100-meter dash. Darryl Haraway was a strong third in 10.38.
He was
even more of a force in the 200, winning in a stunning 19.98 (+2.3), more than a half-second ahead of his nearest competitor.
"Andre Ewers is really special," Braman said. "He's now in rare company
as one of the best in the 200 of any school in the NCAA."
Trey Cunningham and Tyricke Dickens finished third and seventh in the 110-meter hurdles, while Austin Droogsma and Noah Agwu finished 4-5
in the discus.
Just as Syracuse was polishing off a 33-point haul in the 5000-meter run to make things interesting, Wallace was putting the finishing touches on his clinching triple jump triumph.
Matching his season-best mark with a leap of 16.25 meters (53-3.75), he put the Noles' lead out of reach.
"Armani is special at ACC time and he worked through some hamstring issues to be the beast
that he is," Braman said. "Droogs competes like a tiger every ACC meet and was a 15-point man, but Noah's personal-best and Darryl's third-place finish might've been the difference."
Corion Knight
was awarded Field MVP honors for his 18-point weekend.
The Seminole women came up shy of their title, trailing host and champion Miami (117 points) and Virginia Tech (11), but their 102.5-point
third-place total required a huge final day effort.
The ladies began the day 27.5 points off the lead and tied for fifth, but wasted no time digging into that deficit.
Freshman Lauri Paredes
delivered the Noles their first javelin ACC Championship title, locking up the competition with a third-round collegiate-best mark of 53.81 meters (176-6), and sophomore Kayla Maczuga chipped in a
fourth-place throw (44.09m) for a 15-point net in the opening event.
A second-place finish by the 4x100 relay team of Cortney Jones, Shauna Helps, Jayla Kirkland and Ka'Tia Seymour kept the
momentum going.
That quartet was not done. Jones dipped under 13 seconds for the first time in the 100-meter hurdles, as her 12.93 (+2.7) was good for silver.
The Noles' biggest push came in
the 100-meter dash where Seymour ran down teammate and two-time champion Helps to set the conference and meet record, winning in 11.22. Helps was a strong second in 11.27 and Kirkland personal-best
11.37 was good for fourth.
At that point, with 15 of 21 events scored, the Noles trailed Virginia Tech 85-79.5 with Miami third (74).
Kirkland would add a sixth-place finish in the 200 (23.57)
and the Noles piled up 20 points in the discus behind sophomore Shanice Love's title (57.14m/187-5), with Ieva Zarankaite (54.76/182-4) and Gleneve Grange (51.13/167-9) third and fifth.
"Our ladies
were nearly perfect," Braman said. "We only missed on one event and it would've given us a shot, but it's not realistic to hit on everything. Our throwers were dominating as always and our 100-meter
ladies made a statement with a massive rebound.
"Having three ACC defending champions dinged up at home certainly hurt us, but that's the nature of the sport. I'm certainly proud of our effort this
weekend."
Event 1 - 100 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Andre Ewers 10.13 10
3 Darryl Haraway 10.38 6
9 Edward Clarke 10.58
11 Darryl Gay 10.64
18 Raheem Robinson 10.76
Event 2 - 200 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Andre Ewers 19.98w 10
11 Darryl Haraway 21.20
16 Darryl Gay 21.32
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
9 Calvin Golson 47.43
16 Kyle Fearrington 48.20
Event 4 - 800 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
14 Bert Freire 1:51.24
Event 5 - 1500 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
11 David Barney 3:49.22
19 Istvan Szogi 3:52.61
21 Michael Callegari 3:53.11
Event 6 - 5000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
15 David Barney 14:41.65
26 Michael Callegari 15:11.31
Event 7 - 10000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
10 Stanley Linton 30:30.54
17 Steven Cross 31:09.83
Event 8 - 110 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Trey Cunningham 13.75 6 prelims
7 TyeRicke Dickens 14.26 2 prelims
Event 9 - 400 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
8 TyeRicke Dickens 52.98 1 prelims
11 D'Mitry Charlton 53.42
Event 10 - 3000 Meter Steeplechase
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Michael Hall 8:55.61 5
Event 11 - 4x100-Meter Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Relay Team A 39.59 8
1) Darryl Haraway
2) Andre Ewers
3) Darryl Gay
4) Edward Clarke
Event 12 - 4x400-Meter Relay
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
10 Relay Team A 3:13.46
1) Trey Cunningham
2) Kyle Fearrington
3) Bert Freire
4) Calvin Golson
Event 13 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Corion Knight 26- 5.25w 8.06mw 10
2 Kenneth Fisher 25- 4.25 7.73m 8
3 Armani Wallace 25- 1.50w 7.66mw 6
7 Keniel Grant 24- 7.25w 7.50mw 2
10 Jacore Irving 23- 7.75w 7.21mw
Event 14 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Armani Wallace 53- 3.75 16.25m 10
9 Kenneth Fisher 49- 8 15.14m
16 Jacore Irving 47- 8 14.53m
Event 15 - High Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Corion Knight 7- 3 2.21m 8
Event 17 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Austin Droogsma 65- 8.25 20.02m 10
Event 18 - Discus
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Austin Droogsma 181- 6 55.33m 5
5 Noah Agwu 180- 4 54.97m 4
15 Fredrick Jones 159-11 48.74m
Event 19 - Hammer
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
6 Brandon Tirado 184- 3 56.15m 3
Event 20 - Javelin
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
11 Conor McClain 188- 8 57.50m
Event 30 - Decathlon
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
7 Dante Newberg 3797 pts 2
Event 31 - 100 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 11.28 799 pts
Event 32 - Long Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 21-10.50 6.67m 736 pts
Event 33 - Shot Put
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 37-10 11.53m 578 pts
Event 34 - High Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 5- 5.75 1.67m 520 pts
Event 35 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg dnf
Event 36 - 110 Meter Hurdles
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg dnf
Event 37 - Discus
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 100- 7 30.66m 477 pts
Event 38 - Pole Vault
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg
Event 39 - Javelin
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 140- 3 42.75m 482 pts
Event 40 - 1500 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
Dante Newberg 6:15.30 205 pts
NCAA East Preliminary
05/26/2018, May 24-26, 2018, Tampa, Fla.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Five Secure NCAA Berths; Seymour Sets 100-Meter Record.
Throwers, sprinters shine on opening day at NCAA East Prelims.
May 24, 2018
TAMPA, FL - Capping a day of record-setting and championship qualifying, junior Militsa Mircheva's 10th-place finish in the 10,000-meter run delivered Florida State's fifth spot at the NCAA Outdoor
Track & Field Championships.
The native Bulgarian will be making her first NCAA Championship appearance after finishing the lengthy day's NCAA East Preliminary nightcap in 34:16.36; one of seven
ACC runners to secure a top-12 finish and a trip to Eugene, Ore. and Historic Hayward Field for the June 6-9 finale.
"Militsa ran an incredibly tough race," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "That was a
tough field and she had to fight like crazy. I'm really proud of her."
Mircheva will be joined by three of her FSU women's teammates - Lauri Paredes, Gleneve Grange and Ieva Zarankaite - and
Kenneth Fisher from the men's squad.
"I thought we had a really good first day," Braman said. "The 100-meter athletes were really on their game and field events went almost as good as we could
expect"
In addition to those securing NCAA Championship spots, freshman Ka'Tia Seymour broke Michelle Finn's 32-year-old Florida State record in the 100-meter dash, racing her way into the finals
in 11.13 to shatter the 11.20 mark set by the USA Olympic relay gold medalist.
She will be joined in Friday's 100-meter quarterfinals by freshman teammate Jayla Kirkland (11.34) and junior Shauna
Helps (11.44).
Andre Ewers and Darryl Haraway got the momentum going in the men's 100, advancing to make it a perfect 5-for-5 among Noles short sprinters heading to the quarterfinal round. Ewers
didn't come away with an FSU record, but the junior did lay down the fastest time from the field of 48, cruising across the line in a wind-legal and new personal-best of 10.08. Haraway, a junior
competing in the 100 at the NCAA East meet for the first time, joins him with a qualifying time of 10.33.
"The highlight of the day was Ka'Tia's school record," Braman said. "Michelle Finn was as
good as we've ever had and Ka'Tia has taken that record in her first season."
Paredes, another freshman, wasted no time securing the first NCAA berth of the day for the Noles in the javelin. The
Paraguayan's opening throw of 53.33 meters (174-11) stood as the fourth-best mark of the day, an upgrade of two spots for the No. 6 seed.
Fisher, a graduate transfer from Bethune-Cookman, touched
down with an opening men's long jump mark of 7.72 meters (25-4), which stood up as the eighth-best mark in the field. An indoor All-American in his first year for the Noles, he will try and pair an
outdoor honor with that feat. He will be making his first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships since going back-to-back in 2014 and 2015.
Florida State's shot put duo of Grange and Zarankaite
took completely different tracks to landing spots in Eugene. Grange, a senior, unloaded an opening round throw of 16.85 meters (55-3.5) to settle the issue early. Zarankaite, a graduate transfer from
Oklahoma State, needed a third-round mark of 16.09 meters - and an 18-centimeter advantage on a tie-breaker - to seal the 12th and final qualifying spot.
Both Grange and Zarankaite, NCAA Outdoor
qualifiers last year in the discus, will be making their first appearances at the final site in the shot put.
"Kenneth Fisher was really clutch and left no doubt about qualifying," Braman said.
"Gleneve also was on her game, as she always is, but Ieva had to gut out a pressure-packed third throw and grabbed the last spot to Nationals. Laurie put together a strong first throw and that's all
it took."
Were it not for a pair of long jump fouls by Corion Knight, which denied the fourth-seeded senior from Wakulla High a spot in the top-12, the opening day of competition at the USF Track &
Field Stadium would have virtually followed the form chart.
Among others who competed but did not advance were Brandon Tirado (58.89m/193-2) in the men's hammer, Maudie Skyring in the 1500
(4:29.31) and Kyle Fearrington in the 400 (48.07). Graduate student Stanley Linton finished 30th in the men's 10,000-meter run (30:38.34), while redshirt freshman Steven Cross dropped out just short
of the halfway mark.
"We need another strong day tomorrow if we're going to be in the position we want to be in at Nationals," Braman said. "There are no do-overs anymore."
Ewers Blazes Path For Five More NCAA Championship Qualifiers.
Three sprinters, Love and Zarankaite push qualifying total to 10. May 25, 2018
TAMPA, FL - Florida State doubled
its NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships qualifiers on Day 2 of the NCAA East Preliminary, nailing down five more spots - three in the 100-meter dash and two in the women's discus - on Friday.
Junior Andre Ewers found another gear, launching himself onto the world stage, with a stunning 9.98 quarterfinal 100-meter dash performance to lock up his first trip to Historic Hayward Field. Ewers'
mark is the fastest legal time by a collegian this year and ranks No. 2 in the world.
Better still, he'll have a running mate for the June 6-9 meet in Eugene, Ore. Junior Darryl Haraway, running
two lanes to Ewers' right, laid down a monstrous personal-best of 10.09 to secure his first individual event NCAA Championships berth.
Ewers and Haraway now occupy the Nos. 5 and 9 spots on FSU's
prestigious all-time top 10 list.
"Andre and Darryl were really special," Florida State coach Bob Braman said. "Andre joined an elite club of sub-10 collegians and Darryl obliterated his lifetime
best."
It was an especially gratifying performance for Haraway, who was making his first NCAA East Preliminary appearance in the 100 after injuries relegated him to relay duties as a freshman and
sophomore. Haraway matched his collegiate-best (10.32) at the National Relay Championships last month, his first 100 since early April in 2016, then followed with a third-place finish at the ACC
Championships two weeks ago.
After qualifying 19th with a 10.33 in Thursday's first-round race, the Upper Marlboro, Md. native blitzed his previous lifetime-best of 10.20, set in victory as a high
school junior at the 2014 New Balance Nationals title. It was that year's world youth-leading time.
Freshman Ka'Tia Seymour followed up her school-record 100-meter performance in Thursday's
qualifying time with a strong 11.17 to qualify eighth overall for the NCAA Championships against a blazing field. Jayla Kirkland turned in an all-conditions best of 11.24 (+2.8), but came up one
one-hundredth of a second shy of nabbing the 12th and final qualifying position. Shauna Helps matched her personal-best of 11.26 and was 16th.
"All of our 100-meter ladies competed well; two
lifetime bests and a near best for Ka'Tia is more than a coach could expect," Braman said.
The sprinters were finished, turning their attention to the first round in the 200-meter dash.
Ewers,
the lone men's competitor in the first round of the 200, he won his heat in a controlled effort, advancing to the quarterfinals in 20.28. The fourth-fastest in the field of 48, he recorded his first
wind-legal time of the season, which was good enough to lodge the No. 7 mark in program history and nudge Ron Harrison (20.54) from the top 10. Harrison had been entrenched since 1960; the longest
standing mark in any event in FSU history.
With the wind whipping up and a storm bearing down, the women took care of first-round business as Seymour (22.57w), Kirkland (22.93w) and Helps (23.05w)
all advanced to Saturday's quarterfinal round.
"Andre was all business in the 200 and I felt like Katia was similarly in business mode," Braman said.
"Jayla and Shauna had a true gut check as
their race was contested in a torrential downpour. I was especially impressed with how Shauna qualified from the worst lane on the track [lane 1] and under those conditions."
Shanice Love and Ieva
Zarankaite had to wait out a lengthy weather delay before they could begin their third and final flight of the discus competition. The Nos. 1 and 4 seeds, respectively, did not disappoint, easily
qualifying with marks of 55.17 meters (181-0) and 52.47m (172-1).
The duo pushed the total of women's throwers headed to Eugene in five, in three events, with Zarankaite also qualifying in the shot
put alongside Gleneve Grange and Lauri Paredes advancing in the javelin.
"The ladies really pushed through some difficult conditions," Braman said. "It was survive and advance at its finest. As has
been the case all day, credit goes to the coaches for preparing our kids to handle adversity."
Friday's first-round hurdles races produced a trio of qualifiers as freshmen Trey Cunningham and
Tyricke Dickens advanced to the quarterfinals in the 110-meter hurdles, while Cortney Jones moved on in the 100-meter hurdles.
Cunningham qualified sixth-fastest in 13.65 (+2.1), while Dickens laid
down an all-conditions best of 13.91 (+2.6) to qualify 17th. Jones cruised to a heat victory in 13.10; seventh-fastest from the field of 48.
"Trey and Tyricke definitely had ACC redemption on their
minds," Braman said. "They were really focused, but the good news is their technique can be cleaned up and Coach Hon will certainly get that done. Cortney completely dominated her heat. She's slowly
getting healthy and she does she will be a force like she was at NCAA Indoors."
Relay Teams Ignite Huge Day Of NCAA Championship Qualifying.
Noles advance 18 to
Eugene, adding eight on final day of NCAA East action. May 26, 2018
TAMPA, FL - Florida State's 4x100-meter relay teams set the tone for Saturday's strong finish at the NCAA East
Preliminary, as the Seminoles converted eight of 13 qualifying opportunities into trips to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The Seminoles pushed their three-day total of qualifiers to
18 - eight men and 10 women - who will compete at Oregon's Historic Hayward Field, June 6-9.
"It was definitely a successful first round for the Noles," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "We got almost
all of our heavy hitters through and we had some reach new levels nationally as well…I'm really pleased with how well our kids competed in a do-or-die competition. Top 10 [NCAA] finishes are still in
play for both squads."
The rain-filled day at the USF Track & Field Stadium began with some thunder from the men's 4x100 relay team of Keniel Grant, Darryl Haraway, Edward Clarke and Andre Ewers -
the fifth different lineup of the season - delivered a first heat victory in a season-best time of 39.12. Ewers, anchoring for the first time, ran down three teams after taking the baton for the
auto-qualifying spot.
"It felt great because it wasn't about me, it was about getting the team to nationals," said Ewers, who came back later in the day to qualify third overall in the 200-meter
dash (20.32). "I was gauging my speed to catch the guys to get to nationals and not trying to break the clock…
"It's very satisfying emotionally. I'm happy for the guys that they get a chance to go
to nationals and experience that atmosphere."
FSU's women followed suit in the second heat as the quartet of Jayla Kirkland, Shauna Helps, Cortney Jones and Ka'Tia Seymour dropped the fifth-fastest
time of the day (43.60), and the fifth-fastest in program history, with a third-place heat finish.
Helps' decision to run was not an easy one, as a tender hamstring had assistant coach Brandon Hon
considering a different group. It would come with a price as the junior was forced to pull out of the 200 later in the day.
"First and foremost I thought about the team and figured the safest thing
was to punch our ticket to Oregon and attempt the 200 if I could," Helps said. "It was bittersweet, but worth it, because we punched out ticket and ran a season best.
"I'm super proud of this
team…You couldn't ask for a better set of people."
Braman was especially impressed with Helps' resolve.
"Shauna Helps gave us one of the gutsiest races I've ever seen," he said. "I have no idea
how she willed her hamstring to hold together. All I can say is, wow!"
With the tone set the Noles kept the ball rolling. Freshman Trey Cunningham advanced in the 110-meter hurdles with a
competitive runner-up finish to world leader Grant Holloway of Florida in 13.66, which stood as the third-fastest time on the day. Fellow freshman Tyricke Dickens came up two spots shy of joining
Cunningham, running 14.05 to finish 14th.
Sophomore Cortney Jones secured her second consecutive NCAA Championships berth with a strong 100-meter hurdles finish, winning the first heat in 13.17 and
beating rival and ACC champion Jeanine Williams of Georgia Tech in the process.
"That was my main goal, to try and win my heat, survive and advance," Jones said. "I wasn't worried about the time at
all, especially with the weather we had."
Ewers followed with his 200-meter heat triumph to fill his NCAA dance card, having already qualified in the 100 and the relay.
"This gives me a lot of
motivation," Ewers said. "Ever since I false-started in the 60 [at the NCAA Indoor Championships], I transferred that pain outdoors and said I'm not going to let that happen again. I've made too many
sacrifices."
He won't be the only Nole competing in the sprint triple as Seymour backed up her Friday 100-meter qualifying performance, and earlier anchor work in the 4x100, by clinching a trip in
the 200-meter dash with a third-place heat finish in 22.95. Kirkland delivered her collegiate-best of 23.35, which was 15th overall in the quarterfinal round.
After converting qualifying
opportunities in each of its first six events with entries, the Noles hit their lone bump of the day when ACC Championships Field MVP Corion Knight was eliminated from the high jump after clearing
only 2.06 meters in a steady rain.
"It was a tough weekend for Corion," Braman said of Knight, who also came up short in his long jump qualifying bid. "We would've loved to have had his weapons in
Eugene, but he's a had a dream season for a first-time NCAA athlete."
It wouldn't be the only disappointment of the day, but the next one - Montel Nevers' 13th-place finish in the triple jump - was
offset by teammate Armani Wallace's monster personal-best to advance.
Wallace unleashed an opening attempt of 16.44 meters (53-11.25) to lock up his second consecutive trip to the NCAA
Championships. The junior's massive mark was even more impressive, considering he came up shy of the of the takeoff board on the attempt.
"That was a huge jump for Armani, especially considering
the bad weather conditions," Braman said. "We've seen 54-foot-plus jumps from him a bunch of times with minute fouls. This one was half-foot behind the board."
Braman called Nevers' 13th-place
finish in 15.69 meters (51-5.75) a "gut-wrencher" as he finished two centimeters - three-quarters of an inch - shy of having an opportunity to earn All-American honors for a second consecutive
year.
"He was 10th with only four jumpers left and ended in the worst spot possible - first man out," Braman said.
Like Wallace, senior Austin Droogsma did all he needed on his attempt, securing
a trip in the shot put after posting an opening mark of 19.41 meters (63-8.25). The Gulf Breeze, Fla. native finished eighth in the pecking order, but will close his career with a fourth consecutive
NCAA Championships appearance - two each indoor and outdoors - while hunting his second first-team All-American honors of the year.
Event 1 - 100 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
1 Andre Ewers 9.98 10
4 Darryl Haraway 10.09 5
XX Darryl Haraway 10.33 prelims
Event 2 - 200 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Andre Ewers 20.28 6 prelims
Event 3 - 400 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
45 Kyle Fearrington 48.07
Event 7 - 10000 Meters
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
30 Stanley Linton 30:38.44
DNF Steven Cross
Event 8 - 110 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Trey Cunningham 13.66 6
14 TyeRicke Dickens 14.05
Event 10 - 3000 Meter Steeplechase
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
21 Michael Hall 8:59.16
Event 11 - 4x100-Meter Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Relay Team A 39.12 6
1) Keniel Grant
2) Darryl Haraway
3) Edward Clarke
4) Andre Ewers
Event 13 - Long Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
7 Kenneth Fisher 25- 4 7.72m 2
20 Corion Knight 24- 5.25 7.45m
25 Keniel Grant 24- 2.25w 7.37mw
Event 14 - Triple Jump
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Armani Wallace 53-11.25 16.44m 6
13 Montel Nevers 51- 5.75 15.69m
Event 15 - High Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
21T Corion Knight 6- 9 2.06m
Event 17 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
8 Austin Droogsma 63- 8.25 19.41m 1
Event 18 - Discus
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
21 Austin Droogsma 171- 4 52.22m
32 Noah Agwu 161- 4 49.17m
Event 19 - Hammer
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
38 Brandon Tirado 193- 2 58.89m
NCAA Outdoor Championship, 11th place
06/08/2018, June 6 & 8, 2018, Eugene, Ore.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Droogsma Delivers First Points; Ewers Leads Strong Qualifying Day.
Noles advance four men to Friday's NCAA finals; women start Thursday.
June 6, 2018
EUGENE, Ore. - Austin Droogsma put the Florida State track & field team on the scoreboard Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but there will be plenty more points coming on
Friday, thanks to an outstanding qualifying effort by the Seminoles.
And if the opening day performances at Historic Hayward Field are any indicator, the finale at this iconic venue will be a
fitting sendoff.
Droogsma fell victim to some of those early-meet histrionics as the senior climbed to third entering the shot put finals with a throw of 20.23 meters (66-4.5) - the second-best of
his career - and finished seventh when he was unable to improve on that standard.
"That would have been third last year," Droogsma said of his mark. "I knew that it could very well be a 20-meter
final. It turned out to be that way. I figured it would get top-five, at least, but sometimes that's how the chips fall.
"It's disappointing to get all the way here and not really have the placing
that I was really looking for, but I threw within 98 percent of my PR. It was just a stacked, really, really deep field. It took 20 meters to score. That's just the reality of the game sometimes."
Quality performances were not reserved solely to the big men in the circle. Fortunately for the Noles, junior sprinter Andre Ewers cast a huge shadow over his fellow 100- and 200-meter dash
qualifiers.
Ewers posted the fastest qualifying time from the field of 24, advancing to the finals of the 100 in (10.00w) as the No. 2 seed, on a day when top-seeded Jaylen Bacon of Arkansas State
(10.10) did not make the final. Nor did Purdue's Waseem Williams (10.06), who was fifth behind Ewers' heat three victory.
Seminole Darryl Haraway finished 15th out of the preliminary heats in
10.15; the second-fastest time of his career.
Like the shot put, you can go all the way back through the 2000 preliminary rounds in the 100 and not find a faster field 1-16 than Wednesday
produced.
As the No. 1 seed in the 200, Ewers completed his busy day by qualifying fourth-fastest for Friday's final in 20.31; a solid cap to a taxing three-event day which began with anchoring the
Noles 4x100 relay to the final.
"Endurance-wise it wasn't that tiring," Ewers said, afterward. "Legs-wise, it took something out of me because in the 100 I got left out of the blocks and I was
fourth or fifth and had to make up ground to come back.
"The high level of competition makes it more difficult."
Ewers and Southern Miss' McKinley West were the lone sprinters to make the finals
in the 100 and 200, and also lead their 4x100 relay to the finals.
Competing in the first heat of the first event on the track, the Seminoles' 4x100 relay of Keniel Grant, Haraway, Darryl Gay and
Ewers automatically qualified for Friday's final in a season-best 39.00 seconds.
"It feels real good," said Grant, a senior competing in his first NCAA Outdoor Championships. "The goal was just to
survive and advance. We just got the stick around safely and we're going to finals."
The Noles' time is the eighth-fastest in program history, though it was far from a flawless performance, which
is even more encouraging enter the final. Despite a less-than-fluid pass from Haraway to Gay, Ewers received the stick in the mix and easily motored from fourth to first for the heat win and the auto
berth.
Gay, a freshman who was reinserted into the lineup for the first time since the ACC Championships, was equal parts excited and relieved.
"I'm very excited to see that we could go 39-flat
with me taking off early and having to stop and get the stick," Gay said. "But we got the baton around safely to get to the finals so we can take it all the way home to Tallahassee."
Freshman Trey
Cunningham joined Ewers and the relay team among Friday's finalists, overcoming a sluggish start with a strong close to run his way into 110-meter hurdle finals on time in 13.64.
Like Haraway,
graduate transfer Kenneth Fisher was forced to settle for second-team All-American honors with his 16th-place finish in the long jump (7.65m/25-1.25), another event which brought out the best from the
field.
"Overall it was a really good Day 1," FSU coach Bob Braman said. "Droogs fell victim of the best shot put competition in NCAA history, but those two points are huge in a meet of this level.
That was just an awesome triple by Andre. That's a big man with a lot of moxy.
"We'll need another season-best in the 4x100 relay if we're going to crack the top five, but they over-achieve every
time out. Top-10 is achievable for us, but we need another big day on Friday."
Ewers-Led Men Post Highest 11th-Place Score In NCAA History.
Twenty-Three point final
day guides best team finish since 2013. June 8, 2018
EUGENE, Ore. - Junior sprinter Andre Ewers was the guiding force Friday as the Florida State men's track & field team re-emerged as a
prominent force at the national level, piling up 25 points in an 11th-place team finish at the conclusion of its NCAA Outdoor Championship competition.
The Seminoles' total is the highest for a
team outside the top 10 in NCAA Championships history, excluding the 1982-84 championship meets, where the top 12 places in each event were scored as opposed to the traditional top eight spots.
"We
had one whale of a meet," FSU coach Bob Braman said at the conclusion of Friday's rain-soaked affair at Historic Hayward Field. "I couldn't be more proud of our kids. They decided in the fall that it
was time for Florida State to be a national power again. We lose a great leader in Austin Droogsma, but the majority of our elite athletes return next year. I can't wait to get the 2019 season
started."
Florida State finished one point from a top-10 finish, and just nine points shy of returning to the podium - a team hardware-earning, top-four finish - for the first time since 2012.
Ewers was at the center of the Seminoles' scoring surge on the final day, grabbing silver in the 200-meter dash following a bronze medal finish in the 100-meter dash. Coupled with his anchor leg
contributions to the fifth-place 4x100 relay, he contributed 15 points to the cause.
Only thrower Denzel Comenentia of national champion Georgia scored more points (20) among men's meet
competitors.
"I'm grateful," Ewers said. "I went out and competed with the best in the nation and I executed my races...I honestly left it all out there on the track."
Ewers was third in the
100-meter dash in 10.19, trailing the Houston duo of Cameron Burrell (10.13) and Elijah Hall (10.17). Forty-five minutes later he came within a whisker of gold in the 200-meter final, losing at the
line to Texas Tech's Divine Oduduru 20.28-20.29.
"Like coach [Rick Argro] said, I need to work on my duck," Ewers added.
"Andre showed us the way this week and his teammates responded," Braman
said. "Trey Cunningham was a warrior today. He fought like a veteran and knocked off some big guns."
Cunningham, FSU's standout freshman, finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles out of lane eight
in 13.64. That's the best finish by a Seminole over the high sticks since two-time Olympian Arthur Blake was the NCAA runner-up in 1987.
"I'm pretty sure I hit the first [hurdle] pretty good,"
Cunningham said. "The last five were clean."
That's where he made up ground on the field, but could not quite catch the top three.
"I was always come with the mentality that I want to win,"
Cunningham said. "I'm OK with how it ended because, not to sound cliché, but I'm just a freshman at this meet. I've competed with all of these guys all year and it has just proven that I can stay with
them. I felt pretty happy with it. I was moving good. I don't think I could have done anything different, other than not hit the hurdles…
"I see this as a milestone and there's nothing but up from
here."
The day began with the 4x100 relay team of Keniel Grant, Darryl Haraway, Darryl Gay and Ewers splashing their way to a fifth-place finish in 39.37; hindered a bit but some baton-passing
issues. The Noles had qualified for the final in 39.00; the eighth-best time in program history.
"We could have been better," said Haraway, a junior competing in his first NCAA Championship final
after appearing on 13th-place 2016 quartet. "I'm disappointed a little bit, but we're still All-Americans. …For sure we're going to get this 400-relay right and we'll get it back to a national
championship like Florida State used to be.
"I like the big stage and I know my teammates like big stages. I know I want to feel it again next year. We'll all be back here next year."
So too
should junior Armani Wallace, whose season-long battle with a leg issue, cropped up at the worst possible time. Wallace, the two-time defending ACC triple jump champion, was forced to bail out on his
first two attempts and passed his final try.
The Noles came into the final day of competition with just two team points, courtesy Droogsma's seventh-place finish in the shot put on Wednesday. Worth
noting, the senior's mark of 20.23 meters (66-4.5) was the longest throw ever recorded by a seventh-place finisher at the championship meet.
It was that kind of meet across the board, with the men
establishing four new collegiate records and six NCAA Championship meet records. Eight of those 10 marks were set Friday under less-than-ideal conditions.
With a wealth of talent returning, soon to
be supplemented by a stellar signing class, the Noles appear to be on their way to returning to elite national status. From 2005-2013, Florida State won two National Championships, had a third vacated
and never finished outside the top nine.
Friday's finish was the programs' best since 2013 (ninth).
"Big props to our assistant coaches for bringing us back to the national stage," Braman said.
"They all bought into our plan three years ago and we're starting to see the results."
Event 1 - 100 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
3 Andre Ewers 10.17 6
14 Darryl Haraway 10.15
Event 2 - 200 Meters
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
2 Andre Ewers 20.29 8
Event 8 - 110 Meter Hurdles
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
4 Trey Cunningham 13.64 5
Event 11 - 4x100-Meter Relay
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
5 Relay Team A 39.00 4 prelims
1) Keniel Grant
2) Darryl Haraway
3) Darryl Gay
4) Andre Ewers
Event 13 - Long Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
16 Kenneth Fisher 25- 1.25 7.65m
Event 14 - Triple Jump
======================================================
Place Name Results
======================================================
INJ Armani Wallace
Event 17 - Shot Put
==============================================================
Place Name Results Points
==============================================================
7 Austin Droogsma 66- 4.50 20.23m 2
