LEXINGTON, Ky. – Florida’s three-time NCAA Champion thrower Mariam
Kevkhishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) turned in the finest indoor performance
of her collegiate career, breaking the Georgian National Record and the
UF indoor school record in the women’s shot put to highlight the Gators’
participation in the Kentucky Invitational on Saturday at E.J. Nutter
Fieldhouse.

In total, Florida athletes recorded two NCAA automatic-qualifying marks,
posted four provisional-qualifying marks and won three events over the
course of two-day Kentucky Invitational.

“I thought it was a very solid weekend for our team,” Florida head coach
Mike Holloway said. “We definitely have some things that we need to work
on but, overall, I thought it was a good opener and gave us the
opportunity to shake off some rust. We’ll get back and get in two good
weeks of training before the Texas A&M Challenge.”

Kevkhishvili, who on Thursday was named to the preseason watch list for
The Bowerman – track and field’s highest honor, broke her own Florida
school record with an NCAA automatic-qualifying toss of 18.47m/60-7.25,
which also set her country’s shot put record and marked a new E.J.
Nutter Fieldhouse facility record.

Kevkhishvili’s mark goes down as the best indoor shot put measure in the
world so far this year, topping Nadine Kleinert of Germany, who recorded
a mark of 18.30m on Dec. 20, 2009, according to IAAF.org.

“Wow,” Holloway said of Kevkhishvili’s performance. “Mariam is just
Mariam. She recorded the fourth-best finish in collegiate history today.
She and Coach [Steve] Lemke have such a great relationship and click so
well; I think this is just a by-product of that. But, knowing Mariam as
I do, I know she’s not satisfied and she wants to continue to improve
and get better.”

For Kevkhishvili, who has won eight consecutive indoor competitions
dating back to the 2008 season, it marked the first time she has thrown
better than 18 meters in an indoor collegiate meet. The toss broke her
previous school record of 17.94m/58-10.25 and shattered the facility
record of 18.00m set by former Tennessee standout Cleopatra Borel in
2004 as a post-collegian. Three of Kevkhishvili’s six throws went
further than 18.32 meters and all five throws that landed inside the
sector met the automatic-qualifying standard.

“Mariam’s fall training gave every indication that it was going to be a
really good year for her,” said Steve Lemke, Florida’s assistant coach
for throws. “It was nice to see her open the season with such a strong
series of throws and set her country’s national record. It’s still the
first meet and there are still many things to work on, but she’s off to
a great start.”

The Florida men’s 4x400-meter “A” relay capped off a strong weekend,
recording the fourth-best indoor time in school history with an NCAA
automatic-qualifying mark of 3:06.40. The new-look relay consisted of
Tony McQuay (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.), Jovon
Toppin (Port of Spain, Trinidad) and Christian Taylor (Fayetteville,
Ga.).

The women’s 4x400-meter “A” relay ran the school’s fastest time in that
event since 2005, placing second and clocking a time of 3:39.96. The
squad consisted of Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), Alishea Usery (St. Louis,
Mo.), Danielle Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Lanie Whittaker (Miami,
Fla.)

“We expected a great performance from our men’s 4x4,” Holloway said.
“Anytime you get those four guys on the track together, you know
they’re going to run fast. I thought our women’s 4x400 did a great
job tonight, running the fastest time we’ve had in the relay since 2005.”

Usery recorded an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark in the preliminaries
of the women’s 60-meter dash, clocking a time of 7.44. She followed that
up with a third-place finish in the event’s finals in a
provisional-qualifying time of 7.41. Usery also was seventh in the
women’s 200-meter dash, an event in which she qualified for the NCAA
Championships as a freshman last season.

Sophomore thrower Keely Medeiros (Luziania, Brazil) placed third overall
in the women’s shot put with an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of
16.15m/53-0, marking a new personal record.

Junior Eric Foran (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) captured the men’s pole vault
with a leap of 4.90m/16-0.75. He won the event in a jump off with two
other competitors to claim his third career victory as a collegiate
competitor.

Sophomores Jarius Cooper (Palm Coast, Fla.) and William Wynne (Marietta,
Ga.) each advanced to the finals of the men’s 60-meter hurdles with
Cooper placing fifth (8.16) and Wynne seventh (8.18) overall, while
Smith (Lutz, Fla.) charted a third-place finish in the men’s 200-meter
dash in a time of 21.25, just missing the NCAA provisional-qualifying
standard.

Middle distance runner Lamarr Davis (Knightdale, N.C.) was just shy of
his indoor personal best of 48.40 in the men’s 400-meter run, placing
seventh in a time of 48.41.

Sprinters Chris Rainey (Lakeland, Fla.) and Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville,
Fla.) each advanced to the finals of the men’s 60-meter dash with Rainey
finishing ninth overall.

Florida has a week off from competition before returning to action on
Jan. 29-30 at the Texas A&M Challenge in College Station, Texas. That
event will feature teams solely from the Big 12 Conference, the
Pacific-10 Conference and the SEC.

For comprehensive information about the Florida track and field program,
log on to www.GatorZone.com/trackfield. For all of the latest
up-to-the-minute updates, please follow Gator Track and Field on Twitter
@GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.

POST-MEET NOTES
• Florida’s participation in the Kentucky Invitational marked the second
consecutive year in which the Gators have opened their indoor season at
that event.
• Senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili set a new school indoor record,
facility record and Georgian national record in the women’s shot put
with a toss of 18.47m/60-7.25. That mark currently ranks No. 1 in the
world this indoor season, according to IAAF.org.
o Kevkhishvili’s mark goes down as the fourth-best in collegiate
history.
o Kevkhishvili has won eight consecutive indoor competitions dating back
to the 2008 season.
• The Florida men’s 4x400-meter relay charted the fourth-fastest indoor
time in school history, clocking a 3:06.40.
• The Florida women’s 4x400-meter relay charted the school’s fastest
time in that event since 2005 with an NCAA provisional-qualifying time
of 3:39.96.
• Junior pole vaulter Eric Foran captured the men’s pole vault event
with a leap of 4.90m/16-0.75, winning the jump off against two other
collegiate competitors to claim his third career victory and his first
since May 3, 2008 at the Mississippi Open.
• Sophomore thrower Keely Medeiros charted an NCAA
provisional-qualifying mark in the women’s shot put with a personal-best
throw of 16.15m/53-0.
• Sophomore sprinter Alishea Usery ran provisional-qualifying times in
both the preliminaries and the finals of the women’s 60-meter dash.

FLORIDA EVENT WINNERS
• Eric Foran – Men’s Pole Vault – 4.90m/16-0.75 (jump off – 4.95m) P
• Mariam Kevkhishvili – Women’s Shot Put – 18.47m/60-7.25 A
• Men’s 4x400-meter “A” relay – 3:06.40 A

NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS
• Mariam Kevkhishvili – Women’s Shot Put – 18.47m/60-7.25 A
• Men’s 4x400-meter “A” relay – 3:06.40 A

NCAA PROVISIONAL QUALIFIERS
• Keely Medeiros – Women’s Shot Put – 16.15m/53-0 P
• Alishea Usery – Women’s 60m Dash Semis – 7.44 P
• Alishea Usery – Women’s 60m Dash Finals – 7.41 P
• Women’s 4x400-meter “A” relay – 3:39.96 P

Kentucky Invitational (Jan. 15-16, 2010)

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Women’s High Jump - 9:30 a.m. (AUTO: 1.85m; PROV: 1.78m)
21. Alexis Muniz – 1.63m/5-4.25
--. Rebecca Goldring - NH

Men’s Pole Vault - 11:30 a.m. (AUTO: 5.50m; PROV: 5.20m)
1. Eric Foran – 4.90m/16-0.75 (jump off – 4.95)
11. Max Lang – 4.30m/14-1.25

Men’s Shot Put - 12 p.m. (AUTO: 19.30m; PROV: 17.75m)
17. Gray Horn – 11.23m/36-10.25

Women’s Shot Put - 12 p.m. (AUTO: 16.90m; PROV: 15.20m)
1. Mariam Kevkhishvili – 18.47m/60-7.25 A, F, SR, Georgian National
3. Keely Medeiros – 16.15m/53-0 P

Women’s 60m Hurdles Semis - 12:30 p.m. AUTO: 8.14; PROV: 8.43)
17. Paige Morton – 8.75 q
33. Amani Bryant – 9.10

Men’s 60m Hurdles Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 7.70; PROV: 7.91)
3. William Wynne – 7.99 q
8. Jarius Cooper – 8.25 q

Women’s 60m Dash Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 7.26; PROV: 7.44)
3. Alishea Usery – 7.44 q P
23. Shara Proctor – 7.76
33. Daniela Griffin – 7.89
39. Jenicia McFadden – 8.04

Men’s 60m Dash Semis - 12:30 p.m. (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
4. Chris Rainey – 6.79 q
18. Jeremy Hall – 6.93 q
30. Gray Horn – 7.13

Men’s 60m Hurdles Finals - 1:50 p.m. (AUTO: 7.70; PROV: 7.91)
5. Jarius Cooper – 8.16
7. William Wynne – 8.18

Women’s 60m Hurdles Finals - 1:55 p.m. AUTO: 8.14; PROV: 8.43)
16. Paige Morton – 8.89

Men’s 60m Dash Finals - 2 p.m. (AUTO: 6.60; PROV: 6.71)
9. Chris Rainey – 6.84
15. Jeremy Hall – 6.94

Women’s 60m Dash Finals - 2:05 p.m. (AUTO: 7.26; PROV: 7.44)
3. Alishea Usery – 7.41 P

Women’s 400m Run - 2:15 p.m. (AUTO: 52.40; PROV: 54.40)
16. Ije Iheoma – 56.52
19. Lanie Whittaker – 57.67
23. Danielle Williams – 57.67
24. Michelle Stegall – 57.98
26. Ashley Usery – 58.38

Men’s 400m Run - 2:35 p.m. (AUTO: 46.15; PROV: 47.25)
7. Lamarr Davis – 48.41
20. John Mitchell – 49.63
32. Ethan Philpot – 50.40

Women’s 200m Dash - 3:35 p.m. (AUTO: 23.20; PROV: 23.90)
7. Alishea Usery – 24.15

Men’s 200m Dash - 3:50 p.m. (AUTO: 20.83; PROV: 21.23)
3. Calvin Smith – 21.25
10. Christian Taylor – 21.79
11. Preston Wilson – 21.86

Women’s 4x400m Relay - 4:50 p.m. (AUTO: 3:33.00; PROV: 3:40.00)
2. Florida A – 3:39.96 P
(Ije Iheoma, Alishea Usery, Danielle Williams, Lanie Whittaker)
9. Florida B – 3:50.25
(Michelle Stegall, Ashley Usery, Amani Bryant, Paige Morton)

Men’s 4x400m Relay - 5:05 p.m. (AUTO: 3:06.50; PROV: 3:10.40)
1. Florida A – 3:06.40 A
(Tony McQuay, Calvin Smith, Jovon Toppin, Christian Taylor)