Florida Relays Final Results
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of South Alabama's track and field team claimed nine top-ten finishes at the Pepsi Florida Relays hosted by the University of Florida this weekend.
"This meet was valuable experience for the team," head coach Paul Brueske said. "We had several athletes rise to the occasion and many set new or came close to their personal bests."
Kaitlyn Beans and Kristina Szabo both notched top finishes in the women's triple jump. Beans placed seventh with a 12.58-meter mark while Szabo earned ninth with the same distance. Olivia Swan and Taylor Dames tied for seventh in the women's high jump by clearing 1.68m — a personal best for Swan.
Michaela Preachuk earned ninth in the women's' hammer with a throw of 54.96m, while LaMia Miller placed just outside of the top 10 with a 54.92-meter mark. Miller also placed 24th in the women's shot put with a 13.37-meter throw.
Barbara Rivera took seventh place in women's javelin with a 45.84-meter throw, while Jessica Matthews finished behind her at 13th with a 41.17-meter throw.
Megan James cleared a personal-best 3.85m in the women's pole vault to tie for 11th place. Ireland Armstrong cleared 3.70m to tie for 13th in the event.
In the women's 1500m, Laura Labuschaigne crossed the line at 4:33.01 to finish 23rd.
On the men's side, Niel Giliomee tied for eighth in the men's pole vault, clearing 4.92m. In throws, Zack Blahnik finished 10th in the men's hammer college invite event with a personal best throw of 63.86m. The junior also finished 19th in discus (47.55m) and 17th in shot put (15.28m).
Andrew Allen recorded ninth place in the men's hammer recording a 56.00-meter mark and also claimed a top-25 spot in the men's javelin with a throw for 56.33m.
Two other Jaguar throwers - Matt Weinhold and Jobi Finau - posted top-20 results in the men's discus and shot put. Weinhold earned 13th and 14th in discus (50.58m) and shot put (15.84m), respectively, while Finau threw for a 50.19-meter mark in discus to finish 14th in the event.
In the men's 400-meter hurdles, Artius Gilstrap crossed the line at 54.16 seconds, just one place outside the top 15. Larry Lombard finished with a time of 54.53 for 31st in the event. Warno Potgieter ran in the men's 1500m and completed the race in 3:54.64 for 29th.
On Saturday in Austin, Texas, Sean Collins competed in the men's pole vault at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. The sophomore finished in 7th, clearing 5.35m.
South Alabama track and field will be back in action April 7-8 as Jaguars travel to the Tiger Track Classic hosted by Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.
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