JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men’s and women’s track and field teams take a trip down to Orlando, Fla. this weekend for the UCF Invitational. The meet is hosted by the University of Central Florida, and field events are set to begin at 10 a.m. with the women’s hammer. Running events begin at 12 p.m. with the women’s 3,000m.
This will be the last regular season meet for the Ospreys before the Atlantic Sun Outdoor Conference Championships on May 16.
Schedule: UCF Invitational, Saturday, May 10
Where: Orlando, Fla. (University of Central Florida: UCF Track and Soccer Complex)
Last Season: Highlights for the Lady Ospreys included Emily Kohler’s 37.34m throw that earned her first overall in the javelin throw. Kohler also competed in the high jump (1.62m), triple jump (11.02m) and long jump (5.17m), where she finished, fourth, fourth and ninth place, respectively. Amanda Davey had a first-place finish as well with her time of 10:04.40 in the 3,000m. Teammate Sarah Coghlan finished just a few spots behind Davey in fourth (10:21.64).
The Lady Ospreys also had some big finishes from Amy Stroder and Golden Creavy. Stroder competed in the 400m dash (56.94) and high jump (1.67m), where she took home fourth and second place. Creavy had a fifth-place finish in the 800m with her time of 2:14.31.
On the men’s side, Fredrick Johansson placed third in the 1,500m with a time of 4:01.37, while teammates Sammy Palmer (4:07.61) and Goran Kosic (4:14.86) finished a few spots Johansson in sixth and ninth place. Marvin Moore finished seventh in the 800m with a time of 1:58.61. Palmer (2:02.66) and Dane Simmons (2:06.64) finished behind Moore in 12th and 13th place.
Notable: Freshman SaLydia James should have breakthrough performances in the 200m, 400m and lead off leg of the 4x100m relay, according to UNF assistant coach Julie Stackhouse. Stroder should continue to lead the way for UNF, considering she has only finished outside the top 10 once all season long. Davey hopes to build on her performance from last week, where she finished ninth in the 5,000m with a time of 16:55.13, achieving a new outdoor personal best.
As for the men, Nathan Holden and Will Pearce will be using Saturday’s races to tune up for the A-Sun Championships next week. Holden will be running the 1,500m in preparation for the 5,000m and 10,000m. Pearce is tuning up for the 1,500m with the open 800m this week.
“Hopefully, he'll (Pearce) get a time to qualify for the fast heat of the 800m at conference,” UNF head coach Mark VanAlstyne said. “If so, we'll look forward to doubling him back after the 1,500.”
Quotable: Assistant coach Stackhouse: “Our goal for this meet is to establish season and personal bests in as many events as possible, putting each athlete in the best position for the conference meet next weekend. They have trained diligently and are in the tapering stage of their training, so they are ready to put it on the line. Now that exams and graduation are behind us, we can focus on the task at hand as a team.”