Florida State's Pilar McShine and Susan Kuijken earn NCAA auto marks
15 February 2009 at 02:16 - 0 comments - link
The Florida State track and field program had a busy Valentine’s Day with groups competing at both the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas and the Husky Classic in Seattle, Washington. The Seminoles were feeling the “love” as Florida State recorded two NCAA automatic qualifying times and eight NCAA provisional qualifying times between the two competitions.
“We got a lot of good things done today,” head coach Bob Braman, who was in Fayetteville, Arkansas, said. “Here at the Tyson, the men’s 200m was probably the highlight and our success in the distance events at the Husky Invitational caps it off as a pretty good day.”
Pilar McShine’s (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) personal-best 4:37.71 in the mile at the Husky Classic earned the junior NCAA automatic qualification. The time, which is the best time in the ACC this year, ranks second in school history behind Hannah England’s 4:35.30 set last season. Also earning NCAA automatic qualification is senior Susan Kuijken (Nijmegen, Netherlands) whose season-best time of 9:05.70 in the 3000m at the Husky Classic placed her first among all participants and ranks second in the ACC this season.
“Susan just didn’t feel right heading into the race and I want to give credit to her courage to go out and do the work,” assistant coach Karen Harvey, who was in Seattle with the Seminoles, said. “When you’re not feeling good, doing the work is really hard and she did a great job.”
Florida State took three of the top four spots in the men’s 200m at the Tyson Invitational with three NCAA provisional times. Reigning ACC Performer of the Week Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, Va.), whose ACC-leading 00:20.83 last week at the New Balance Invitational earned him NCAA automatic qualification, placed second with a time of 00:20.94. Sophomore Brandon Byram (Gallatin, Tenn.) and freshman Maurice Mitchell (Kansas City, Mo.) finished third (00.20.96) and fourth (00.20.97), respectively. Both were personal-bests and rank second and third in the ACC.
Other strong performances and NCAA provisional qualifying marks at the Husky Classic include an ACC-leading and personal-best 7:57.62 in the 3000m for junior Daniel Roberts (Vicksburg, Mich.), sophomore Matt Leeder’s (Brookville, Ontario) 8:00.01 in the 3000m – a personal best time – and senior Steeve Gabart (Miami, Fla.), who ran a 14.07 in the 5000m, a mark that is not only a personal-best but also ranks first in the ACC this season. On the women’s side, senior Lydia Willemse (Forest, Ontario) also earned an NCAA provisional qualifying mark with a personal-best time of 9.25.99 in the 3000m.
“Daniel (Roberts) was just a stud today,” Coach Harvey said. “He placed second in his heat and just missed the NCAA automatic qualifying mark. It was a big race for him.”
Upon learning of Gabart’s success, Coach Braman said, “We are so excited for that. We knew he was ready but that mark was a bit unexpected. What a great performance for Steeve.”
Senior Tim Reen (Jupiter, Fla.) recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying mark with a personal-best 2.14 (7-00.25) in the high jump which placed him first among competitors at the Tyson Invitational. Both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams were just off the NCAA provisional qualifying marks but are among the fastest marks in the ACC.
The Seminoles will compete at the ACC Indoor Championship in Blacksburg, Va., February 26-28th.
“It was mission-accomplished to get ready for next weekend,” Braman said about this weekend’s competition. “We are where we want to be heading into the ACC championships.”
