Gainesville, FL – The Webber International Men's and Women's Track teams competed in the Florida Collegiate Invitational at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center on Friday and Saturday. Webber had athletes compete on both days, with great results all around.
Deryke Dennard and Javien Lawson competed in the weight throw and shot put for the Warriors. They both gained top-15 finishes with a 9.99-meter throw and a 9.55-meter throw respectively in the wight throw. In the shot put, Lawson placed 6th with a 12.3-meter throw, while Dennard placed top 20 with a 10.19-meter throw. Michael Granados and Carter Reynolds competed for Webber in the 1000-meter run. Both runners netted top-25 finishes with Granados securing a 3:12.87, and Reynolds a 3:28.69. In the men's 5k race, Andrew Rodriguez and Derick Gomez took to the line. Rodriguez finished in the top 30 with a time of 17:08.46, while Gomez finished top 35 with a 17:53.29.
Jaime Ortiz competed in the pole vault, he placed in the top 15 with a 3.2-meter jump. Seth Sawyer competed in the 800-meter run, placing 11th with a time of 2:04.85. In the 60-meter hurdles, James Andrew placed top 15 with a time of 9.24. The Warriors had six athletes compete in the 60-meter dash prelims. Jay Paul finished top 75 with a time of 7.88. King Grant and Caleb Balado Maldonado both finished top 60, with times of 7.46 and 7.39 respectively. Kaleb Tankard had a top 25 finish finishing in 7.15 seconds. Lebron Williams netted another top 10 finish, placing 10th with a time of 6.97. Amare Williams continued his amazing start as he finished 6th with a 6.88 and qualifying for the finals. In the finals, Amare raced against multi-time World Champion and United States Olympian Noah Lyles. Williams raced great, finishing 6th with a time of 6.80.
The Warriors also had six runners in the 400-meter dash. Axel Gazel-Perez finished top 45 with a time of 56.23. Masqal Pierre, Josiah Williams, and Jaiden Morris finished back to back to back for 19th, 18th, and 17th with times of 52.39, 52.28, and 52.14. Kaleb Roth finished 15th with a 51.85, while Marcus Higgins finished 10th with a 50.67. The Warriors had three teams compete in the 1600-meter relay. Webber A finished 5th with a 3:21.17, Webber B finished 10th with a 3:28.97, and Webber C with a 3:39.89.
Anna Beth Gonzalez competed in the weight throw for the women, getting a top 20 finish with a throw of 9.01 meters. Gonzalez also netted a top 20 finish in the shot put, throwing 8.25 meters. Azora Williams and Terralyn Brockton competed in the long jump for the Warriors. Both netted top 25 finishes with Williams jumping 3.94 meters and Brockton jumping 4.18 meters. Brockton also competed in the 200-meter dash, placing in the top 50 with a time of 32.08. Xaniah Williams placed 7th in the Women's Triple Jump, landing 10.27 meters. In the 60-meter dash, Alohnna-Elyse Lee had a top 25 finish with a time of 8.13.
Head Coach Mike Mangan was proud of his team this weekend, saying "Good weekend to be a Warrior! Amare Williams made the finals of the 60 meters and his reward was getting to face "the world's fastest man" Noah Lyles who is the reigning 100 and 200 meter world champion. Great experience for the freshman! As a team, we continue to improve weekly from distance to field events to throws. 3 weeks until Sun Conference Championships"
The Warriors will be back in action on Friday and Saturday, February 2nd and 3rd at the Celebration Pointe Indoor Classic in Gainesville, Florida.
