FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Florida State track & field teams took down two school records on the final night of the NCAA Indoor Championships, which coach Bob Braman hopes will help set the tone for a more prosperous outdoor season.
The Seminole men’s 4x400 relay team pulled the curtain on Saturday night’s competition at the Randal Tyson Track Complex, racing to a bronze medal finish in 3:05.13. The team of Alonzo Russell, James Harris, Dentarius Locke and Stephen Newbold broke the previous record set in 2009 (3:05.48) by a team which included 2012 Olympic 400-meter finalists Jonathan and Kevin Borlee, along with Kevin Williams and Brandon O’Connor.
A day earlier, Harnden watched helplessly as FSU’s bid for a top 10 finish vanished with false starts by favorites Marvin Bracy and Locke in the 60-meter qualifying heats.
With its third-place finish in the 4x400 relay – and junior Phillip Young’s seventh-place showing in the triple jump - the sixth-ranked men finished with 11 points and locked in a three-way tie for 18th place in the team standings with Georgia and Purdue. It’s the lowest finish for the Seminoles since they tied for 44th in 2004. Host Arkansas claimed the men’s championship with a whopping 74 points.
While the men came up short of performing to their ranking, the Seminole women exceeded expectations, thanks to the distance crew led by assistant Karen Harvey.
Senior Amanda Winslow provided the ‘Noles with their only points of the day, and did so in dramatic fashion. In her fourth consecutive and final NCAA Indoor appearance, Winslow matched 2012 Olympian Emma Coburn of Colorado stride-for-stride until the final 100 meters.
Winslow crossed the finish line in 4:31.08 and in second place, lopping more than two seconds off her own school record (4:33.22), established earlier in the season.
Now the focus goes to the outdoor season, where the Seminoles will have a chance to apply and build on what they learned indoors.
