Florida State Relays

FSU Relays: Six Events to Watch

FSU Relays: Six Events to Watch

Mar 26, 2015 by Taylor Dutch
FSU Relays: Six Events to Watch




The Florida State Relays will be LIVE on Flotrack for the first time ever and features two days of stacked fields from high school to post-collegiate competition. Beginning Friday at 11 a.m. ET at the Mike Long Track, Florida State will host Miami, North Carolina, and Ohio State in a four-team, scored competition, marking the first time Florida State has hosted a scored quadrangular meet since 2001. On the high school end, some of the top athletes in the nation will square off, including 11 event favorites who bring season’s best marks that are better than the meet record. Here are six events that you cannot miss this weekend:

Boys 3200m (Friday 6:25 p.m. ET)

Four-time Florida state champion Sukhi Khosla of Leon High will headline the field tomorrow in the boys 3200m after establishing the fastest mark in the country at the Bolles Bulldog Classic two weeks ago. His 9:09 mark is not only the fastest time in the country right now, but it also demolished the field by 15 seconds. Khosla enters the race with the meet record and an 8:59 personal best, 14 seconds ahead of the the second-fastest entry, and should definitely impress under the lights at the Mike Long Track. 
 
Girls 3200m (Friday 6:50 p.m. ET)

Julia Montgomery of Pine Crest leads the charge in the girl’s field with a 10:44 personal best and should have some great competition with Rafaella Gibbons in the mix. Montgomery is the reigning 2A state champion in the 1600m and runner-up in the 3200m. Gibbons, a Winter Park freshman, is returning to the track after winning the 1600m in 5:11 and leading 11 girls under 5:20 at the Bolles Bulldog Classic. 
 
Men’s Long Jump (Friday 3:30 p.m. ET)

A big match-up is in store for the men’s long jump, where former Seminole and 2008 Olympian Ngoni Makusha is set to jump against Jonathan Ramsey, who finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, freshman Zach Bazile, Miami’s John-Patrick Friday, and Paul Madzivire. Makusha competed for his native country of Zimbabwe to finish third at the 2011 World Championships before tearing his achilles. He is now on the comeback train and looking to impress at his alma mater on Friday. Madzvire is also returning from a serious injury after breaking his neck in the fall and having surgery to have it repaired in time for the 2015 track season. He competed for the first time since surgery at the 2015 ACC Indoor Championships where he took home an impressive third-place finish. 
 
Men’s 100m (Friday 5:35 p.m. ET)

Makusha will return for another event on Friday as the 100m collegiate record-holder plans to toe the line against Olympian Keymar Hyman, who competes for the Cayman Islands. Makusha ran the collegiate record of 9.89 in 2011 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa and later went on to earn the Bowerman Award for his efforts in a stellar collegiate career at Florida State. Hyman also competed for the Seminoles and contributed to the 2011 NCAA Championship 4x100m squad. He has made two World Championship appearances for the Cayman Islands, first in 2009 and later in 2013. 
 
Women’s 4x100m (Friday 5:05 p.m. ET)

The formidable Florida State women’s squad returns three out of four legs from the team that finished seventh at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships. All-Americans Der-Renae Freeman, Jande Pierce, and Kali Davis-White plan to make their outdoor debut at Mike Long Track against Ohio State and Miami who hold entry marks of 39.83 and 40.00, respectively. The presence of Ohio State will more than likely inspire a fierce rivalry as the Buckeyes beat the Seminoles at the 2014 outdoor championships with a fifth-place finish in Eugene, Oregon. 
 
Women’s 4x400m (Saturday 3:35 p.m. ET)

The 4x400m relay will prove to be another intense competition as two Florida State teams are entered, and split evenly by the coaching staff to ensure that two squads qualify for the NCAA East Championships in May. Miami and Ohio State have teams entered in the race as well, providing stiff competition all around. After barely losing to the Seminoles at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a 10th-place finish in Fayetteville weeks ago, Miami will be looking for redemption in the scored quadrangular meet.