JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The plane to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships is already filling up with Seminoles, thanks to a trio of long jumpers who took flight Thursday with an historic performance.
Jalen Ramsey, Stefan Brits and Paul Madzivire took care of one quarter of the qualifying spots at the NCAA East Preliminary, finishing fourth, seventh and eighth out of a field of 48 competitors.
It marks the first time in the programs’ rich jumps history under assistant Dennis Nobles that the Noles will have three competitors in the event.
“It’s never happened in school history, so that’s exciting,” FSU coach Bob Braman said. “They’ll have each other to be together at the national meet, which really helps. Those guys are all potential national scorers and we knew Paul and Stefan are special when they’re healthy. This is just the next step – senior, senior and NFL first-round draft pick. They will all go out together.”
Brits and Madzivire, who have overcome significant medical setbacks, posted season-best jumps of 7.65 meters (25-1.25) and 7.64 (25-0.75) out of the second of four flights. Not only did they overcome long odds – they were seeded 30th and 34th entering the meet – but they did it on just three jump attempts.
Ramsey, the third seed but competing in just his second meet of the outdoor season, improved each round in the fourth and final flight. The sophomore will now have an opportunity to follow up his fourth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships with another All-American opportunity.
“It’s not only huge to get three, but you get two out of the second flight,” Braman added. “Our people did not shy away from the moment.”
The Seminoles were solid on what was largely a day of first-round qualifying.
Redshirt junior Kala Funderburk led the way, posting the top 400-meter time of the day by matching her season-best at 51.72 to move on to Friday’s quarterfinal round.
“It felt pretty easy,” said Funderburk, who automatically advanced to the next round by cruising to her heat win. “It felt like a really fast track….
“I put a lot of trust in coach Ken [Harnden] and the race plan. The fact that I was able to run that time in a prelim, and feel like I have a great chance for the finals, I feel confident.”
Freshman Kendal Williams did not disappoint the hometown crowd. The Jacksonville native qualified second overall in the 100-meter dash, looking back over his shoulder as he won his heat in 10.13.
“It’s nice running in front of the home crowd,” said Williams, who won five of his six state titles at Stanton Prep on the Hodges Stadium track at UNF. “It’s nice having the memories here, because this is the place where I ran my first 20 (second 200) and my first 100 state championship. There are good memories out here.
“[The crowd] showed me the love and support and I really appreciate it. It’s kind of like they’re all my family.”
“Kala Funderburk might have been as impressive as anybody,” Braman said. “Kendal looked incredible. Our two big, big splashers – even though we knew it – were Kala’s 51.72 looking nice and Kendal running 10.13. They really controlled it and hit big, big marks.”
So did Michael Cherry, who came into the 400-meter dash seeded third and won his heat with the third-fastest time of the event (45.99) to move on to Friday’s quarterfinal.
Redshirt sophomore Sage Watson got the first round qualifying barrage started, winning her heat in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.01. Watson came into the meet as the No. 3 seed and her heat-winning time stood up as fourth-fastest going into Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Seminole women will have a chance to keep their lengthy streak of NCAA Championship qualifiers in the 1500 going, thanks to strong qualifying performances by Linden Hall and Georgia Peel.
Racing out of the same heat, with the top five advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinal, Hall posted a season-best 4:21.56 to finish second and Peel was fifth in 4:21.93.
“The ladies in the 1500 looked spectacular,” Braman said. Linden Hall looked like the 2014 Linden Hall. And Georgia really atoned for her stumble and fall at the ACC meet. She was not going to be denied.”
Hall, who was third at the NCAA Championships last season, came into the meet as the No. 27 seed, while Peel was seeded 11th. They qualified eighth and 14th on time, respectively.
Closing out the night in the 800 for the Noles, Jake Burton matched his season-best in 1:48.55 and Otniel Teixeira ran 1:48.74, with each advancing on time to Friday’s quarterfinal. They made the field of 24 despite entering the meet seeded 28th and 29th.
“I’m real proud of the kids and proud of the coaches,” Braman said. “They had us well-prepared.”
The Seminoles will return to the track tomorrow with the action beginning at 12 noon with Morne Moolman and Garrett Singletary competing in the men’s javelin.
***FSU Athletics
