Seventeen current and former Florida Gators track & field athletes are currently in Eugene, OR participating in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the opportunity to represent their country in the 2012 London Olympics. Simultaneously, 35 current and former Gators swimmers are in Omaha, NE working toward the exact same goal.

Below is an update on how each has performed through the sixth (track & field) and third (swimming) day of competition as well as a schedule for the remainder of the trials.

EVENT RESULTS – JUNE 27

Swimming
MEN’S 200 METER FREESTYLE
Ryan Lochte – 2nd – 1:45.75 – Qualified for Olympics
» Lochte previously qualified in the 400 Meter Individual Medley.
Conor Dwyer – 4th – 1:46.64 – Qualified for Olympics (Relay)
» Dwyer qualified as a member of the 800 Meter Freestyle Relay team. He had previously qualified as an individual in the 400 Meter Freestyle.

WOMEN’S 200 METER INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY (Semifinals)
Sophomore Elizabeth Beisel – 3rd – 2:12.27 – Advanced to finals
» Next competing: Thursday, June 28 from 8-9 p.m. live on NBC
» Did not qualify for semifinals: freshman Rebecca Rainer (Heat 8 – 2:20.02), sophomore Trish Regan (Heat 3 – 2:25.64)

WOMEN’S 200 METER FREESTYLE (Semifinals)
» Scratched before semifinals: sophomore Elizabeth Beisel (Heat 11 – 1:59.79) – 13th in preliminaries
» Did not qualify for semifinals: senior Teresa Crippen (Heat 11 – 2:00.73), junior Jamie Bohunicky (Heat 9 – 2:00.76)

MEN’S 200 METER BUTTERFLY (Semifinals)
» Did not qualify for semifinals: junior Cameron Martin (Heat 11 – 2:01.01), junior Jason Taylor (Heat 6 – 2:02.98), freshman Austin Manganiello (Heat 3 – 2:03.24), Mike Joyce (Heat 2 – 2:03.90), freshman Carlos Omana (Heat 8 – 2:05.30)
» Scratched: Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer

QUALIFIED ATHLETES

Track & Field
Junior Tony McQuay – Men’s 400 Meter Dash
Will Claye – Men’s Long Jump

Swimming
Ryan Lochte – Men’s 400 Meter Individual Medley, Men’s 200 Meter Freestyle
Conor Dwyer – Men’s 400 Meter Freestyle, Men’s 800 Meter Freestyle Relay
Sophomore Elizabeth Beisel – Women’s 400 Meter Individual Medley

Read about the Upcoming Events and Eliminated Athletes…after the break!
Continue Reading » 6/27: Gators at 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials

Tags: Austin Manganiello, Cameron Martin, Carlos Omana, Conor Dwyer, Elizabeth Beisel, field, Jamie Bohunicky, Jason Taylor, Mike Joyce, Olympics, Rebecca Rainer, Ryan Lochte, swimming, Teresa Crippen, track, Trish Regan, USA

Seventeen current and former Florida Gators track & field athletes are currently in Eugene, OR participating in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the opportunity to represent their country in the 2012 London Olympics. Simultaneously, 35 current and former Gators swimmers are in Omaha, NE working toward the exact same goal.

Below is an update on how each has performed through the fifth (track & field) and second (swimming) day of competition as well as a schedule for the remainder of the trials.

EVENT RESULTS – JUNE 25

Track & Field
MEN’S HIGH JUMP
Junior Dwight Barbiasz – T-7th – 2.15m/7-0.5 – Eliminated

MEN’S DISCUS THROW
Wes Stockbarger – 8th – 60.19m/197-5 – Advanced to finals
» Next competing: Thursday, June 28 at 9:05 p.m. live on NBC Sports Network

WOMEN’S 3,000 METER STEEPLECHASE
Mason Cathey – 6th – 9:47.32 – Advanced to finals
» Next competing: Friday, June 29 at 7:45 p.m. live on NBC Sports Network

Swimming
MEN’S 400 METER INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Ryan Lochte – 1st – 4:07.06 – Qualified for Olympics
* Lochte’s time was a personal record.
» Did not qualify for finals: freshman Carlos Omana (Heat 12 – 4:23.39), freshman Billy Silva (Heat 6 – 4:25.67), Mike Joyce (Heat 10 – 4:25.92), sophomore Connor Signorin (Heat 10 – 4:26.75), freshman Matt Elliott (Heat 8 – 4:26.85), Alex Martin (Heat 6 – 4:27.22)

MEN’S 400 METER FREESTYLE
Conor Dwyer – 2nd – 3:47.83 – Qualified for Olympics
» Did not qualify for finals: freshman Nicholas Caldwell (Heat 11 – 3:53.38), junior Jason Taylor (Heat 6 – 3:56.26), freshman Billy Silva (Heat 4 – 4:00.87),
» Michigan graduate Peter Vanderkaay, a member of the Gator Swim Club who trains in Gainesville, FL, finished first in 3:47.67 and also qualified.

WOMEN’S 400 METER INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Sophomore Elizabeth Beisel – 1st – 4:31.74 – Qualified for Olympics
» Did not qualify for finals: freshman Rebecca Rainer (Heat 6 – 4:49.99), freshman Savannah Napier (Heat 1 – 4:56.90), freshman Jordan Smith (Heat 2 – 4:59.09) freshman Lauren Neidigh (Heat 3 – 4:59.17), sophomore Trish Regan (Heat 6 – 5:06.53)

WOMEN’S 100 METER BUTTERFLY
» Did not qualify for semifinals: sophomore Kaitlin Frehling (Heat 9 – 1:01.69), freshman Molly Dubrasky (Heat 6 – 1:02.25)

MEN’S 100 METER BREASTSTROKE
» Did not qualify for semifinals: freshman Ricky Munch (Heat 8 – 1:02.57), Conor Dwyer (Heat 9 – 1:04.03)

QUALIFIED ATHLETES

Track & Field
Junior Tony McQuay – Men’s 400 Meter Dash
Will Claye – Men’s Long Jump

Swimming
Ryan Lochte – Men’s 400 Meter Individual Medley
Conor Dwyer – Men’s 400 Meter Freestyle
Sophomore Elizabeth Beisel – Women’s 400 Meter Individual Medley

Read about the Upcoming Events and Eliminated Athletes…after the break!
Continue Reading » 6/25: Gators at 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials

Tags: Alex Martin, Billy Silva, Carlos Omana, Connor Signorin, Conor Dwyer, Dwight Barbiasz, Elizabeth Beisel, field, Jason Taylor, Jordan Smith, Lauren Neidigh, Mason Cathey, Matt Elliott, Mike Joyce, Nicholas Caldwell, Olympics, Peter Vanderkaay, Rebecca Rainer, Ricky Munch, Ryan Lochte, Savannah Napier, swimming, track, Trish Regan, Wes Stockbarger

In part one of our interview with Carter (published on Friday), he discussed deciding to attend Florida, his immense success playing for the Gators, being a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft and winning a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams.

ADAM SILVERSTEIN: You spent six years with St. Louis before being traded to the team that you beat in the Super Bowl, Tennessee, after three-straight seasons of at least 10 sacks. Was a change of scenery something you were looking forward to?
KEVIN CARTER: “I was looking forward to a change at that point. The year where we won the Super Bowl, we were at the Pro Bowl and I got a call from Coach [Dick] Vermeil and he was stepping down as the coach. There was a little bit of controversy over him leaving and the timing with Mike Martz taking over the head coach, and there was a little bit of pressure there. Looking back on it, I wish that it had been handled a little bit classier in a better way just for respect for Coach Vermeil. He walked in, in his opening press conference, and told us, ‘In three years, we’ll be world champs.’ And we were. Call it what you will, the man is wonderful and one of the best coaches I’ve ever had the honor and privilege of playing for. Things kind of changed at that point. The next year we lost in the first round of the playoffs and things were a little rocky with my status with the team. At the time I was going through contract negotiations, and I had played six years for the same team and kind of outplayed my contract. The team you’re on usually isn’t going to give you that kind of free agent money, love. I was thankful and glad to get out of there and get to Tennessee. Tennessee gave up a first-round pick to get me there. It was a match made in heaven. Coach [Jeff] Fisher was awesome. At that point I needed a change, wanted a change, and was grateful to go to Tennessee.”

AS: Let’s skip ahead a bit and talk about when you moved over to the Miami Dolphins for two years and got to play on a pretty dominant defense with guys like Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, Vonnie Holliday, Junior Seau, Sam Madison, Keith Traylor and David Bowens. What was that experience like?
KC: “It was actually amazing. It was a great team; it was a great defense to be a part of. It was a lot of fun. We didn’t have, I guess, the balance and the tools offensively or the experience, but on defense… Our defense was, like you said, it was an all-star defense. It was so awesome. And we killed people. We had a great defense those couple of years that I was there. We didn’t have quite the balance [on offense]; Miami’s is forever trying to find another quarterback that can be half the man Dan Marino was…still an on-going search for a quarterback. It was a really cool experience. For me, I grew up in Tallahassee [and thought] the Dolphins had the sweetest uniforms. I was like, ‘Man, I can’t wait to wear all white.’ It was so cool. I had a great time just, as I look back in my football chronological history, being a part of the Miami Dolphins organization – such a historically great organization. Don Shula was and still is the man. I had an opportunity to meet him a couple times. It was cool paying down there. I wish timing had dictated differently the circumstances, especially getting our offense and from a head coaching standpoint. Nick Saban is probably one of the best college coaches to ever live. But in those two years, you know, he obviously decided to make the adjustment and go back to college and not make the adjustment to stay there in the NFL. Timing was bad.”

Read the rest of part two of our interview with Kevin Carter…after the break!
Continue Reading » DE Carter (2/2): “I walked away on my terms.”

Tags: Bill Belichick, Charlie Strong, Dan Mullen, Dan Quinn, Draft, Gator Nation, Jason Taylor, Kevin Carter, Miami Dolphins, NFL, Nick Saban, Super Bowl, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, Will Muschamp

1 » Since returning to Chicago Bears training camp after sitting out for almost a week with a tweaked groin, rookie safety Major Wright has been turning some heads and is pushing his way into a starting role with the team. Though he is currently listed as the team’s No. 2 free safety on its first depth chart, Wright has been working with the first team and was around the ball all day on Monday (even though he dropped two sure interceptions, the team was pleased that he was in the position to make them).

2 » If we have told you once, we have told you a hundred times: Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder is the best interview in the NFL. On Monday, Crowder spoke about talking trash to his rivals. “[I say] how I feel about them, their mothers, their girlfriends, their wives, their kids, their dogs, their greasy grandma, whatever pops into my mind,” Crowder said. “The league calls me on Mondays and talks to me about the interesting conversations I was having on the field.”

He even had choice words for ex-teammate now New York Jets LB Jason Taylor. “I just want to see JT [on HBO’s Hard Knocks] and laugh at him,” he said. “I talked to him the other night and I was making fun of him, so I just want to see him out there embarrass himself. […] He’s a real pretty boy. He had makeup with Dancing with the Stars and all that, so he might put on makeup. He’s gonna perform. Trust me. You can mark that. JT is not going to be himself. He’s gonna perform for the cameras, ‘cause he’s a showman. That’s what I give him a hard time about – he’s going to be as clean as he can, he’s gonna have a freshly-shaved head, ‘cause the camera is around. He’s very womanly.”

3 » Cleveland Browns cornerback Eric Wright appeared to injure his hamstring during morning practice on Tuesday. While the team waits to find out exactly what is wrong with him, possibly an injury that may keep him out for the short-term, rookie first-round pick Joe Haden will be playing with the first team.

4 » The Philadelphia Daily News caught up with former Florida Gators wide receiver Riley Cooper and tight end Cornelius Ingram and asked both players about the hazing haircut given to Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow. “I love it. I think he should keep it. No, I’m kidding, the haircut was awful,” Cooper said. “You know what, Riley actually showed me about three days ago on the phone,” Ingram added. “I thought it was a [fake]. I really didn’t think it was a real photo. Now that it’s out now, they at least could have gave him a better cut than that, though. It looked bad. It looked bad.” Cooper, who is competing with veteran WR Hank Baskett for the Eagles’ fourth receiver spot, is currently listed as a back-up on the team’s first depth chart.

Tags: Channing Crowder, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Cornelius Ingram, Denver Broncos, Eric Wright, Hank Baskett, Jason Taylor, Joe Haden, Major Wright, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Riley Cooper, Tim Tebow