June 11, 2013
THE FLATS – Jonathan Gardner, Jhanelle McLeod, Brandon Lasater and Julienne McKee of the Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track and field teams earned All-America honors at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) announced.
Gardner earned first team All-America honors and McLeod was named to the All-America second team. Lasater and McKee were named honorable mention All-America. It marks the first career All-America honors for Gardner, McLeod and Lasater. McKee garnered first-team All-America recognition at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships.
A junior from Chicago, Ill., Gardner finished seventh overall in the men’s triple jump with a career-best leap of 15.92 meters (52 feet, 2 ¾ inches) on his third jump, after recording distances of under 14 meters on his first two attempts, to place fourth in his flight and qualify for the finals. The top nine individuals moved onto the finals, where his jump held up.
In addition, Gardner is the 2013 ACC Indoor and Outdoor Champion in the men’s triple jump.
McLeod built off a successful outdoor season and leaped to a distance of 12.92m (42-4.75) for 14th place in the triple jump at the NCAA Championships. The Kingston, Jamaica, native took first in the triple jump at the ACC Outdoor Championships to earn All-ACC first team honors. Two weeks prior at the Florida Relays, she won the triple jump and set a new school record with a distance of 13.39m (43-11.25).
Lasater placed 22nd in the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.27. The sophomore from Perry, Ga., qualified for the event with a top-three finish in his heat in the preliminaries, followed by a 10th-place finish in the semifinals with a time of 1:48.49 at the NCAA East Preliminaries.
McKee took 22nd in her second NCAA Outdoor Championships with a distance of 12.60m (41-4.25). The junior from Marietta, Ga., triple jumped to a distance of 12.74m (41-9.75) at the NCAA East Preliminaries for a spot in the championship meet.
First-team USTFCCCA All-America honors are awarded to those who earn any portion of a team point at the national championships, or reach an eight-entrant final. Second-team All-America honors are handed out to those whose final placing in the national meet range from ninth to 16th.
