2017 Florida Gators Track & Field
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2017 FLORIDA GATORS TRACK & FIELD 7 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS | 103 INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL TITLES | 25 SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS Reigning Outdoor National Champions • Florida’s men claimed their sixth national title since 2010--more than any other program in that span--with its victory at last year’s NCAA Outdoors. • Of the Gators’ 62 points scored at NCAA Outdoors, 49 were individual, and athletes responsible for 39 of those individual points are back this year. • After last year’s seventh-place finish at NCAA Indoors--thefirst time it finished outside the top three in the last 14 NCAA Championships- -Florida became the third team since 1992 to win NCAA Outdoors after finishing outside the top five at NCAA Indoors. • Florida was also the only team since at least 1965 to finish lower than 2017 SCHEDULE fourth at a conference meet and win the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as it finished sixth at SEC Outdoors, its lowest finish since 1996. INDOOR January 7 Orange & Purple Classic Clemson, S.C. Leading The Nation January 13-14 Commodore Invitational Nashville, Tenn. • Florida’s men, ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA Preseason National Team Rankings, in top-3 times/marks (7), and January 20-21 Hokie Invitational Blacksburg, Va. boast a Division I-leading total the second-most top-10 times/marks (10), only trailing Texas A&M’s 11. January 27-28 Razorback Invitational Fayetteville, Ark. • UF’s top-3 times/marks on the men’s side compared to the rest of Division I February 4 Virginia Tech “Doc Hale” Elite Blacksburg, Va. look like this: February 10-11 Iowa State Classic Ames, Iowa Tyson Invitational Fayetteville, Ark. February 17 Tiger Tuneup Clemson, S.C. February 24-25 SEC Indoor Championships M: t-3rd / W: 8th March 10-11 NCAA Indoor Championships M: 2nd / W: t-14th 7 5 OUTDOOR March 17-18 Black & Gold Challenge Orlando, Fla. March 25 Hurricane Collegiate Invitational Coral Gables, Fla. March 30-April 1 Pepsi Florida Relays GAINESVILLE April 15 Horned Frogs Invitational Fort Worth, Texas April 21-22 Virginia Challenge Charlottesville, Va. April 28 Tom Jones Memorial GAINESVILLE 4 3 May 11-13 SEC Outdoor Championships Columbia, S.C. Women Eyeing Return to the Infield May 25-27 NCAA East Preliminary Lexington, Ky. • Florida’s women, ranked No. 8 in the latest USTFCCCA National Team June 7-10 NCAA Outdoor Championships Eugene, Ore. Rankings, boast five top-4 national times/marks--which is tied withTexas A&M for the third-highest total in Division I, trailing Oregon (8) and USC (6). June 22-25 USATF Outdoor Championships Sacramento, Calif. • Florida’s women finished tied for 14th at NCAA Indoor Championships, but are bolstered by the return of stud sprinters Kyra Jefferson and Shayla Sanders--neither of whom had indoor eligibility this year. • The Gators finished tied for 9th at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships, largely due to Jefferson’s injuries keeping her out of the 200 and off both the 4x1 and 4x4 relays, as well as Sanders’ false start in the 100 prelims. FOLLOW THE GATORS Twitter / Instagram ....................................................@GatorsTF Facebook .........Florida Gators Track & Field and Cross Country YouTube .........................................www.YouTube.com/c/uftrack Official Website .............................................. FloridaGators.com COMMUNICATIONS MEET & BROADCAST INFORMATION Track & Field Contact .............................................. Zach Dirlam Friday (Live Stream) ................................. 6:25 PM ET (SEC Network +) Cell Phone Number ............................................ (352) 262-3887 Saturday (Live Stream)............................. 3:10 PM ET (SEC Network +) Office Phone Number ........................ (352) 375-4683, ext. 6175 Television Replay....................Wednesday, May 17, 8 p.m. ET (ESPNU) E-Mail .......................................................zachd@gators.ufl.edu Live Results ..................................... PTTiming.com (Prime Time Timing) SEC Outdoor Championships | May 11-13 | Columbia, South Carolina | Sheila & Morris Cregger Track WHERE TO FIND... News / Notes / Quick Facts ........................................ 1-3 USTFCCCA Rankings / Bowerman Watch Lists ......... 4 NEWS & NOTES Mike Holloway, Head Coach / Team Finishes .......... 5-7 Sprints ......................................................................... 8-9 Historically Consistent Gators • Florida’s men are the third program in Division I history to post seven straight Top-3 ..................................................................... 10-11 Throws Finishes at both NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor Championships (Florida, 2009-15; Jumps ...................................................................... 12-13 Arkansas, 1992-2000; UTEP, 1975-82). Hurdles .................................................................... 14-15 • Florida’s men have won or taken runner-up honors at 18 of 29 NCAA Championships with Mike Holloway as head coach--a rate of 62.1 percent. Distance........................................................................ 16 2017 Performance Charts ...................................... 17-18 Runners-Up to Champs? • Four of the last nine NCAA Outdoor Championships were won by the team which finished ......................................... 19-24 All-Time Indoor Top 10s second at NCAA Indoors--as the Gators did this year. SEC Champions ...................................................... 25-29 • The teams to do so were Florida State (2008), Texas A&M (2010, 2011), and UF (2013). NCAA Champions ................................................... 30-33 • Florida finished second indoors by just a 0.5 point, despite the fact second-seeded long SEC Indoor Championships Schedule / Roster ........ 34 jumper Grant Holloway failed to score in the long jump and Kunle Fasasi was disqualified in the 400 meters after a fifth-place finish. TV Rosters (with headshots and notes) ............... 35-36 • UTEP’s 1977 squad, which finished 0.5 points behind NCAA champion Washington State, is the only other team in history to finish second by less than a point at NCAA Indoors. 2016 SEC OUTDOORS RECAP Bates Staying Hot Outdoors SEC CHAMPIONS • Junior KeAndre Bates rode a breakout summer to USTFCCCA Indoor National Field MEN Athlete of the Year honors, as well as the NCAA long jump title and a runner-up finish in Athlete Event Time/Mark the triple jump, becoming the fourth man since 2006 to finish top 2 in both horizontal jumps at NCAA Indoor Championships. Anders Eriksson Hammer Throw 69.62 meters Eric Futch 400mH 49.24 • Outdoors thus far, Bates boasts season-bests of 8.13 meters and 16.70 meters, and is the only man ranked in the top 10 nationally in both horizontal jumps. WOMEN • Bates is also just the fifth man since 2002 to jump at least 8.10 meters and 16.70 meters Athlete Event Time/Mark prior to NCAA Outdoors, joining Gator Greats Marquis Dendy (2015), Will Claye (2011), Kyra Jefferson 100m 11.28 [-0.1] Christian Taylor (2010), and LSU’s Walter Davis (2002). Sharrika Barnett 4x400 Relay 3:29.32 Claudia Francis 4x400 Relay • Bates became the 11th man in history to sweep the long jump and triple jump titles Robin Reynolds 4x400 Relay at SEC Indoors, winning with indoor PRs of 8.04 meters (26-4.5) and 16.81 meters (55-2). Taylor Sharpe 4x400 Relay • Bates broke out for the Gators at 2016 NCAA Outdoors, finishing top 3 in the triple jump (2nd) and long jump (3rd), becoming the sixth underclassman in history to finish top ALL-SEC SECOND TEAM 3 in both horizontal jumps at NCAA Outdoors. The others were: Mike Conley (Arkansas, 1983), Pertti Pousi (BYU, 1968), Kent Floerke (Kansas, 1956), George Boone (USC, 1936), MEN Pat Reed (Bradley, 1932). Athlete Event Finish • Bates went on to top-10 finishes in the long jump (6th) and triple jump (9th) at the U.S. KeAndre Bates Long Jump 3rd (7.78 meters) Olympic Trials, joining Arman Hall 200m 3rd (20.34, +0.4) Arkansas’ Mike Conley (1984) and LSU’s Walter Davis (2000) as the only men since 1972 with top-10s in both horizontal jumps as a collegian. TJ Holmes 400mH 3rd (49.96) Kunle Fasasi 4x400 Relay 2nd (3:03.46) Najee Glass 4x400 Relay Holloway’s World-Class Versatility Hugh Graham Jr. 4x400 Relay • Freshman Grant Holloway became the second freshman since 1999 to win the NCAA Arman Hall 4x400 Relay 60 hurdles title, with collegiate record holder and 2016 Olympic 110 hurdles gold medalist Omar McLeod being the other frosh to do so during that span. WOMEN • Holloway, two-time Olympic decathlon gold medalist Ashton Eaton, and 2016 Olympic Athlete Event Finish decathlon bronze medalist Damian Warner are the only three men in the world since Robin Reynolds 400m 3rd (52.00) 1999 to wind-legally break 13.50 seconds in the 110 hurdles and long jump over 8.00 Marija Vucenovic Javelin Throw 2nd (57.81 meters) meters in an outdoor season. • Holloway’s 110 hurdles season-best of 13.46 is the sixth-fastest wind-legal time by SEC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM a freshman since 2002. Only Oregon’s Devon Allen (13.16, 13.27 - 2014), Bethune- Cookman’s Ronnie Ash (13.44 - 2008), Arkansas’ Omar McLeod (13.44 - 2014), and MEN Oregon’s Johnathan Cabral (13.45 - 2012) were faster. Athlete Event Finish Ryan Clark 100m 7th (10.32, +1.0) • Holloway’s long jump season-best of 8.04 meters is the fifth-best wind-legal mark by Anders Eriksson Hammer Throw 1st (69.62 meters) a freshman since 2002, only ranking behind Reindell Cole (8.17m - 2008), three-time NCAA Outdoor champion Ngonidzashe Makusha (8.16m - 2008), Raymond Higgs (8.15m WOMEN - 2011) and two-time NCAA