2018 Florida Gators Track & Field
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2018 FLORIDA GATORS TRACK & FIELD 8 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS | 109 INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL TITLES | 25 SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS Reigning Back-to-Back NCAA Outdoor Champions • Florida’s men claimed their seventh national title since 2010--more than any other program in that span--with a second consecutive victory at NCAA Outdoors last year. • Of the Gators’ 61.5 points scored at NCAA Outdoors, 56.5 were individual, and athletes responsible for 39.5 of those individual points are back this year. KeAndre Bates (20) and Grant Holloway (18) combined for 38. Half-Point Heartbreak at 2017 NCAA Indoors • Florida’s men entered the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships as the over- whelming favorites, but missed their first indoor national title since 2012 by half a point, finishing with 45.5 points to Texas A&M’s 46. 2018 SCHEDULE • Only the 1977 NCAA Indoor Championships crowned a single champion by INDOOR less than a one-point margin (Washington State topped UTEP, 25.5 to 25). January 6 Orange & Purple Classic Clemson, S.C. • Of the Gators’ 45.5 points at NCAA Indoors, 37.5 were individual, and January 12-13 Commodore Invitational Nashville, Tenn. athletes responsible for 33.5 of those points are back. January 19-20 Clemson Invitational Clemson, S.C. • Bates and Holloway alone accounted for 28 of those points, with the January 26-27 Razorback Invitational Fayetteville, Ark. former taking the long jump title and the latter winning the 60 hurdles crown. February 2 Bayou Bengal Invitational Baton Rouge, La. All-Time Performances Entering NCAA Indoors February 9-10 Iowa State Classic Ames, Iowa • Holloway broke Omar McLeod’s 60 hurdles collegiate record (7.42), Tiger Paw Invitational Clemson, S.C. beating McLeod in the record-breaking race last month. [More info on page 4] February 16 UCS Invitational Winston-Salem, N.C. • The men’s 4x400 relay team also ran second-fastest time in collegiate history and sixth-fastest time of all time (3:02.23) in their runner-up finish February 24-25 SEC Indoor Championships M: 3rd / W: 6th to Southern California last month at Clemson. They also ran the fifth-fastest March 9-10 NCAA Indoor Championships College Station, Texas time in collegiate history at SEC Indoors (3:02.65). [More on page 2] • Yanis David became the No. 7-ranked triple jumper in collegiate OUTDOOR history in her runner-up finish two weeks ago at SEC Indoors, popping an March 17 Black & Gold Challenge Orlando, Fla. 18-centimeter PR of 14.11 meters (46 feet, 3.5 inches). [More on page 2] March 23 Florida State Relays Tallahassee, Fla. Heavy Hitters March 29-31 Pepsi Florida Relays GAINESVILLE • Florida’s men, ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA National Team Rankings, April 13 Tom Jones Memorial GAINESVILLE are tied for the most entries ranked fifth or higher (4) and tied for the third- April 27-28 National Relay Championships Fayetteville, Ark. most entries ranked eighth or higher (5). May 11-13 SEC Outdoor Championships Knoxville, Tenn. • UF’s top-8 entries on the men’s side compared to the rest of Division I look like this: May 24-26 NCAA East Preliminary Tampa, Fla. June 6-9 NCAA Outdoor Championships Eugene, Ore. June 21-24 USATF Outdoor Championships Des Moines, Iowa 6 5 FOLLOW THE GATORS Twitter / Instagram ....................................................@GatorsTF 4 Facebook .........Florida Gators Track & Field and Cross Country YouTube .........................................www.YouTube.com/c/uftrack Official Website .............................................. FloridaGators.com COMMUNICATIONS Track & Field Contact .............................................. Zach Dirlam MEET & BROADCAST INFORMATION Cell Phone Number ............................................ (352) 262-3887 Office Phone Number ........................ (352) 375-4683, ext. 6175 Friday, March 9 .................................... 6:30 PM (ESPN3 / Watch ESPN) E-Mail .......................................................zachd@gators.ufl.edu Saturday, March 10 .................................. 5 PM (ESPN3 / Watch ESPN) NCAA Indoor Championships | March 9-10 | College Station, Texas | Gilliam Indoor Stadium WHERE TO FIND... News / Notes / Quick Facts ........................................ 1-2 Travel Roster / Pronunciatons / 2018 Quick Facts ..... 3 NEWS & NOTES Dynamic Duo - KeAndre Bates & Grant Holloway... 4-5 USTFCCCA Rankings / The Bowerman Watch Lists .. 6 Historically Consistent Gators • Florida’s men have won or taken runner-up honors at 19 of 30 NCAA Championships Mike Holloway, Head Coach / Team Finishes .......... 7-9 with Mike Holloway as head coach--a rate of 63.3 percent. Sprints ..................................................................... 10-11 • The Gators’ 2017 NCAA Outdoors victory tied them with Arkansas (1992-2000) for the longest streak of top-3 finishes at the meet (9) by a men’s program since 1956. Throws ..................................................................... 12-13 • Florida’s men are one of three programs in Division I history to post seven straight Jumps ...................................................................... 14-15 top-3 finishes at both NCAA Indoors and Outdoors (Florida, 2009-15; Arkansas, 1992- 2000; UTEP, 1975-82). Hurdles .................................................................... 16-17 Fastest Indoor 4x400 Relay Race of All Time Distance........................................................................ 18 • Florida and Southern California both broke the men’s indoor 4x400 relay collegiate 2018 Performance Charts ...................................... 19-20 record of 3:02.52, set by Texas A&M at the 2018 Razorback Invitational. Here is where the Gators’ and Trojans’ times from the Feb. 10 race stack up on the world all-time list: All-Time Indoor Top 10s ......................................... 21-24 1. Poland - 3:01.77 (March 4, 2018 - IAAF World Indoors - Birmingham, U.K.) NCAA Champions ................................................... 25-28 Karol Zalewski, Rafat Omelko, Lukasz Krawczuk, Jakub Krzewina 2. United States - 3:01.96 (Feb. 11, 2006 - Fayetteville, Ark.) All-Americans ......................................................... 29-36 Kerron Clement, Jeremy Wariner, Darold Williamson, Wallace Spearmon TV Rosters (with headshots and notes) ............... 37-38 3. United States - 3:01.97 (March 4, 2018 - IAAF World Indoors - Birmingham, U.K.) Fred Kerley, Michael Cherry, Aldrich Bailey Jr., Vernon Norwood 2017 NCAA INDOORS RECAP 4. Southern California - 3:01.98 (Feb. 10, 2018 - Clemson, S.C.) Zach Shinnick, Rai Benjamin, Ricky Morgan Jr., Michael Norman NCAA CHAMPIONS 5. United States - 3:02.13 (March 9, 2014 - IAAF World Indoors - Sopot, Poland) MEN Kyle Clemons, David Verburg, Kind Butler III, Calvin Smith Athlete Event Time/Mark 6. Florida - 3:02.23 (Feb. 10, 2018 - Clemson, S.C.) KeAndre Bates Long Jump 8.04m / 26-4.5 Kunle Fasasi, Grant Holloway, Chantz Sawyers, Benjamin Lobo Vedel Grant Holloway 60 Hurdles 7.58 • Florida splits: Fasasi - 46.08; Holloway - 45.12; Sawyers - 45.67; Lobo Vedel - 45.36 ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM / SCORERS • Scariest of all: none of them ran a season- or career-best split on the relay. Fasasi split a career-best 45.93 leading off earlier this season, Holloway split a career-best 44.81 MEN at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, and Lobo Vedel split 45.25 on the anchor leg Athlete Event Finish earlier this year. All four running their career bests would be a time of 3:01.49. KeAndre Bates Triple Jump 2nd (16.62m / 54-6.5) Clayton Brown High Jump t-5th (2.20m / 7-2.25) David’s Hop, Skip and Jump Onto Collegiate All-Time Top 10 Clayton Brown Triple Jump 7th (15.92m / 52-2.75) • Junior Yanis David put a scare into American and collegiate record holder Keturah Kunle Fasasi 400m DQ (Finalist) Orji at SEC Indoors two weeks ago, popping off a 14.11-meter (46-3.5) jump on her final Eric Futch 400m 5th (46.16) attempt--making her the No. 7 performer on the collegiate all-time top 10. Orji bounded Kunle Fasasi 4x400 Relay 2nd (3:03.52) to 14.18 meters (46-6.25) on her last jump to reclaim the title. Grant Holloway 4x400 Relay • David was second to Orji at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, as well as the SEC Eric Futch 4x400 Relay Indoor and Outdoor Championships. David’s finished third at the last two NCAA Outdoors. Ryan Clark 4x400 Relay • David also set a 10-centimeter personal record in the long jump (6.49m / 21-3.5) to finish WOMEN fourth at SEC Indoors. That mark ranks sixth nationally entering this weekend. Athlete Event Finish • David, Orji (2015-18) and Kentucky’s Sha’Keela Saunders (2015) are the only women in Lloydricia Cameron Shot Put 7th (17.34m / 56-10.75) the last seven seasons to finish fourth or better in both horizontal jumps at SEC Indoors. Yanis David Triple Jump 2nd (13.76m / 45-1.75) Darrielle McQueen Long Jump 8th (6.38m / 20-11.25) Women Who Could Lead Gators Back to the Infield • Florida is seeking its first podium finish since 2015, when they finished fourth at NCAA Brandee’ Johnson 4x400 Relay 8th (3:31.94) Destinee Gause 4x400 Relay Indoors. All seven of the Gators’ entries are seeded seventh or higher. Only Georgia (9), Arkansas (8), and LSU (7) have as many entries seeded in the top seven. Taylor Sharpe 4x400 Relay Sharrika Barnett 4x400 Relay • Junior quarter-miler Sharrika Barnett is ranked No. 4 nationally, and her season best of 51.64 (Razorback Invitational) lowered her indoor PR by 0.43 seconds. Barnett finished ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM third at SEC Indoors, behind Sydney McLaughlin and Lynna Irby. MEN • On 4x400 relay duties this year, Barnett ran an anchor split of 50.56 seconds (outsplit- ting McLaughlin in that race) on Jan. 20, followed by a leadoff split of 51.74 on Feb. 10. Athlete Event Finish Andres Arroyo 800m 10th (1:48.57) • Speaking of the 4x400 relay, Florida enters this weekend ranked No. 5 nationally with a Grant Holloway Long Jump 11th (7.57m / 24-10) season best of 3:31.17 (Jan. 20 - Clemson). AJ McFarland Weight Throw 12th (20.99m / 68-10.5) • Senior Lloydricia Cameron, who won the SEC Indoor title, ranks No. 5 nationally but is within five inches of the No.