Courtesy Florida Track
Saturday March 14, 2015 Gators Win 4 National Indoor Titles; UF Men Finish 2nd, Women 4th
Kyra Jefferson won the 200-meter indoor national title on Saturday night. (Photo: Tim Casey)
GatorZone.com Staff Report
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Gators arrived for the second day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday with national title aspirations.
They came up short in the team standings, but four Gators won national championships in their respective events – all establishing school records -- to make it a memorable evening at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The UF men finished second with 50 points, and the Florida women placed fourth with 36 points. Host Arkansas (63 points) claimed the women’s title, followed by Oregon (46.5), Georgia (37) and Florida.
Oregon repeated as men’s champion with 74 points, clinching the title with a 1-2-3 finish in the 3,000 meters. Oregon (2009, ’14, ’15) and Florida (2010, ’11, ’12) have won six of the past seven NCAA Indoor national titles.
Gators senior Marquis Dendy (photo, left) followed his national title in the long jump on Friday to win the triple-jump crown with a leap of 17.37 meters/57 feet. Dendy’s winning leap was the longest for a collegian since 1992 Olympic silver medalist Charlie Simpkins jumped 17.50 meters in 1986 for Charleston Southern, and the third-longest in NCAA history.
Dendy also won the indoor long-jump title in 2013 and both the long jump and triple jump outdoor titles in 2014.
Dendy’s indoor title in the triple jump continues Florida’s recent grip on the title. The Gators won four consecutive national indoor titles in the triple jump from 2009-12 as Christian Taylor (2009-10), Will Claye (2011) and Omar Craddock (2012) won national championships.
“As far as the men go, I’m very proud of Marquis Dendy,’’ Gators head coach Mike Holloway said. “A new meet record, a new school record. I know he’s been jawing a little bit with Christian and Will about breaking their records. I’m sure he is going to let them know.
“Overall as a team, I think we kind of lost who we are a little bit this weekend. I think in some instances we thought people were going to lay down for us and it didn’t happen. We fought through some injuries … when you come to a meet like this and score 50 points and finish second in the country, it’s something we can move forward with.”
Not to be outdone, Florida’s Ciarra Brewer won the women’s triple jump with a clinching leap of 14.01 meters/45-11.75 feet. Brewer was one of three Gators to claim their first national titles on Saturday night.
Brewer's jump bettered the previous school record (13.88/45-6.50), set by Shara Proctor in 2010.
Meanwhile, senior thrower Stipe Zunic (photo, right) tossed the shot put a school-record 21.11 meters/69-3.25 feet to claim the title and also set a Croatian national record. Zunic is from Zadar, Croatia.
In the women’s 200 meters, junior Kyra Jefferson blistered home in 22.63 seconds, edging Oregon’s Jenna Prandini (22.74) for the crown.
“I’m very proud of the ladies,’’ Holloway said. “The big thing for the ladies is that we have to understand and believe that we belong here. We used to have a tendency to get here and start thinking we don’t belong here. Until we do that, until we wake up and believe we are one of the best teams in the country, we are going to come up short.”
Jefferson’s best time this season entering the meet was a 22.81 she ran at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 14.
The four individual titles came in a flurry for the Gators, who entered as strong threats to contend for both the women’s and men’s national titles.
Florida nearly won five individual national titles.
UF's Bridgette Owens narrowly missed out on a 60-meter hurdles title Saturday. (Photo: Tim Casey)
Gators senior sprinter Bridgette Owens finished runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles. Owens posted a time of 7.88 seconds, setting a school record and the fifth-fastest performance in the event for a woman this year.
In a photo finish, Owens narrowly lost to Kentucky's Kendra Harrison (7.87).
The No. 1-ranked Florida men won three consecutive indoor titles from 2010-12 and under Holloway, the No. 2-ranked UF women have surged back into title contention in recent years.
The UF women won their only indoor national title in 1992.
The Gators picked up six points in the men’s standings when Southeastern Conference 400-meter champion Najee Glass finished third with a time of 45.77 seconds.
Glass started fast and led much of the race until being overtaken by LSU's Vernon Norwood. Norwood won with a time of 45.31 seconds, followed by Texas A&M's Bralon Taplin (45.55). Florida’s Arman Hall had to pull up in the race and did not finish due to injury.
On the women's side, Florida's Robin Reynolds (53.14) finished eighth in the 400 to pick up a point for the Gators.
In the 60 meters, Shayla Sanders placed sixth for the Gators with a time of 7.26 seconds.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Gators arrived for the second day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday with national title aspirations.
They came up short in the team standings, but four Gators won national championships in their respective events – all establishing school records -- to make it a memorable evening at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The UF men finished second with 50 points, and the Florida women placed fourth with 36 points. Host Arkansas (63 points) claimed the women’s title, followed by Oregon (46.5), Georgia (37) and Florida.
Oregon repeated as men’s champion with 74 points, clinching the title with a 1-2-3 finish in the 3,000 meters. Oregon (2009, ’14, ’15) and Florida (2010, ’11, ’12) have won six of the past seven NCAA Indoor national titles.
Dendy also won the indoor long-jump title in 2013 and both the long jump and triple jump outdoor titles in 2014.
Dendy’s indoor title in the triple jump continues Florida’s recent grip on the title. The Gators won four consecutive national indoor titles in the triple jump from 2009-12 as Christian Taylor (2009-10), Will Claye (2011) and Omar Craddock (2012) won national championships.
“As far as the men go, I’m very proud of Marquis Dendy,’’ Gators head coach Mike Holloway said. “A new meet record, a new school record. I know he’s been jawing a little bit with Christian and Will about breaking their records. I’m sure he is going to let them know.
“Overall as a team, I think we kind of lost who we are a little bit this weekend. I think in some instances we thought people were going to lay down for us and it didn’t happen. We fought through some injuries … when you come to a meet like this and score 50 points and finish second in the country, it’s something we can move forward with.”
Not to be outdone, Florida’s Ciarra Brewer won the women’s triple jump with a clinching leap of 14.01 meters/45-11.75 feet. Brewer was one of three Gators to claim their first national titles on Saturday night.
Brewer's jump bettered the previous school record (13.88/45-6.50), set by Shara Proctor in 2010.
In the women’s 200 meters, junior Kyra Jefferson blistered home in 22.63 seconds, edging Oregon’s Jenna Prandini (22.74) for the crown.
“I’m very proud of the ladies,’’ Holloway said. “The big thing for the ladies is that we have to understand and believe that we belong here. We used to have a tendency to get here and start thinking we don’t belong here. Until we do that, until we wake up and believe we are one of the best teams in the country, we are going to come up short.”
Jefferson’s best time this season entering the meet was a 22.81 she ran at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 14.
The four individual titles came in a flurry for the Gators, who entered as strong threats to contend for both the women’s and men’s national titles.
Florida nearly won five individual national titles.
UF's Bridgette Owens narrowly missed out on a 60-meter hurdles title Saturday. (Photo: Tim Casey)
Gators senior sprinter Bridgette Owens finished runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles. Owens posted a time of 7.88 seconds, setting a school record and the fifth-fastest performance in the event for a woman this year.
In a photo finish, Owens narrowly lost to Kentucky's Kendra Harrison (7.87).
The No. 1-ranked Florida men won three consecutive indoor titles from 2010-12 and under Holloway, the No. 2-ranked UF women have surged back into title contention in recent years.
The UF women won their only indoor national title in 1992.
The Gators picked up six points in the men’s standings when Southeastern Conference 400-meter champion Najee Glass finished third with a time of 45.77 seconds.
Glass started fast and led much of the race until being overtaken by LSU's Vernon Norwood. Norwood won with a time of 45.31 seconds, followed by Texas A&M's Bralon Taplin (45.55). Florida’s Arman Hall had to pull up in the race and did not finish due to injury.
On the women's side, Florida's Robin Reynolds (53.14) finished eighth in the 400 to pick up a point for the Gators.
In the 60 meters, Shayla Sanders placed sixth for the Gators with a time of 7.26 seconds.
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