Saturday, April 2
Gainesville, FL
Florida Gators
vs
Pepsi Florida Relays
The Gators are the third women's 4x400 relay team in history to break 3:27.00 prior to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Gators Cap Pepsi Florida Relays in Record-Setting Fashion
Saturday, April 2, 2016 | Track and Field
The Gators broke two school records and posted eight times and marks to the program's all-time outdoor top 10 in their three days hosting the Pepsi Florida Relays
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida track and field program capped a stellar weekend of competition at the Pepsi Florida Relays in record-setting fashion, as the women's 4x400-meter relay team broke the program record and logged the 10th-fastest time in collegiate history, finishing in 3:26.28.
The foursome of Robin Reynolds, Kyra Jefferson, Sharrika Barnett, and Claudia Francis are just the third women's 4x400 relay team in history to break 3:27.00 prior to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Only Reynolds had run on the previous school record-holding team, which broke the program's 22-year old record at the 2014 Pepsi Florida Relays.
Earlier in the day, the women's 4x100-meter relay team clocked an NCAA-leading time of 42.85. The group of Reynolds, Shayla Sanders, Skylar Ross-Ransom, and Jefferson now own the second-fastest time in UF history.
Ross-Ransom also led off the Gators' 4x100-meter shuttle hurdle relay, which, along with Kimani Rushing, Ryann McEnany, and Tyjah Eady, finished in 54.18 seconds to break the school record.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Hugh Graham Jr., Arman Hall, Eric Futch, and Najee Glass won the Tom Jones Invite race, the final event of the three-day meet, in 3:03.42, which is the fourth-fastest time in Division I this year.
In the field, sophomore jumper KeAndre Bates triple jumped 16.04 meters, the No. 2 mark in Division I this year and No. 8-ranked mark on UF's all-time outdoor top 10. Sophomore thrower Lloydricia Cameron also logged a UF top 10 mark, posting a top throw of 17.06 meters in the shot put. Cameron's toss ranks sixth on the program's all-time outdoor top 10 and fifth among Division I throwers this year.
On a separate note, the meet will bid farewell to longtime public address announcer Buck Jones, who called his 20th and final Pepsi Florida Relays from the press box at James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track.
PEPSI FLORIDA RELAYS MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern and subject to change)
Notes: # - denotes invitational event; all NCAA and East Region rankings are based on results through March 30th and Pepsi Florida Relays results through April 2nd; men's 4x400 results account for completed races at Texas Relays
HEARING OUT (COACH) HOLLOWAY
On public address announcer Buck Jones calling his 20th and final Pepsi Florida Relays…
"I just want to say thank you to Buck Jones for all the work he's done with the Florida Relays. It seems like he's been here forever. Buck Jones is the voice of the Pepsi Florida Relays; he helps make this meet what it is. He let me know today it was going to be his last meet, and we're going to miss him. The meet is going to miss him. He doesn't just sit up in the press box and announce names; he knows the athletes, knows their backgrounds, the history of not just them but the events here at the Florida Relays. We're going to miss you, Buck."
On his overall thoughts of Saturday's competition…
"I was proud of the men. They did a great job in both 4x400 (relays). The men in the 4x800 (relay) did a great job also. And, even though we had a couple bad exchanges in the sprint medley (relay), they ran a pretty good time.
"The women were just lights out today. Broke the school record in the shuttle hurdle relay, ran the second-fastest time in school history in the 4x100, and then to end the meet with a school record and the fastest time in the country at 3:26 (in the 4x400) was just phenomenal."
On how happy he is to see so many personal bests so early in this outdoor season…
"It's a pleasing thing, but, like I told the team afterwards, all that means is that we have to work harder; we have to keep our drive and our focus, because too many times people run well early and then get complacent. We're not going to do that. We're going to keep working hard and try to get better. Our goal is to be the best team in the country, and we can't do that on April 2nd. It's got to be done in June when it counts the most."
On what the Gators will do with 20 days between now and their next meet…
"Train. We've got to look at the things we did wrong and look at the things we can get better at. A big part of it is that we've got some areas where we're young, so we have to do a better job of teaching the young people how to do things and how to handle pressure better. I'm not the coach that blames my athletes when they do things wrong. I always tell them, 'That one was my fault. I'm going to coach you better so the next time that won't happen.'"
On the senior day ceremony…
"Senior day is always very emotional. For some reason, this group tugs at my heart. (They're) a bunch of good athletes, a bunch of good people, their families are incredible, so that was very emotional today. Everybody that came up there has a special place with me. It was hard, but I didn't cry. It was really special to share that moment with them, because there were a lot of special people. And I'm not just talking about the points they scored or the records they broke, the accolades they won … they're just good people. I'm going to miss them. I really am."
AND THEY'RE OFF TO...
The Gators do not compete again until Friday, April 22nd, when they will host the Tom Jones Memorial Invite at James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track. Continue to check FloridaGators.com for more information concerning the meet.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #FLRelays16; #GoGators; #PushTheButton; #FinishTheMission
The foursome of Robin Reynolds, Kyra Jefferson, Sharrika Barnett, and Claudia Francis are just the third women's 4x400 relay team in history to break 3:27.00 prior to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Only Reynolds had run on the previous school record-holding team, which broke the program's 22-year old record at the 2014 Pepsi Florida Relays.
Earlier in the day, the women's 4x100-meter relay team clocked an NCAA-leading time of 42.85. The group of Reynolds, Shayla Sanders, Skylar Ross-Ransom, and Jefferson now own the second-fastest time in UF history.
Ross-Ransom also led off the Gators' 4x100-meter shuttle hurdle relay, which, along with Kimani Rushing, Ryann McEnany, and Tyjah Eady, finished in 54.18 seconds to break the school record.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Hugh Graham Jr., Arman Hall, Eric Futch, and Najee Glass won the Tom Jones Invite race, the final event of the three-day meet, in 3:03.42, which is the fourth-fastest time in Division I this year.
In the field, sophomore jumper KeAndre Bates triple jumped 16.04 meters, the No. 2 mark in Division I this year and No. 8-ranked mark on UF's all-time outdoor top 10. Sophomore thrower Lloydricia Cameron also logged a UF top 10 mark, posting a top throw of 17.06 meters in the shot put. Cameron's toss ranks sixth on the program's all-time outdoor top 10 and fifth among Division I throwers this year.
On a separate note, the meet will bid farewell to longtime public address announcer Buck Jones, who called his 20th and final Pepsi Florida Relays from the press box at James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track.
PEPSI FLORIDA RELAYS MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern and subject to change)
- Results (Delta Timing)
- Results (PDF)
- Day One Recap
- Day Two Recap
- Pepsi Florida Relays Central (for complete high school results)
- Nationally-Ranked Competing Teams: Alabama (No. 6 men; No. 23 women), Florida State (No. 14 women), Georgia (No. 11 men; No. 6 women), Kentucky (No. 9 women), Louisville (No. 24 men), Miami (Fla.) (No. 21 women), Michigan State (No. 20 women), Mississippi State (No. 11 women), Penn State (No. 19 men), South Carolina (No. 10 men), Virginia (No. 8 men), Virginia Tech (No. 14 men; No. 18 women)
| Day Three – Saturday, April 2nd | |
| Event | Place, Athlete – Time/Mark [Wind] | Notes |
| SHR (W) | 2. Skylar Ross-Ransom-Kimani Rushing-Ryann McEnany-Tyjah Eady – 54.18 | School record; top collegiate finisher |
| PV (M) | 20. Jared Watkins – 4.70 meters (15-5) |
| 20. Jordan Mansour – 4.70 meters (15-5) | Collegiate debut | |
| SP (W) # | 4. Lloydricia Cameron – 17.06 meters (55-11.75) | No. 6-ranked mark on UF's all-time outdoor top 10; No. 5 mark in Division I; second place among collegians |
| SMR (M) | 2. Michael Timpson Jr.-Ryan Clark-Kunle Fasasi-Andres Arroyo – 3:14.24 |
| TJ (M) | 3. KeAndre Bates – 16.04 meters (52-7.5) [+1.5] | No. 8-ranked mark on UF's all-time outdoor top 10; No. 2 mark in Division I |
| 4x100 (W) | 1. Robin Reynolds-Shayla Sanders-S. Ross-Ransom-Kyra Jefferson – 42.85 | No. 2-ranked time on UF's all-time top 10; NCAA-leading time |
| TJ (W) | 7. Darrielle McQueen – 12.77 meters (41-10.75) [0.0] | Tied No. 11 mark in Division I |
| 9. Yanis David – 12.68 meters (41-7.25) [0.0] | No. 14 mark in Division I | |
| 4x800 (W) | 3. Taylor Tubbs-Becky Greene-Elisabeth Bergh-Amber Johnson – 8:49.50 |
| 4x800 (M) | 7. Magnus Pettersen-Jack Guyton-Jack Beitter-Jack Rogers – 7:38.39 |
| 4x400 (M) | 1. Nick Uruburu-TJ Holmes-Clark-Fasasi – 3:06.04 |
| 4x400 (W) # | 1. Reynolds-Jefferson-Sharrika Barnett-Claudia Francis – 3:26.28 | School record; 10th-fastest time in collegiate history; third-fastest time in collegiate history prior to the NCAA Outdoor Championships |
| 4x400 (M) # | 1. Hugh Graham Jr.-Arman Hall-Eric Futch-Najee Glass – 3:03.42 | No. 4 time in Division I |
HEARING OUT (COACH) HOLLOWAY
On public address announcer Buck Jones calling his 20th and final Pepsi Florida Relays…
"I just want to say thank you to Buck Jones for all the work he's done with the Florida Relays. It seems like he's been here forever. Buck Jones is the voice of the Pepsi Florida Relays; he helps make this meet what it is. He let me know today it was going to be his last meet, and we're going to miss him. The meet is going to miss him. He doesn't just sit up in the press box and announce names; he knows the athletes, knows their backgrounds, the history of not just them but the events here at the Florida Relays. We're going to miss you, Buck."
On his overall thoughts of Saturday's competition…
"I was proud of the men. They did a great job in both 4x400 (relays). The men in the 4x800 (relay) did a great job also. And, even though we had a couple bad exchanges in the sprint medley (relay), they ran a pretty good time.
"The women were just lights out today. Broke the school record in the shuttle hurdle relay, ran the second-fastest time in school history in the 4x100, and then to end the meet with a school record and the fastest time in the country at 3:26 (in the 4x400) was just phenomenal."
On how happy he is to see so many personal bests so early in this outdoor season…
"It's a pleasing thing, but, like I told the team afterwards, all that means is that we have to work harder; we have to keep our drive and our focus, because too many times people run well early and then get complacent. We're not going to do that. We're going to keep working hard and try to get better. Our goal is to be the best team in the country, and we can't do that on April 2nd. It's got to be done in June when it counts the most."
On what the Gators will do with 20 days between now and their next meet…
"Train. We've got to look at the things we did wrong and look at the things we can get better at. A big part of it is that we've got some areas where we're young, so we have to do a better job of teaching the young people how to do things and how to handle pressure better. I'm not the coach that blames my athletes when they do things wrong. I always tell them, 'That one was my fault. I'm going to coach you better so the next time that won't happen.'"
On the senior day ceremony…
"Senior day is always very emotional. For some reason, this group tugs at my heart. (They're) a bunch of good athletes, a bunch of good people, their families are incredible, so that was very emotional today. Everybody that came up there has a special place with me. It was hard, but I didn't cry. It was really special to share that moment with them, because there were a lot of special people. And I'm not just talking about the points they scored or the records they broke, the accolades they won … they're just good people. I'm going to miss them. I really am."
AND THEY'RE OFF TO...
The Gators do not compete again until Friday, April 22nd, when they will host the Tom Jones Memorial Invite at James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track. Continue to check FloridaGators.com for more information concerning the meet.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #FLRelays16; #GoGators; #PushTheButton; #FinishTheMission
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