KeAndre Bates has a chance to sweep the horizontal jumps, as he enters tomorrow's triple jump seeded No. 2.
Bates Wins First NCAA Title, Gators Qualify Three to Finals
Friday, March 10, 2017 | Track and Field
KeAndre Bates won the third indoor long jump title in school history, and third in the last five years for Florida
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Junior jumper KeAndre Bates captured his first individual national title, three men advanced to finals through preliminary races, and two women scored points for the Gators to open the NCAA Indoor Championships Friday (March 10) night.
Bates won the third indoor long jump national title in school history, as well as Florida's third in the last five years. The SEC and USTFCCCA South Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year posted a winning mark of 8.04 meters (26 feet, 4.5 inches), tying his indoor PR, which is tied for the No. 4-ranked mark on UF's all-time indoor top 10. Marquis Dendy (2013, 2015) is the only other man in school history to win the indoor long jump title.
The El Paso, Texas native was the only man in the competition to clear 8.00 meters, and he did it twice.
Freshman Grant Holloway bounced back from a disappointing performance in the long jump by logging the fastest qualifying time in the 60 hurdles (7.64).
Florida's other two qualifiers came in the 400 meters via sophomore Kunle Fasasi and redshirt senior Eric Futch. Fasasi broke his indoor PR by 0.45 seconds, clocking in at 45.57 and becoming the No. 5-ranked indoor quarter-miler in program history. Futch was one hundredth of a second shy of his PR (46.17).
The pair were an unexpected lift for the Gators, as Fasasi and Futch were seeded ninth and 11th, respectively. Nevertheless, both finished in the top six of the qualifying round.
This is the 14th consecutive year Florida has at least one 400 meters finalist, which is the longest active streak in any event and tied for the third-longest streak in any event since 1990. It is also the sixth time since 1996, head coach Mike Holloway's first year working with UF's sprinters, the Gators boast multiple finalists. Texas A&M (four times) is the only other program to do this more than three times in that span.
On the women's side, junior Lloydricia Cameron became the first Gator since 2010 to score in the shot put. The Miami, Fla. product finished seventh, topping out at 17.34 meters (56-10.75). Junior Darrielle McQueen was the only other scorer for the day, tacking on a point with an eighth-place finish in a loaded long jump competition. The Tallahassee, Fla. native posted a season-best jump of 6.38 meters (20 feet, 11.25 inches).
Saturday's (March 11) action will be streamed live on ESPN3, via Watch ESPN. A two-hour television broadcast of the championship will air on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET Sunday. A full schedule for Saturday and table of results from Friday is below.
QUOTES FROM NCAA CHAMPION KeANDRE BATES
Bates on winning his first career national title…
"I just wanted to make sure nobody passed me so I could get the 10 points. I'm happy for the national championship, but I really wanted the 27 (foot jump). But it's alright. I'm going to get it eventually. I'm being patient. Hopefully I keep progressing and get it later on."
Bates on what it meant to score 10 points for the team…
"That's the main thing. That's the main purpose of the whole meet: showing up to win a championship. Hopefully we all come through on the last day. I'm going to show up tomorrow. I'm coming through in the triple jump. When I feel like I didn't do enough (in the long jump), I always show up in the triple jump."
Bates on having numerous family members on hand and competing in front of them in his home state…
"I just wanted to feel their energy. I'm happy they came. I don't see them very often. Even in high school, when we moved to El Paso, I never really got to see my family in Temple. It was good. I'm glad they came to support me, and I'm glad to see them again."
HEARING OUT (COACH) HOLLOWAY
Head coach Mike Holloway on KeAndre Bates' first career national title…
"Very proud of KeAndre. He came in here ranked second, but we talked beforehand about just trusting the process, trusting his coach. He did that. He had a pretty good series. Big thing is, he's a national champion. He came in here, did what he always does, and that's what this meet is about—come in here, be who you are and things will work out the way they should."
Holloway on the other top performances of the day…
"Overall, we had a good day. A little disappointed in a couple areas—the women's 400 and men's 800. They didn't trust the process. We've got to do better than that. Everybody else did a phenomenal job. Kunle (Fasasi) with a huge PR, Eric (Futch) right at his PR again. When they saw what happened with Grant (Holloway) in the long jump, they said they were going to pick him up. That's who we are and what we have to do. We just have to come out here tomorrow, continue the momentum we've got, and just keep fighting."
Holloway on Grant bouncing back in the 60 hurdles after a poor outing in the long jump…
"That was big. And it was hard because he didn't have a hurdle warmup. Excited about what he could do tomorrow. Think he had a bit of a wakeup call. We've got to coach him better in the long jump. That's on Coach (Nic) Petersen and myself. We know he's better than that. We'll take the hit this time."
Holloway on Lloydricia Cameron and Darrielle McQueen scoring points for the women…
"Darrielle was in an incredible competition. Lloydricia had her best competition of the year. Really proud of her bouncing back from what we thought was a subpar performance at the conference meet. To come here and be a first-team All-American her first time here, I thought she did a phenomenal job."
Holloway on where the teams are at entering tomorrow…
"On the men's side, we're where we need to be. There are some good teams here; we've got to come in here and fight tomorrow. Cannot take anything for granted. On the women's side, we've got to come out here and fight harder. Just a couple places today we weren't very focused; we've got to do better tomorrow."
NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern)
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Bates won the third indoor long jump national title in school history, as well as Florida's third in the last five years. The SEC and USTFCCCA South Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year posted a winning mark of 8.04 meters (26 feet, 4.5 inches), tying his indoor PR, which is tied for the No. 4-ranked mark on UF's all-time indoor top 10. Marquis Dendy (2013, 2015) is the only other man in school history to win the indoor long jump title.
The El Paso, Texas native was the only man in the competition to clear 8.00 meters, and he did it twice.
Freshman Grant Holloway bounced back from a disappointing performance in the long jump by logging the fastest qualifying time in the 60 hurdles (7.64).
Florida's other two qualifiers came in the 400 meters via sophomore Kunle Fasasi and redshirt senior Eric Futch. Fasasi broke his indoor PR by 0.45 seconds, clocking in at 45.57 and becoming the No. 5-ranked indoor quarter-miler in program history. Futch was one hundredth of a second shy of his PR (46.17).
The pair were an unexpected lift for the Gators, as Fasasi and Futch were seeded ninth and 11th, respectively. Nevertheless, both finished in the top six of the qualifying round.
This is the 14th consecutive year Florida has at least one 400 meters finalist, which is the longest active streak in any event and tied for the third-longest streak in any event since 1990. It is also the sixth time since 1996, head coach Mike Holloway's first year working with UF's sprinters, the Gators boast multiple finalists. Texas A&M (four times) is the only other program to do this more than three times in that span.
On the women's side, junior Lloydricia Cameron became the first Gator since 2010 to score in the shot put. The Miami, Fla. product finished seventh, topping out at 17.34 meters (56-10.75). Junior Darrielle McQueen was the only other scorer for the day, tacking on a point with an eighth-place finish in a loaded long jump competition. The Tallahassee, Fla. native posted a season-best jump of 6.38 meters (20 feet, 11.25 inches).
Saturday's (March 11) action will be streamed live on ESPN3, via Watch ESPN. A two-hour television broadcast of the championship will air on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET Sunday. A full schedule for Saturday and table of results from Friday is below.
QUOTES FROM NCAA CHAMPION KeANDRE BATES
Bates on winning his first career national title…
"I just wanted to make sure nobody passed me so I could get the 10 points. I'm happy for the national championship, but I really wanted the 27 (foot jump). But it's alright. I'm going to get it eventually. I'm being patient. Hopefully I keep progressing and get it later on."
Bates on what it meant to score 10 points for the team…
"That's the main thing. That's the main purpose of the whole meet: showing up to win a championship. Hopefully we all come through on the last day. I'm going to show up tomorrow. I'm coming through in the triple jump. When I feel like I didn't do enough (in the long jump), I always show up in the triple jump."
Bates on having numerous family members on hand and competing in front of them in his home state…
"I just wanted to feel their energy. I'm happy they came. I don't see them very often. Even in high school, when we moved to El Paso, I never really got to see my family in Temple. It was good. I'm glad they came to support me, and I'm glad to see them again."
HEARING OUT (COACH) HOLLOWAY
Head coach Mike Holloway on KeAndre Bates' first career national title…
"Very proud of KeAndre. He came in here ranked second, but we talked beforehand about just trusting the process, trusting his coach. He did that. He had a pretty good series. Big thing is, he's a national champion. He came in here, did what he always does, and that's what this meet is about—come in here, be who you are and things will work out the way they should."
Holloway on the other top performances of the day…
"Overall, we had a good day. A little disappointed in a couple areas—the women's 400 and men's 800. They didn't trust the process. We've got to do better than that. Everybody else did a phenomenal job. Kunle (Fasasi) with a huge PR, Eric (Futch) right at his PR again. When they saw what happened with Grant (Holloway) in the long jump, they said they were going to pick him up. That's who we are and what we have to do. We just have to come out here tomorrow, continue the momentum we've got, and just keep fighting."
Holloway on Grant bouncing back in the 60 hurdles after a poor outing in the long jump…
"That was big. And it was hard because he didn't have a hurdle warmup. Excited about what he could do tomorrow. Think he had a bit of a wakeup call. We've got to coach him better in the long jump. That's on Coach (Nic) Petersen and myself. We know he's better than that. We'll take the hit this time."
Holloway on Lloydricia Cameron and Darrielle McQueen scoring points for the women…
"Darrielle was in an incredible competition. Lloydricia had her best competition of the year. Really proud of her bouncing back from what we thought was a subpar performance at the conference meet. To come here and be a first-team All-American her first time here, I thought she did a phenomenal job."
Holloway on where the teams are at entering tomorrow…
"On the men's side, we're where we need to be. There are some good teams here; we've got to come in here and fight tomorrow. Cannot take anything for granted. On the women's side, we've got to come out here and fight harder. Just a couple places today we weren't very focused; we've got to do better tomorrow."
NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern)
- Live Results (Flash Results)
- Saturday Stream – 4:55 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
- Television Replay: Sunday, March 12 – 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
- Meet Notes (PDF)
- Venue: Gilliam Indoor Stadium (Texas A&M)
Friday, March 10 (unless denoted with * all events are finals) | |
Event | Place (Points), Gator – Time/Mark | Notes |
400m (M)* | 2. Kunle Fasasi – 45.57 | Advanced to final (time); No. 5-ranked time on UF's all-time indoor top 10 |
6. Eric Futch – 46.17 | Advanced to final (time) | |
400m (W)* | 11. Sharrika Barnett – 53.03 |
800m (M)* | 10. Andres Arroyo – 1:48.57 | Missed final by 0.10 seconds |
60mH (M)* | 1. Grant Holloway – 7.64 | Advanced to final (automatic) |
LJ (M) | 1 (10). KeAndre Bates – 8.04 meters (26-4.5) | Third indoor national title in school history; tied PR—which is the No. 4-ranked mark on UF's all-time indoor top 10 |
11. Holloway – 7.57 meters (24-10) | |
LJ (W) | 8 (1). Darrielle McQueen – 6.38 meters (20-11.25) | Season-best mark |
SP (W) | 7 (2). Lloydricia Cameron – 17.34 meters (56-10.75) | First Gator to score in event since 2010 (Mariam Kevkhishvili, 1st; Keely Medeiros, 8th) |
Saturday, March 11 (all events are finals) | |
Time | Gators – Event |
3:00 p.m. | AJ McFarland – Men's Weight Throw |
4:30 p.m. | Clayton Brown – Men's High Jump |
Yanis David; Darrielle McQueen – Women's Triple Jump | |
5:50 p.m. | Kunle Fasasi, Eric Futch – Men's 400 meters |
6:00 p.m. | KeAndre Bates; Clayton Brown – Men's Triple Jump |
6:10 p.m. | Grant Holloway – Men's 60-meter Hurdles |
7:30 p.m. | Brandee' Johnson-Destinee Gause-Taylor Sharpe-Barnett – Women's 4x400 Relay |
7:45 p.m. | Fasasi-Holloway-Futch-TJ Holmes – Men's 4x400 Relay |
Top 5 Men's Teams | |
Place | Team – Points |
1. | No. 3 Oregon – 17 |
2. | No. 5 Texas A&M – 16 |
3. | Ole Miss – 12 |
4. | No. 7 Virginia Tech – 10.5 |
5. | No. 1 Florida – 10 |
No. 8 Colorado State – 10 | |
South Dakota – 10 |
Top 5 Women's Teams | |
Place | Team – Points |
1. | No. 3 Georgia – 41 |
2. | No. 7 Alabama – 16 |
3. | No. 2 Arkansas – 12 |
No. 21 Michigan – 12 | |
5. | No. 8 Ole Miss – 11 |
t-24. | No. 11 Florida – 3 |
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators; #PushTheButton; #TheMissionContinues
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