Bates, Jefferson Win Titles as Gators Close SEC Outdoors

Saturday, May 13

Columbia, SC

11 AM

Florida Gators

SEC Outdoor Championships

Jefferson joined an elite group of Gators as the newest four-time SEC outdoor champion.

Bates, Jefferson Win Titles as Gators Close SEC Outdoors

Saturday, May 13, 2017 | Track and Field

Kyra Jefferson is the first woman in school history and eighth woman in SEC history to win multiple outdoor 200 titles

By: Zach Dirlam

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Florida capped the SEC Outdoor Championships with titles from fifth-year senior Kyra Jefferson (200 meters) and junior KeAndre Bates (triple jump) Saturday (May 13) afternoon.

Florida's men finished fourth in the team race, while the women finished fifth.

Jefferson won her second SEC outdoor 200 meters title, and fourth SEC outdoor title of her career, in 22.74 seconds. The Detroit, Mich. native was the 200 champion in 2015 and the 100 meters champion in 2016 at SEC Outdoors. Jefferson is the first woman in school history and eighth woman in SEC history to win multiple outdoor 200 titles.

Bates and freshman Clayton Brown combined for 14 points in the triple jump, with the former taking the title and the latter finishing fifth.

#Gators in SEC Outdoor TJ Since 2010:

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Hey, @ScottStricklin, #IsThatGood? pic.twitter.com/WBh7H18Ysr
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) May 13, 2017

Bates' won the title, becoming the fifth Gator in history to sweep the indoor and outdoor crowns, with a top mark of 16.33 meters (53 feet, 7 inches) amid cool, rainy conditions.

The men's team also saw Eric Futch (400-meter hurdles), Grant Holloway (110-meter hurdles), and Andres Arroyo (800 meters) collect runner-up finishes.

Holloway clocked a personal record of 13.42 seconds, the third-fastest time by a freshman since 2002. Only Oregon's Devon Allen (2014) ran faster as a freshman, doing so at the NCAA East Preliminary (13.27) and NCAA Outdoor Championships (13.16). Holloway's time is also tied for third nationally this year.

Futch also set a personal best and ran the second-fastest time in the nation (48.82). Last year's SEC 400 hurdles champion, Futch nearly closed hard enough to defend his title, but came 0.03 seconds short. His time improves his stature as the No. 3-ranked 400 hurdler on UF's All-Time Outdoor Top 10.

Arroyo, the SEC indoor 800 meters champion, led the race until the closing 100 meters, when he was overtaken by Texas A&M's Devin Dixon. The Puerto Rican Olympic semifinalist finished 0.43 seconds behind Dixon.

Senior Marija Vucenovic took runner-up honors in the javelin throw, her fourth career top-2 finish in the event at SEC Outdoors. The 2013 SEC champion's top throw of 55.93 meters (183 feet, 6 inches) ranks second nationally. Vucenovic is the only women's javelin thrower since 2005 with four top-2 finishes at SEC Outdoors.

MARIJA, FOR THE LEAD!

5??5??.9??3?? meters / 183-6#GoGators pic.twitter.com/jdjdF8tbNt
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) May 13, 2017

Sophomore Yanis David (triple jump), senior Taylor Tubbs (5,000 meters), and the women's 4x400 relay quartet of Taylor Sharpe, Jefferson, Destinee Gause, and Sharrika Barnett nabbed runner-up finishes for the women.

David once again finished behind American and collegiate record holder Keturah Orji (Georgia), while Tubbs posted the highest finish by a Gator in the 5k since 2013, when Agata Strausa took second.

The men's 4x100 relay team and Barnett (400 meters) also earned All-SEC Second Team accolades, with both finishing third.

GATORS' 2017 SEC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONS

KeAndre Bates (Triple Jump) – 10th title in school history, UF's seventh title in the last eight seasons, fifth Gator (Ron Coleman, Omar Craddock, Marquis Dendy, Christian Taylor) to sweep the SEC indoor and outdoor titles
Lloydricia Cameron (Shot Put) – Ninth title in school history, first since 2010 (Mariam Kevkhishvili)
Kyra Jefferson (200 meters) – Third title in school history, seventh woman in school history with at least four career SEC outdoor titles (also won the 100 in 2016, 200 and 4x400 in 2015)

NOTES & NUMBERS

Jefferson is the seventh woman in SEC history to win the outdoor 200 the year after winning the 100, with the most recent being LSU's Kimberlyn Duncan (2012-13)
Jefferson's four career SEC outdoor titles tie her with Hazel Clark, Colleen Rosensteel, and Candice Scott for the fourth-most crowns in school history—only Genevieve LaCaze, Shara Proctor, and Shelly Steely (five apiece) have more
With Bates' win in the triple jump, Florida's men have won 33 SEC indoor and outdoor jumps titles since 2003, Mike Holloway's first year as head coach—which leads all SEC programs
In the 50 years since the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships both featured the triple jump, there have been 28 sweeps, with Bates collecting the latest
With his third-place finish in the long jump yesterday, Grant Holloway became the first man since at least 2005 to score in both the 110 hurdles and long jump at SEC Outdoors
Clayton Brown finished second in the high jump and fifth in the triple jump, becoming the fourth man and only underclassman since 2005 to log top-5 finishes in both events at an SEC Outdoor Championships
- Brown joins Auburn's Shawn Johnson (2015), Ole Miss' Ricky Robertson (2012, 2014), and Arkansas' Anthony May (2014) as the only others to do it
With eighth-place finishes in both the 100 and 400 hurdles, Brandee' Johnson became the first freshman and only the fourth underclassman since at least 2005 to score in both those events at SEC Outdoors

HEARING OUT (COACH) HOLLOWAY
Head coach Mike Holloway on KeAndre Bates' and Kyra Jefferson's SEC titles…
"Kyra and KeAndre both did wonderful jobs. Everybody knows Kyra's coming off a season last year where she had a lot of injuries outdoors, didn't have indoors this year; she's just starting to get her rhythm. She did what she had to do to be the SEC champion. That was the goal, and she accomplished that. Very proud of her.

"KeAndre is just KeAndre. I don't think he's ever been to an SEC or NCAA Championship meet where he didn't score. That's big for a guy who's now a junior."

Holloway on the number of runner-up efforts Saturday…
"Very proud of Marija Vucenovic. Big throw for her today, and she's getting better at the right time. Grant Holloway had a great weekend. Nobody likes to lose, but another personal best (for Grant in the hurdles). Getting better and better each week. Taylor Tubbs' run in the 5,000 was huge. I was really proud of the fact she stuck her nose in there, followed Coach Spangler's race plan and came home big.

"Eric (Futch) a new personal best in the 400 hurdles. He made a mistake and didn't run well to the first hurdle, but hats off to the man from Arkansas; he just beat (Eric), no excuses. Andres (Arroyo) did what he had to do … got caught by surprise in the last 50 meters and he couldn't respond. Yanis, in the triple jump, just got beat by the American record holder again. The thing with Yanis is we're starting to see some consistency out of her."

Holloway on where the team is at entering NCAA competition…
"We have some places on this team where we have to trust what we do. We're about 60-40 on that. That 40 percent that doesn't trust us is killing us right now. If we're going to be a championship program, and that's what we are, everyone has to trust, believe, and buy in.

"But we're going to be fine. Our goal is always to be at our absolute best at the end of the year. I felt like we got a lot better in a lot of places this weekend. We'll be better in two weeks, even better in four weeks. But, again, whoever is going to Kentucky in two weeks and Eugene in four, we all have to be bought in. We have too many people who are happy to be here, and that has to top. Has to."

SEC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern)

Results (Prime Time Timing)
Television Replay – Wednesday, May 17; 8:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Day One Recap
Day Two Recap
Meet Notes (PDF)
SEC Outdoor Championships Central
Venue: Sheila & Morris Cregger Track (University of South Carolina)

*Saturday, May 13 (all events are finals)*
Event	Place (Points), Gator – Time/Mark [Wind] \| Notes
100m (M)	6 (3). Ryan Clark – 10.44 [+0.6]
200m (W)	1 (10). Kyra Jefferson – 22.74 [+0.6]
400m (M)	7 (2). Kunle Fasasi – 46.09
400m (W)	3 (6). Sharrika Barnett – 52.55
800m (M)	2 (8). Andres Arroyo – 1:46.14
1,500m (M)	10. Jack Guyton – 3:56.52
1,500m (W)	10. Becky Greene – 4:28.65
	12. Amber Johnson – 4:33.87
5,000m (M)	22. Mac Reynolds – 14:35.68 \| Personal record
	41. Carlos Miranda – 15:19.89
5,000m (W)	2 (8). Taylor Tubbs – 16:08.13 \| Season-best time; highest finish by a Gator since 2013
110mH (M)	2 (8). Grant Holloway – 13.42 [+0.2] \| No. 3-ranked time on UF's All-Time Outdoor Top 10; tied No. 3-ranked time in Division I
100mH (W)	8 (1). Brandee' Johnson – 13.41 [+1.0]
	9. Skylar Ross-Ransom – 13.43 [+1.0]
400mH (M)	2 (8). Eric Futch – 48.82 \| No. 3-ranked time on UF's All-Time Outdoor Top 10; No. 2-ranked time in Division I
	4 (5). TJ Holmes – 50.50
400mH (W)	8 (1). B. Johnson – 1:01.13
4x100 (M)	3 (6). Michael Timpson Jr.-Holloway-Futch-Clark – 39.20
4x100 (W)	5 (4). Ross-Ransom-Shayla Sanders-Destinee Gause-Jefferson – 43.96
4x400 (M)	5 (4). Fasasi-Futch-Holmes-Holloway – 3:03.08
4x400 (W)	2 (8). Taylor Sharpe-Jefferson-Destinee Gause-Barnett – 3:30.65
PV (M)	Aaron Owens – NH
	Michael Harris – NH
TJ (M)	1 (10). KeAndre Bates – 16.33 meters (53-7) [+2.3] \| 10th title in school history; fifth Gator in history to sweep indoor and outdoor SEC titles
	5 (4). Clayton Brown – 15.79 meters (51-9.75) [-0.5]
TJ (W)	2 (8). Yanis David – 13.56 meters (44-6) [-0.8]
	5 (4). Darrielle McQueen – 13.16 meters (43-2.25) [-0.5] \| No. 6-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Outdoor Top 10; No. 19-ranked mark in Division I
	12. Asa Garcia – 12.46 meters (40-10.5) [-0.8]
DT (W)	5 (4). Lloydricia Cameron – 50.69 meters (166-3)
	8 (1). Jontavia Dykes – 48.79 meters (160-1)
JT (W)	2 (8). Marija Vucenovic – 55.93 meters (183-6) \| No. 2-ranked mark in Division I
	9. Megan Reed – 48.67 meters (159-8) \| No. 6-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Outdoor Top 10; No. 35-ranked mark in Division I; topped personal record by 1.07 meters

*Friday, May 12 (only scorers shown; see Day Two recap for complete results)*
Event	Place (Points), Gator – Time/Mark [Wind] \| Notes
HJ (M)	2 (8). Clayton Brown – 2.19 meters (7-2.25) \| SEC All-Freshman
	t-8 (0.5). Jhonny Victor – 2.10 meters (6-10.75)
LJ (M)	2 (8). KeAndre Bates – 8.03 meters (26-4.25) [+1.0]
	3 (6). Holloway – 7.97 meters (26-1.75) [+0.3]
LJ (W)	6 (3). Yanis David – 6.40 meters (21-0) [-0.6]
SP (W)	1 (10). Lloydricia Cameron – 16.92 meters (55-6.25) \| Ninth title in school history, first since 2010

Thursday, May 11 (only scorers shown; see Day One recap for complete results)
Event	Place (Points), Gator – Time/Mark \| Notes
HT (M)	8 (1). AJ McFarland – 65.29 meters (214-2)

Top 5 Men's Teams
Place	Team – Points
1.	No. 1 Texas A&M – 119
2.	No. 9 Arkansas – 106
3.	No. 5 Alabama – 103
4.	No. 2 Florida – 81.5
5.	No. 4 Georgia – 75

Top 5 Women's Teams
Place	Team – Points
1.	No. 5 Arkansas – 127
2.	No. 4 LSU – 100
3.	No. 6 Kentucky – 80
4.	No. 7 Georgia – 77
5.	No. 8 Florida – 76