Gator Track Teams Rank in Top 15 of Latest Poll
Thursday, March 22, 2001 | Track and Field
Just one meet into the outdoor track season, the Gator track teams are picking up where they left off from the indoor season. In the latest rankings released by Trackwire, the Gator men's team is ranked eighth in the latest poll while the women's team is ranked 12th.
Florida is one of 13 schools in the country that has both its men's and women's teams ranked in the Top 25. Joining the Gators with both teams in the poll are: Alabama (12th ranked men/22nd ranked women), Arkansas (3/3), Auburn (5/22), Clemson (23/9), Colorado State (22/20), Georgia (21/21), LSU (1 /8), SMU (6/15), South Carolina (14/4), Texas (15/7), Texas A&M (17/22) and UTEP (11/17). There are seven SEC schools that have both their men's and women's teams in the poll. To show the strength of the Southeastern Conference, the men's poll ranks nine of the 11 SEC teams while the women's poll shows eight of the 12 SEC teams.
Florida's men's team is coming off a win at the outdoor season-opening SEC Triangular meet in Baton Rouge, La. The Gators finished seventh at the NCAA Indoor Championships two weeks ago, a meet in which they were predicted to finish 11th. A week before the meet, they were not even projected to finish in the Top 25. The Gators are off this weekend and then return home for the 58th annual Florida Relays at Percy Beard Track Stadium March 28-31.
The Gator women's team also won its opening outdoor meet at LSU. The women's team finished 12th at the NCAA Indoor Championships two weeks ago. The Gators are sending several athletes to the Florida State Relays this weekend before returning home for the Florida Relays.
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