Three Gators Hold Top World Junior Ranking
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 | Track and Field
Three Florida men's track and field athletes currently lead the World Junior rankings in their respective events, according to tilastopaja.org.
Freshman decathlete Gray Horn (Wapakoneta, Ohio) currently is the top-ranked junior in the world in the men's decathlon, freshman jumper/sprinter Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) is the top-ranked junior in the world in the men's 400-meter dash and freshman hurdler William Wynne (Marietta, Ga.) is the world's top-ranked junior in the men's 400-meter hurdles.
Horn, who in May became the first person in school history to win the Southeastern Conference decathlon title, broke his own freshman school record at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, en route to earning All-America status with a point total of 7,490.
Taylor, who primarily is a long and triple jumper and won the 2009 SEC Indoor Championships in both events and is a two-time All-America selection, ran the 400-meter dash at the 2009 Florida Relays in a time of 45.34. Taylor also contributes to Florida's 4x400-meter relay that won the SEC Indoor Championship and earned All-America honors at both indoor and outdoor national meets.
Wynne is the top junior in the world in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 49.67 recorded at the Pepsi Florida Relays back in April. Wynne, who also was a part of Florida's nation-leading Shuttle Hurdle Relay team that won the Championship of Americas at the Penn Relays, holds the fifth-fastest 400-meter hurdle time in school history.
The Florida track and field teams are back in action later this month when they travel to Eugene, Ore., for the USA Championships.
END OF REPORT
