Christian Taylor Wins NCAA Triple Jump Championship

Wednesday, June 9

Eugene, OR

Florida Gators

NCAA Championships

Christian Taylor Wins NCAA Triple Jump Championship

Thursday, June 10, 2010 | Track and Field

Sophomore Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) claimed the first NCAA Outdoor Men's Triple Jump Championship in school history as Florida scored 13 points on the opening day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and the Gators advanced to the finals in three additional events on Wednesday in front of 9,891 fans at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

The Florida men currently are in second place overall through two scored events with 13 total points. Texas A&M leads the men's competition with 14 points, while Arizona State is third with 12.

“I thought we had a great day,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “Obviously, we would have liked to have qualified Terrell in the 100. But, in the big scheme of things, I am really, really proud of our group for their effort and focus today. Hats off to Christian Taylor. He had a great performance in winning the triple jump and he did a very, very good job of kick-starting the meet for us.”

Taylor, the two-time defending NCAA Indoor Triple Jump Champion, turned in a 2010 American-leading mark en route to his NCAA title with a leap of 17.09m/56-1 (+2.9).

After holding the top mark through the preliminary rounds, Taylor fell behind Texas A&M's Tyron Stewart after Stewart's fourth jump. Taylor went ahead after his fourth jump and all but secured the victory with a leap of 17.02m/55-10.25 on his fifth attempt. He then turned in the American and collegiate-leading mark of 2010 on his final jump at 17.09m/56-1. That would have broken his own school record if not for being heavily wind aided (+2.9).

“Getting the outdoor title means a lot to me,” Taylor said. “Heading into the finals, I knew I needed to step up and get the job done and I'm glad I was able to do it. It was a great crowd and a great atmosphere today. Doing what I can to help the team and trying to win that team title – that would really be special.”

Freshman Omar Craddock (Kileen, Texas) won his flight and placed sixth in the finals of the men's triple jump to earn All-America honors with a leap of 16.13m/52-11.

The men's 4x100-meter relay, the defending NCAA Outdoor Champion, finished with the top time in the preliminary round, clocking a 38.94 as sophomore Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) blazed down the back stretch. The relay quartet, which was the only men's 4x100m relay team on Wednesday to run sub-39 seconds, consisted of Chris Rainey (Lakeland, Fla.), Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville, Fla.), Terrell Wilks (New Haven, Conn.) and Demps. The finals of the 4x100-meter relay take place at 1:11 p.m. ET/10:11 a.m. PT on Saturday.

Senior sprinter Calvin Smith (Lutz, Fla.) advanced to the finals of the men's 400-meter dash, finishing second in his heat and fourth overall in the semifinal round in a time of 45.64. The finals of the event take place on Friday at 9:25 p.m. ET/6:25 p.m. PT. Freshman Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.) failed to advance, placing 14th overall in the 400m at 46.50.

Demps, the 2010 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Champion in the 100-meter dash, clocked the second-fastest time in the event semifinals at 10.15 (+2.2) to advance to the finals. The finals take place at 8:25 p.m. ET/5:25 p.m. PT on Friday. Wilks placed 11th overall in the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.33 (+0.2) and did not advance.

The second day of the NCAA Championships commences at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT from Hayward Field. Complete results and a recap will be available at www.GatorZone.com.

For all of the latest information on University of Florida track and field, log on to www.GatorZone.com/trackfield or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.

NCAA Outdoor Championships (June 9-12, 2010::Eugene, Ore.)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2010

Men's Triple Jump Final - 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

1. Christian Taylor – 17.09m/56-1 (+2.9) (10 points)

6. Omar Craddock – 16.13m/52-11 (+2.3) (3 points)

Men's 4x100m Relay Semifinals - 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

1. Florida (C. Rainey, J. Hall, T. Wilks, J. Demps) – 38.94 Q

Men's 400m Dash Semifinals - 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT

4. Calvin Smith – 45.64 Q

14. Tony McQuay – 46.50

Men's 100m Dash Semifinals - 8:45 p.m. ET/5:45 p.m. PT

2. Jeff Demps – 10.15 (+2.2) Q