2010 Florida Track and Field Year in Review
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 | Track and Field
By any measure, the accomplishments of the University of Florida track and field program during the 2010 season constituted one of the finest seasons in program history. Four national top-four finishes, including the 2010 NCAA Men's Indoor Championship, three Southeastern Conference Championships and countless All-America honors characterized a season full of success for Mike Holloway's Gators, who combined for 10 NCAA individual and relay titles during the year.
“Finish the Mission” was the rallying cry of both the men's and women's track and field teams during the course of the season and, in all cases, the Gators competed with championship effort. It marked the first time in program history where both the men's and women's programs finished among the top-four both indoors and outdoors all in the same season.
“The 2009-10 season was a very successful one for both the men's and women's track and field and cross country programs,” Holloway said. “I am extremely proud of my staff, the student-athletes and the support staff here at the University of Florida. There were six opportunities for us to compete for NCAA titles during the 2009-10 season and, for us to finish in the top seven in five of those championships is a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved with our programs.
“At the conference level, we were able to bring home three league championships and two runner-up finishes in what is arguably the toughest conference in America,” Holloway continued. “That is a tremendous accomplishment.”
The defining moment in 2010 included the men's track and field squad capturing its first NCAA Indoor Championship, doing so at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., in mid-March. The Gators, who led the nation in All-America honors indoors with 14, won by 13 points over second-place Texas A&M and Oregon. Florida also benefitted from individual national championships from Jeff Demps (60m) and Christian Taylor (triple jump).
The men's squad parlayed its indoor success into the outdoor season, recording a number of firsts, beginning with the annual Pepsi Florida Relays at Percy Beard Track. The Gators set school records in the 4x200-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay, with the 4x4 squad clocking an impressive time of 3:00.31.
Florida's regular-season efforts culminated in the teams first Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championship since the 1987 season. The then-No. 3 Gators scored 124 total team points and benefitted from four individual league titles - Demps (100m), Gray Horn (decathlon), Taylor (triple jump) and the 4x400m relay team.
At the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., the Gator men came up a point short of winning their second national title in a year, recording their second consecutive NCAA Outdoor runner-up finish. Florida picked up its second consecutive NCAA Championship in the men's 4x100m relay and also garnered individual crowns from Demps (100m) and Taylor (triple jump). Demps became the first person in school history to pull off the 60m/100m NCAA Championship double.
A third-place finish by the Florida women's track and field team at the NCAA Outdoor Championships marked the highest finish for the Gators since a program-best second place in 1992 and capped off a stellar season for the women's squad. Florida used a corps of just four athletes who scored points at the event to claim three NCAA Championships - Charlotte Browning (1,500m), Evelien Dekkers (javelin) and Mariam Kevkhishvili (shot put) and score 40 total team points.
It marked the end of a spectacular career for Kevkhishvili, who finished with five NCAA individual championships and eight All-America honors. She became just the second woman in NCAA history to win five individual shot put titles (indoors and outdoors combined) and tied the school record for most individual women's NCAA titles (all events). Kevkhishvili went undefeated against collegiate competition her final two seasons and was undefeated against all competition her senior season. She finished her indoor career with 13 consecutive victories dating back to 2008.
The Florida women got things started during the cross country campaign with their first SEC team title since 1997. Sophomore Rebecca Lowe was the leagues individual champion, marking the first such individual feat since Becki Wells in 1996. The Gator women scored just 24 points, the best total in UF history, en route to the victory.
Florida followed that up with an SEC Indoor Championship in February 2010, marking three consecutive league titles for the Gators after winning outdoors in 2009 and in cross country in the fall. Entering the league meet as the favorite, the Gator women torched the competition, scoring 110 total team points and winning by 28 points against second-place Arkansas. Five individual titles highlighted the championship win, including a pair of championships each by Browning and senior jumper Shara Proctor, who each tied for the Cliff Harper Trophy, recognizing the high-points scorer at the league indoor championships.
Holloway was a multi-time Coach of the Year in 2010, culminating in being selected by his peers as the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Men's Indoor Coach of the Year. He earned regional coach of the year honors on both the men's and women's sides, both indoors and outdoors. Holloway was the SEC Indoor Women's Head Coach of the Year and the SEC Outdoor Men's Head Coach of the Year.
Individually, Taylor was the 2010 USTFCCCA South Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year both indoors and outdoors, while Browning was the South Region Women's Indoor Runner of the Year and Kevkhishvili was the South Region Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year.
For Holloway's Gators, the mission is certainly not complete, but the 2010 season set Florida on a championship course that it looks to continue for years to come.
“While we are extremely proud of everything we accomplished this year, our goal is to keep competing at this level and not to become complacent,” Holloway said. “As always, our goal for the 2010-11 season is to get better and, at the end of the season, to make the Gator Nation proud of the cross country and track and field programs.”
END OF REPORT
