Gators Earn Three USTFCCCA Regional Honors
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 | Track and Field
Junior Florida jumper Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) was named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association South Region Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season to highlight three regional honors earned by the Gators, as announced by the New Orleans-based organization on Monday afternoon.
Florida head coach Mike Holloway was named the USTFCCCA South Region Men's Indoor Head Coach of the Year, while assistant coach/jumps Dick Booth was named the USTFCCCA South Region Men's Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year.
Taylor, who earned the honor for the third year in a row, is a two-time NCAA indoor champion in the men's triple jump. Taylor captured the 2011 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship in the men's triple jump for the third consecutive year with the third-best mark in collegiate history at 17.36m/56-11.50 on his last jump. He also placed eighth in the long jump and anchored UF's second-place and NCAA automatic-qualifying 4x400-meter relay team at the league meet.
Taylor helped direct Florida to a 1-2-3 finish in the men's triple jump at the SEC Indoor Championships, also setting the SEC meet record, the Randal Tyson Track facility record and breaking his own UF school record. He currently ranks first in the nation and fifth in the world in the men's triple jump this season with a mark of 17.36m/56-11.50.
Holloway directed the Gator men to their first SEC Indoor Championship since the 2004 season, by scoring 148 total team points at the league meet in Fayetteville, Ark., two weeks ago. His men won eight SEC individual crowns and swept the championships in the short-sprint events, which Holloway directly coaches. Sophomore Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) won the men's 60m dash in a school-record time of 6.55, freshman Eddie Lovett (West Palm Beach, Fla.) won the men's 60m hurdles with the second-fastest time in school history at 7.73 and sophomore Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.) claimed the men's 200m dash with the fourth-fastest time in school history at 20.61. Holloway's relay also won the league championship in an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 3:05.51.
Booth, in his second season at Florida after 27 storied seasons at Arkansas, directed Florida to a 1-2-3 finish in the men's triple jump at the 2011 SEC Indoor Championships. His athletes currently rank 1-2-3 on the national list in the men's triple jump and are all NCAA automatic-qualifiers. The trio holds the top-three spots in Florida school history in the men's triple jump. His pupil Will Claye (Phoenix, Ariz.) is an automatic-qualifier in both the men's triple jump and men's long jump, ranking eighth in the nation in the long jump at 7.95m/26-1. Booth's jumpers totaled 31 points at this year's SEC Indoor Championships.
Florida returns to action March 11-12, when it travels to College Station, Texas, to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University.
For all of the latest information on Florida track and field, log on to www.GatorZone.com/trackfield or, for up-to-the-minute information, follow the team's Twitter account @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
USTFCCCA Men's Track Athletes of the Year
Great Lakes: Andy Bayer, Indiana
Mid-Atlantic: Ryan Foster, Penn State
Midwest: Mookie Salaam, Oklahoma
Mountain: Patrick Casey, Montana State
Northeast: Erik van Ingen, Binghamton
South: Kirani James, Alabama
South Central: Keiron Stewart, Texas
Southeast: Sam Chelanga, Liberty
West: Elliott Heath, Stanford
USTFCCCA Men's Field Athletes of the Year
Great Lakes: Derek Drouin, Indiana
Mid-Atlantic: Joe Kovacs, Penn State
Midwest: Erik Kynard, Kansas State
Mountain: Darrell Roddick, Texas Tech
Northeast: Robert Golbek, Buffalo
South: Christian Taylor, Florida
South Central: Walter Henning, LSU
Southeast: Miller Moss, Clemson
West: Kurt Felix, Boise State
USTFCCCA Men's Head Coaches of the Year
Great Lakes: Ron Helmer, Indiana
Mid-Atlantic: Fred Samara, Princeton
Midwest: Steve Plasencia, Minnesota
Mountain: Mark Robinson, BYU
Northeast: Greg Roy, Connecticut
South: Mike Holloway, Florida
South Central: Aaron Fox, UTSA
Southeast: Dave Cianelli, Virginia Tech
West: Edrick Floreal, Stanford
USTFCCCA Men's Assistant Coaches of the Year
Great Lakes: Mick Byrne, Wisconsin
Mid-Atlantic: Steve Dolan, Princeton
Midwest Region: Joey Woody, Iowa
Mountain: Ed Eyestone, BYU
Northeast: Annette Acuff, Binghamton
South: Dick Booth, Florida
South Central: Doug Case, Arkansas
Southeast: Bob Phillips
West: Jason Dunn, Stanford
USTFCCCA Women's Track Athletes of the Year
Great Lakes: Christiana Manning, Ohio State
Mid-Atlantic: Sheila Reid, Villanova
Midwest: Betsy Saina, Iowa State
Mountain: Katie Palmer, BYU
Northeast: Lucy Van Dalen, Stony Brook
South: Jackie Areson, Tennessee
South Central: Jessica Beard, Texas A&M
Southeast: LaKya Brookins, South Carolina
West: Jordan Hasay, Oregon
USTFCCCA Women's Field Athletes of the Year
Great Lakes: Faith Sherrill, Indiana
Mid-Atlantic Region: Kiani Profit, Maryland
Midwest: Gwen Berry, Southern Illinois
Mountain: Ada Robinson, BYU
Northeast: Victoria Flowers, Connecticut
South: Kimberly Williams, Florida State
South Central: Tina Sutej, Arkansas
Southeast: April Sinkler, Clemson
West: Brianne Theisen, Oregon
USTFCCCA Women's Head Coaches of the Year
Great Lakes: Karen Dennis, Ohio State
Mid-Atlantic: Pete Farrell, Princeton
Midwest: Gary Pepin, Nebraska
Mountain: Patrick Shane, BYU
Northeast: Bill Morgan, Connecticut
South: Caryl Smith Gilbert, UCF
South Central: Dennis Shaver, LSU
Southeast: Lawrence Johnson, Clemson
West: Robert Johnson, Oregon
USTFCCCA Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
Great Lakes: Mike McGuire, Michigan
Mid-Atlantic: Chris Johnson, Penn State
Midwest: John Smith, Southern Illinois
Mountain: Jon Murray, Texas Tech
Northeast: Gavin O'Neal, Columbia
South: Dennis Nobles, Florida State
South Central: Vince Anderson, Texas A&M
Southeast: Dale Cowper, Louisville
West: Craig Carter, Arizona
