Gators Head to Athens Looking For SEC Titles
Thursday, May 12, 2011 | Track and Field
The University of Florida track and field teams travel to Athens, Ga., this Thursday-Sunday to compete in the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, hosted by the University of Georgia at its Spec Towns Track. The Gator men will be looking for their second consecutive SEC outdoor title, while the women are seeking their second such crown in the past three years.
The event begins at 10 a.m. ET Thursday and continues at 10 a.m. ET Friday, 12 p.m. ET Saturday and 12 p.m. ET Sunday. Live results will be available through www.georgiadogs.com. Live coverage of the final two days of the event will be available through a live stream on ESPN3.com. ESPN3's coverage will take place Saturday from 4-6:15 p.m. ET, while Sunday's coverage will take place from 2-6 p.m. ET.
“This weekend is going to be fun, as it always is,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We're up to the challenge and this is kind of what we live for around here. On the women's side, I expect it to be a good competition with our team, LSU, Arkansas and Georgia. On the men's side, I expect a great battle between us, Georgia, LSU and Arkansas. We're as healthy as we've been all year long, and we're looking forward to the challenge of bringing home some SEC titles this weekend.”
The Gator men are ranked No. 3 nationally, while the women are unranked.
Florida won nine individual league crowns at last year's SEC Outdoor Championships, returning athletes who won four of those titles. Junior decathlete Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) is the two-time defending SEC Outdoor Champion in the men's decathlon and looks to become just the second athlete in league history to win three consecutive decathlon titles. LSU's Claston Bernard is the only other athlete in SEC history to win three league decathlon titles, doing so from 1999-2001. Junior sprinter Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) is the defending SEC 100-meter champion and currently holds the nation's top wind-aided time in the men's 100-meter dash at 9.96. Junior jumper Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) is the defending SEC Champion in the men's triple jump and was the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Champion in that event. The Gator men's 4x400-meter relay team is the defending SEC Outdoor Champion and has won three of the last seven crowns in that event.
“We hang our hats on who we are,” Holloway said. “We have a very talented team. We're going to do what we always do – we take a lot of pride in being ready this time of year, and we don't think this year will be any different.”
As is customary, the SEC Outdoor Championships will feature a number of the nation's top teams. According to the latest May 3 rankings from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, seven SEC men's teams are ranked among the nation's top-25, including No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 12 Georgia, No. 15 Arkansas, No. 16 Ole Miss, No. 21 Mississippi State and No. 22 Auburn. There are five ranked teams on the women's side, to include: No. 1 LSU, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 13 Auburn, No. 19 Georgia and No. 21 Tennessee.
“I've been to the Olympics, the World Championships, the Olympic Trials, the USA Championships and there's not nearly the intensity there that there is at the SEC meet,” Holloway said. “A lot of that is because the quality of the league, coaches and athletes. You get together a lot of people with a lot of pride and you have some great performances. We get to be a part of that.”
Florida has athletes who hold the top mark in the SEC in five different events – Demps (men's 100m – 9.96), Horn (men's decathlon – 7,791), Genevieve LaCaze (women's steeplechase – 10:12.33), Cory McGee (women's 1,500m – 4:16.39) and Fawn Miller (women's javelin – 49.45m/162-3).
The Gator men have won four SEC Outdoor Championships in program history, with the last coming in 2010. That was the school's first such title since the 1987 campaign. The Florida women have won five SEC Outdoor Championships, the last coming in 2009. The Gator women are second all-time in league history in most outdoor titles, second only to LSU's 11 crowns.
Athens, Ga., is playing host to the SEC Outdoor Championships for the first time since 1999, and the city has also played host to this event in 1966, 1976, 1982 and 1990. Spec Towns track is named in honor of former Georgia track and field legend Forrest “Spec” Towns. It underwent a $3 million complete renovation following the 2009 season. The 400-meter track features eight 42-inch running lanes, two completely re-designed throwing circles with cages, five vaulting areas, four expanded jumps areas, along with two javelin runways, a shot put area and two high jump pits. The track was constructed in the summer of 1964 and was resurfaced three times prior to its renovation.
For all of the latest information on Florida track and field, please 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.
2011 SEC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS :: MAY 12-15, 2011 :: ATHENS, GA.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Men's Hammer Throw – 10 a.m. ET
· Jeremy Postin
· David Triassi
Women's Heptathlon – 12:30 p.m. ET
· Brittany Harrell
Men's Decathlon – 1 p.m. ET
· Gray Horn
Friday, May 12, 2011
Women's Heptathlon – 12:30 p.m. ET
· Brittany Harrell
Men's Decathlon – 1 p.m. ET
· Gray Horn
Men's 800m (prelims) – 5:30 p.m. ET
· Luc Lawrence
· Sean Obinwa
· Daniel Wehunt
Women's 800m (prelims) – 5:45 p.m. ET
· Cory McGee
Men's 200m (prelims) – 6:15 p.m. ET
· Leonardo Seymore
· Terrell Wilks
Women's 200m (prelims) – 6:30 p.m. ET
· Darshay Davis
· Danielle Williams
Men's 400m Hurdles (prelims) – 6:45 p.m. ET
· William Wynne
Women's 400m Hurdles (prelims) – 7:05 p.m. ET
· Amani Bryant
· Paige Morton
· Ugonna Ndu
· Ashley Usery
Men's 10,000m – 7:30 p.m. ET
· Mark Parrish
· James Uthmeier
Women's 10,000m – 8:10 p.m. ET
· Callie Cooper
· Ali Crabb
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Men's Javelin – 12 p.m. ET
· Zane Breakiron
· Adam Montague
· Doug Nelson
· Stipe Zunic
Men's Long Jump – 12 p.m. ET
· Will Claye
· Christian Taylor
Men's Shot Put – 1:30 p.m. ET
· Stipe Zunic
Women's Pole Vault – 2:30 p.m. ET
· Daisy Glasser
· Claire Spurling
Women's Long Jump – 3 p.m. ET
· Lorraine Graham
· Daniela Griffin
Women's Discus – 3:30 p.m. ET
· Kaitlin Davis
· Keely Medeiros
· Ashley Miller
Men's 1,500m (prelim) – 4 p.m. ET
· Derek Wehunt
Women's 1,500m (prelim) – 4:15 p.m. ET
· Shelby Hayes
· Genevieve LaCaze
· Cory McGee
· Mandy Perkins
Men's 110m Hurdles (prelim) – 4:30 p.m. ET
· Jarius Cooper
· Gray Horn
· Eddie Lovett
· William Wynne
Women's 100m Hurdles (prelim) – 4:45 p.m. ET
· Lorraine Graham
· Paige Morton
· Ugonna Ndu
Men's 400m (prelim) – 5 p.m. ET
· Tony McQuay
· Jovon Toppin
Women's 400m (prelim) – 5:15 p.m. ET
· Ebony Eutsey
· Michelle Stegall
Men's 100m (prelim) – 5:30 p.m. ET
· Jeff Demps
· Chris Rainey
· Leonardo Seymore
· Terrell Wilks
Women's 100m (prelim) – 5:45 p.m. ET
· Darshay Davis
Men's Steeplechase – 6:05 p.m. ET
· Michael Anderson
· James Uthmeier
Women's Steeplechase – 6:15 p.m. ET
· Genevieve LaCaze
· Stephanie Strasser
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Women's Javelin – 12 p.m. ET
· Fawn Miller
Men's Triple Jump – 12 p.m. ET
· Will Claye
· Omar Craddock
· Christian Taylor
Men's Pole Vault – 12 p.m. ET
· Eric Foran
· Gray Horn
· Max Lang
Women's Shot Put – 2 p.m. ET
· Fidela James
· Keely Medeiros
Men's 4x100m Relay – 2 p.m. ET
· Florida (E. Lovett, C. Taylor, T. Wilks, J. Demps)
Women's 4x100m Relay – 2:10 p.m. ET
· Florida (D. Davis, Al. Usery, D. Williams, E. Eutsey)
Men's 1,500m (final) – 2:20 p.m. ET
· Dumisani Hlaselo
· Derek Wehunt
Men's High Jump – 2:30 p.m. ET
· Frankie Hammond
· Bryan Turner
Women's 1,500m (final) – 2:30 p.m. ET
· Shelby Hayes
· Genevieve LaCaze
· Cory McGee
· Mandy Perkins
Men's 110m Hurdles (final) – 2:45 p.m. ET
· Jarius Cooper
· Eddie Lovett
· William Wynne
Women's 100m Hurdles (final) – 2:55 p.m. ET
· Lorraine Graham
· Paige Morton
· Ugonna Ndu
Men's Discus – 3 p.m. ET
· Stipe Zunic
Men's 400m (final) – 3:05 p.m. ET
· Tony McQuay
· Jovon Toppin
Women's 400m (final) – 3:15 p.m. ET
· Ebony Eutsey
· Michelle Stegall
Men's 100m (final) – 3:25 p.m. ET
· Jeff Demps
· Chris Rainey
· Leonardo Seymore
· Terrell Wilks
Women's 100m (final) – 3:30 p.m. ET
· Darshay Davis
Men's 800m (final) – 3:35 p.m. ET
· Luc Lawrence
· Sean Obinwa
· Daniel Wehunt
Women's 800m (final) – 3:45 p.m. ET
· Cory McGee
Men's 400m Hurdles (final) – 3:55 p.m. ET
· William Wynne
Women's 400m Hurdles (final) – 4:10 p.m. ET
· Amani Bryant
· Paige Morton
· Ugonna Ndu
· Ashley Usery
Men's 200m (final) – 4:20 p.m. ET
· Leonardo Seymore
· Terrell Wilks
Women's 200m (final) – 4:25 p.m. ET
· Darshay Davis
· Danielle Williams
Men's 5,000m – 4:30 p.m. ET
· Michael Anderson
· Matt Mizereck
· Mark Parrish
· James Uthmeier
Women's 5,000m – 4:50 p.m. ET
· Callie Cooper
· Ali Crabb
· Genevieve LaCaze
· Mandy Perkins
· Stephanie Strasser
Men's 4x400m Relay – 4:15 p.m. ET
· Florida (C. Taylor, T. Wilks, S. Obinwa, T. McQuay)
Women's 4x400m Relay – 4:35 p.m. ET
· Florida (E. Eutsey, Al. Usery, D. Williams, U. Ndu)
