Men's Track & Field Opens 2012 Outdoor Season as USTFCCCA Preseason No. 1, Women Ranked No. 11
Thursday, March 22, 2012 | Track and Field
The Gator men begin the 2012 outdoor track & field season as the top team in the country according to the National Team Computer Rankings posted by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Thursday. Both the Gator men and the Oregon women, the women's preseason No. 1, are coming off the indoor season where they claimed respective NCAA Championships for the third-straight year.
Florida is the preseason men's outdoor favorite for the third-consecutive year while Oregon is the outdoor preseason favorite for the first time in the five years in which preseason computer rankings have been used. The 273.50 points calculated for the men are the highest in program history since the computer rankings began in 2008.
Florida's men finished third at the 2011 outdoor championships with 53 points, just two behind Texas A&M (55) and one behind runner-up and Florida State (54). The Gators lost jumping duo Christian Taylor and Will Claye to the professional ranks, but return several national scorers including quartermiler Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.), sprinter Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.), decathlete Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio), and national indoor triple jump champ Omar Craddock (Killeen, Texas). Overall, the Orange and Blue return 14 men in 15 events and two relays who rank nationally.
The Gator women are ranked preseason No. 11 after three weeks in the USTFCCCA Outdoor poll in 2011 (May 17-31). Florida's women are coming off capturing the 2012 SEC Championship and turning in a ninth-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships. The Orange and Blue return 11 women in 14 events and two relays who rank nationally.
Texas A&M is the three-time defending championship team outdoors on both the men's and women's sides. The Aggies open at No. 6 and No. 7 in the men's and women's rankings, respectively.
Preseason national team rankings are calculated using data from previous seasons as a base of evaluation. Marks gained in the early part of this season will supersede previous-year marks if they are superior. The next rankings will be released on April 3.
Among conferences, the SEC leads all leagues with 1287.71 ranking points and seven teams in the nation's top 25 to start the season. The Big 12 is currently the top women's conference with 1261.75 ranking points and also seven teams in the top 25.
The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held June 6-9 in Des Moines, Iowa, and hosted by Drake University. Preliminary rounds will be conducted May 24-26 in Austin, Texas (West site) and Jacksonville, Fla. (East site).
The Gators begin competition outdoors this weekend at the UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla. Heat sheets are available here and the schedule for the two-day event can be found here.
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 Florida track and field on Twitter at @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField. You can also find the Gators on Facebook.
| 2012 USTFCCCA MEN'S OUTDOOR PRESEASON NATIONAL POLL | ||
| Rank | School | Points |
| 1 | FLORIDA | 273.50 |
| 2 | Florida State | 261.88 |
| 3 | LSU | 232.63 |
| 4 | Texas Tech | 225.30 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 222.28 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 204.01 |
| 7 | Texas | 183.06 |
| 8 | Indiana | 162.12 |
| 9 | Georgia | 157.89 |
| 10 | Virginia Tech | 157.60 |
| 11 | Arizona | 156.80 |
| 12 | Baylor | 143.09 |
| 13 | Southern California | 138.04 |
| 14 | Mississippi State | 136.67 |
| 15 | Nebraska | 135.59 |
| 16 | Oregon | 134.63 |
| 17 | Stanford | 124.11 |
| 18 | Iowa | 119.62 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 107.79 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 107.50 |
| 21 | Mississippi | 98.75 |
| 22 | Princeton | 97.99 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | 93.90 |
| 24 | Auburn | 92.77 |
| 25 | Ohio State | 83.22 |
| 2012 USTFCCCA WOMEN'S OUTDOOR PRESEASON NATIONAL POLL | ||
| Rank | School | Points |
| 1 | Oregon | 354.70 |
| 2 | LSU | 291.71 |
| 3 | Southern California | 279.91 |
| 4 | Clemson | 264.83 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 221.81 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 201.41 |
| 7 | Texas A&M | 197.31 |
| 8 | Texas | 186.89 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 167.80 |
| 10 | Kansas | 159.21 |
| 11 | FLORIDA | 155.72 |
| 12 | UCF | 134.46 |
| 13 | Baylor | 131.66 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 127.20 |
| 15 | Auburn | 117.66 |
| 16 | Georgia | 115.82 |
| 17 | Arizona State | 115.50 |
| 18 | Arizona | 111.74 |
| 19 | Kansas State | 110.72 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 100.74 |
| 21 | Stanford | 99.72 |
| 22 | Southern Miss | 83.57 |
| 23 | UTEP | 80.32 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 78.38 |
| 25 | Florida State | 78.09 |
INDIVIDUAL GATORS IN THE PRESEASON NATIONAL RANKINGS
| MEN |
| |||||||
| EVENT | RANK | ATHLETE | YR | SCORED MARK | DATE | PTS. | BONUS | Total |
| 100M | 1 | Jeff Demps | SR | 9.96w | 4/16/11 | 30 | 3.29 | 33.29 |
| 200M | 15 | Leonardo Seymore | JR | 20.72w | 4/16/11 | 6 | 0.50 | 6.50 |
| 400M | 1 | Tony McQuay | JR | 44.87 | 6/11/11 | 30 | 2.76 | 32.76 |
| 800M | 12 | Sean Obinwa | JR | 1:47.73 | 4/16/11 | 9 | 0.65 | 9.65 |
| H110 | 13 | Eddie Lovett | SO | 13.64 | 5/28/11 | 8 | 0.91 | 8.91 |
| H110 | 45 | William Wynne | JR | 14.05w | 5/11/11 | 0.125 | 0.00 | 0.13 |
| 4X100 | 2 | 38.49 | 6/11/11 | 28 | 3.01 | 31.01 | ||
| 4X400 | 9 | 3:04.27 | 5/28/11 | 14 | 1.25 | 15.25 | ||
| HJ | 7 | Dwight Barbiasz | JR | 2.23m/7‐3.75 | 3/25/11 | 18 | 1.26 | 19.26 |
| HJ | 14 | Frankie Hammond | SR | 2.20m/7‐2.50 | 4/16/11 | 7 | 0.73 | 7.73 |
| PV | 40 | Max Lang | JR | 5.15m/16‐10.75 | 5/28/11 | 0.25 | 0.00 | 0.25 |
| LJ | 30 | Gray Horn | SR | 7.54mw/24‐9 | 4/13/11 | 0.7 | 0.05 | 0.75 |
| TJ | 1 | Omar Craddock | JR | 16.46m/54‐0 | 4/28/11 | 30 | 3.61 | 33.61 |
| DISC | 44 | Stipe Zunic | JR | 53.71m/176‐2 | 5/11/11 | 0.15 | 0.00 | 0.15 |
| HT | 6 | Jeremy Postin | JR | 66.69m/218‐9 | 5/11/11 | 20 | 1.96 | 21.96 |
| JAV | 6 | Stipe Zunic | JR | 75.01m/246‐1 | 6/11/11 | 20 | 1.66 | 21.66 |
| DEC | 2 | Gray Horn | SR | 7,914 | 6/11/11 | 28 | 2.62 | 30.62 |
| WOMEN |
| |||||||
| EVENT | RANK | ATHLETE | YR | SCORED MARK | DATE | PTS. | BONUS | TOTAL |
| 100M | 18 | Darshay Davis | SO | 11.32w | 5/11/11 | 4 | 0.58 | 4.58 |
| 200M | 17 | Darshay Davis | SO | 23.12w | 5/11/11 | 4.5 | 0.67 | 5.17 |
| 400M | 8 | Ebony Eutsey | SO | 52.62 | 5/11/11 | 16 | 1.23 | 17.23 |
| 1500M | 13 | Cory McGee | SO | 4:16.39 | 4/16/11 | 8 | 0.88 | 8.88 |
| H400 | 28 | Ugonna Ndu | JR | 58.68 | 5/11/11 | 0.8 | 0.07 | 0.87 |
| STEEPLE | 5 | Genevieve LaCaze | SR | 9:59.44 | 6/11/11 | 22 | 1.98 | 23.98 |
| 4X100 | 22 | 44.57 | 5/11/11 | 2 | 0.33 | 2.33 | ||
| 4X400 | 7 | 3:30.43 | 6/11/11 | 18 | 1.53 | 9.53 | ||
| LJ | 30 | Lorraine Graham | SO | 6.17m/20‐3 | 5/11/11 | 0.7 | 0.00 | 0.70 |
| SP | 5 | Keely Medeiros | SR | 17.26m/56‐7.50 | 4/27/11 | 22 | 1.91 | 23.91 |
| SP | 30 | Fidela James | SR | 15.67m/51‐5 | 5/11/11 | 0.7 | 0.00 | 0.70 |
| DISC | 6 | Keely Medeiros | SR | 54.91m/180‐2 | 4/27/11 | 20 | 1.19 | 21.19 |
| DISC | 34 | Ashley Miller | JR | 51.33m/168‐5 | 3/25/11 | 0.5 | 0.00 | 0.50 |
| DISC | 46 | Kaitlin Davis | JR | 49.70m /163‐0 | 4/16/11 | 0.1 | 0.00 | 0.10 |
| JAV | 9 | Fawn Miller | SO | 51.46m/168‐10 | 5/11/11 | 14 | 1.27 | 15.27 |
| HEPT | 11 | Brittany Harrell | SO | 5,452 | 5/11/11 | 10 | 0.79 | 10.79 |
