2014 Pepsi Florida Relays Kick Off Thursday at Percy Beard Track
Thursday, April 3, 2014 | Track and Field
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gator track and field team will play host to the 75th edition of the Florida Relays April 3-5 at Percy Beard Track on the University of Florida campus as one of USTFCCCA's Division I National Meets of the Week. Competition begins Thursday with high school competition, as the boys and girls 1,600m races kick off the weekend's events, along with six high school field events: boys shot put, long jump and pole vault and girls discus, long jump and high jump.
Action continues Thursday until approximately 8:30 p.m., while college competition is added to the mix both Friday and Saturday with elite-level competition from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. each day.
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THE GATORS ENTERING FLORIDA RELAYS
After splitting for a successful weekend at the Texas & Raleigh Relays, as well as the UNF Spring Break Invite March 26-29, the Florida track and field program will play host to the 2014 Pepsi Florida Relays April 3-5 at Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium. The three-day meet will serve as one of UF's two home meets in a span of two weeks, as the Gators will host the Tom Jones Memorial Invite April 19. The Gators walked away from the Texas Invite with a number of SEC and collegiate-leading marks after facing four days of stiff competition in Austin, highlighted by a new American collegiate record in the 4x100-meter relay for UF's Antwan Wright, Hugh Graham, Jr., Arman Hall and Dedric Dukes (38.29). The quartet was not only the fastest American collegiate 4x1 in history, but shattered a Florida school record in the event and ran the second-fastest time in the world this year. Highlighting UF's individual performances Saturday, Wright additionally put up a special performance in the 100m dash, clocking a PR of 10.20 (+1.5) to finish fifth in finals while jumping onto UF's top-10 list at No. 9 in the event. In the women's 100m, Shayla Sanders cruised to a wind-aided 11.21 (+2.7), one-hundredth off her PR 11.20 from Friday's prelims, the third-fastest performance in UF history. The Gators had a number of record-book worthy performances, including a top-three finish for junior transfer Bridgette Owens (12.96w) in her 100mH Gator debut, while UF men's hurdler Eddie Lovett (13.45w) continued to impress with second place in the 110mH. Sophomore javelin thrower Marija Vucenovic tossed a collegiate leading 56.73m/186-1 Friday, a new PR and the third-best performance in the Gators' record book and both the Gators' 4x1 and 4x4 women's relays additionally put up good marks the first go-around in 2014, as the women won the 4x1 (43.60) and took second in the 4x4 (3:27.62), both of which lead the SEC early in the season.
DON'T MISS OUT!
· Among a number of Gator greats returning to celebrate the Florida Relays weekend, Omar Craddock and Kerron Clement will both compete at the Florida Relays. View all accepted entries.
· Florida's 2014 SEC Women's Indoor Championship team and UF's 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championship team will both be honored Saturday afternoon!
· The Gators will additionally bid farewell to the 2014 senior class at approximately 3:30 p.m., don't miss out on congratulating these student-athletes on their Florida careers!
GATOR SCHEDULED EVENTS AT FLORIDA RELAYS
| FRIDAY | ||
| Field |
|
|
| 12:00pm | M Hammer | Levin |
| W Discus (inner) | Laska | |
| 1:00pm | W Long Jump | Harrell |
| 3:00pm | W Pole Vault | Valdes |
| 5:30pm | M Invite Hammer | Strawn |
|
| W High Jump | Burke, Carmody |
| 6:00pm | W Long Jump Invite | L. Graham |
| 7:30pm | W Javelin | Miller, Vucenovic |
| M Long Jump Invite | Dendy | |
|
|
|
|
| Running |
|
|
| 12:35pm | W 100mH | Eady, Favors, Harrell, McEnany, Owens, Ross-Ransom |
| 1:05pm | M 110mH | Hart, Lovett |
| 1:30pm | W 400m | Eutsey, R. Reynolds, Whittaker |
| 1:50pm | M 400m | Glass, Graham Jr, Hall, Uruburu |
| 2:20pm | W 100m | Sanders, Davis |
| 2:40pm | M 100m | Dukes, Wright |
| 3:00pm | W 800m | Koziara, McGee |
| 3:20pm | M 800m | Arroyo, Lee Jr, Obinwa |
| 3:50pm | W 400mH | Eady |
| 4:15pm | M 400m H | Aird, Osorio, Pitt |
| 4:35pm | W Invite 200m | Eutsey, Gause, Jefferson, Sanders, Davis |
| 4:50pm | M Invite 200m | Dukes, Glass, Graham Jr, Hall |
| 8:00pm | W 1500m | Greene, Huskey, Johnson, Tubbs |
| 8:20pm | M 1500m | Miranda, M. Reynolds, Torke |
| 8:40pm | W Steeplechase | Johnson |
| 8:55pm | M Steeplechase | Mutz |
| 9:10pm | W 5000m | Macedo, McDermott, VanDeGrift |
| 9:30pm | M 5000m | Gorwitz, Miranda, M. Reynolds |
| SATURDAY | ||
| Field |
|
|
| 1:00pm | W Hammer Invite | Bostic |
| M Pole Vault | Amodio, Mailloux, Watkins | |
| 1:30pm | M Triple Jump | Dendy |
| 4:00pm | W Triple Jump | Warner |
| 5:00pm | M Shot Put Invite | Zunic |
| Running | ||
| 12:00pm | W SHR | Owens-Ross-Ransom-Harrell-Eady |
| 2:20pm | W 4x100 | R. Reynolds-Sanders-Gause-Eutsey |
| 2:45pm | M 4x100 | Wright-Graham Jr-Hall-Dukes |
|
| (WOMEN 2014 SEC CHAMPIONSHIP RECOGNITION) |
|
| 3:30pm | (SENIORS PRESENTATIONS) | |
| 3:40pm | W 4x800 | McGee-Tubbs-Strausa-Greene |
| 3:55pm | M 4x800 | Arroyo-Lee, Jr.-Schnulle-Obinwa |
| 4:10pm | W 4x200 | R. Reynolds-Jefferson-Gause-Sanders |
| 4:50pm | W DMR | Greene-Curtis-Strausa-McGee |
| 5:10pm | M DMR | |
|
| (MEN 2013 NATIONAL CHAMP RECOGNITION) |
|
| 6:40pm | W 4x400 | R. Reynolds-Whittaker-Gause-Eutsey |
| 7:05pm | M 4x400 | Glass-Graham, Jr.-Dukes-Hall, Uruburu-Obinwa-Schnulle-Arroyo |
The Florida Relays first began 75 years ago in 1939, thanks to the vision and creativeness of the Gators' legendary head track and field coach Percy Beard. Since that first meet, the Pepsi Florida Relays have grown in epic proportions from the small regional competitions on April Fools' Day that featured 209 competitors, to one of the nation's premier track and field meets.
Florida, Alabama, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, the University of Havana and Palm Beach Junior College composed the university division of the inaugural Florida Relays, while Daytona Beach, Lake City, Live Oak, Miami Senior, Ocala, Palm Beach, Riverside Military Academy, Jacksonville Lee and St. Petersburg competed in the nine-team high school division.
The Florida Relays were established after the Southern Relays, held at Georgia Tech, were discontinued in the 1930s. Coach Beard was forced to create a new meet or travel hundreds of miles north to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays. Beard's coaching peers throughout the southeast were receptive to the idea and the Florida Relays were born.
