Full Steam Ahead, No. 1/2 Gators Prepped for Razorback Invitational
Thursday, January 29, 2015 | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The top-ranked Gators will keep the pedal to the medal this weekend at the Razorback Invitational as the University of Florida track and field squads continue to cruise through the 2015 indoor season in Fayetteville, site of the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships come March 13-14.
Following a remarkable showing at the Rod McCravy Jan. 23-24, highlighted by SEC Athlete of the Week accolades for freshman KeAndre Bates and Claudia Francis, the No. 1 women's squad and No. 2 men's team will rise to the occasion again at the Razorback Invitational, where 17 top-25 men's and women's programs will be in action in Fayetteville.
For the second weekend in a row, Gator fans will be able to keep up with all the track and field action through SEC Network+, as the network will live stream both Friday evening and Saturday afternoon action from the Randal Tyson Track Center.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE GATORS
A pair of world and NCAA leading 4x4 relay marks helped highlight the last week of competition at the Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational in Lexington. Robin Reynolds, Destinee Gause, Kyra Jefferson and SEC Co-Women's Runner of the Week Claudia Francis crushed the University of Florida indoor 4x4 record in a NCAA and world-leading 3:29.58, notching the 12th-fastest all-conditions indoor time and just the 14th sub-3:30 mark in collegiate history in the process. The quartet's performance was a preview for the men's race, as Najee Glass, Hugh Graham, Jr., Nick Uruburu and Gino Hall followed in suit with a 3:04.22 NCAA and world-leading performance themselves in the night cap. A staggering 20+ personal-best performances for the Gators were turned in last week at Nutter Field House, including an event win for senior jumper Marquis Dendy (16.06m/52-8.25) in the triple jump, followed by a runner up finish from SEC Men's Freshman of the Week KeAndre Bates (15.85m/52-0), and domination in the women's 800m from Francis (2:06.96) before her anchor leg in the 4x4. Nearly 10 performances at the Rod McCravy carved up the Gators' record book, including a personal-best throw unleashed by men's senior Stipe Zunic in the shot put (19.97m/65-6.25) for second all-time at UF in the event. Senior jumper Ciarra Brewer PRed in the triple jump (13.77m/45-2.25) and sophomore Yanick Hart had the best 60-meter hurdles performance of his Florida career (7.83) as the duo solidified Rod McCravy runner-up finishes. Florida's DMRs impressed on the first day of the McCravy with runner-up finishes, top-two marks in the NCAA and both were top-five performances in UF history.
WEEKLY LINKS
· KeAndre Bates, Claudia Francis Pick Up SEC Weekly Accolades
· Head Coach Mike Holloway Press Conference (McCravy Recap, Razorback Invitational Preview)
RAZORBACK INVITATIONAL INFORMATION
· SEC Network+ Coverage (Friday, 5 p.m.)
· SEC Network+ Coverage (Saturday, 12 p.m.)
· Follow the Gators: Twitter | Facebook | Women's Instagram | Men's Indoor Top-10 | Women's Indoor Top-10
· Participating Teams:
ARKANSAS (Men: #3, Women: #5)
FLORIDA (Men: #2, Women: #1)
FLORIDA STATE (Men: #15, Women: #11)
IOWA STATE (Men: #23)
KANSAS
LSU (Men: #9)
NOTRE DAME
OKLAHOMA
OKLAHOMA STATE (Men: #16, Women: #13)
PURDUE (Men: #20)
STANFORD (Men: #7, Women: #10)
TEXAS (Men: #10, Women: #7)
TEXAS A&M (Men: #4, Women: #3)
TULSA
| FRIDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS | |
| Multis | |
| 11:00AM | PENTATHLON – Harrell |
| Field Events | |
| 7:00PM | POLE VAULT MEN – Amodio / Watkins |
| 7:00PM | LONG JUMP WOMEN – McQueen / Brewer |
| 7:00PM | LONG JUMP MEN – Dendy / Bates |
| 7:30PM | HIGH JUMP WOMEN – Burke |
| 7:30PM | HIGH JUMP MEN – Victor |
| Running Events |
|
| 5:00PM | 60M HURDLES PRELIMS WOMEN – Owens / Ross-Ransom / McEnany |
| 5:20PM | 60M HURDLES PRELIMS MEN – Hart / Pitt |
| 5:40PM | 60M DASH PRELIMS WOMEN – Sanders / Gause |
| 6:00PM | 60M DASH PRELIMS MEN – Wright / Hart / Daniels / Osorio |
| 7:00PM | 200M DASH WOMEN – Jefferson / Gause / Reynolds / Washington |
| 7:30PM | 200M DASH MEN – Osorio / Uruburu |
| SATURDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS | |
| Field Events | |
| 2:00PM | TRIPLE JUMP WOMEN – Brewer / McQueen / Warner |
| 2:00PM | TRIPLE JUMP MEN – Dendy / Bates |
| Running Events | |
| 12:40PM | 400M WOMEN – Reynolds |
| 1:10PM | 400M MEN – Graham Jr / Glass / Uruburu / Futch / Hill / Aird |
| 1:40PM | 60M HH SEMI FINAL WOMEN – Owens / Ross-Ransom / McEnany |
| 1:45PM | 60M HH SEMI FINAL MEN – Hart / Pitt |
| 1:50PM | 60M SEMI FINAL WOMEN – Sanders / Gause |
| 2:00PM | 60M SEMI FINAL MEN – Wright / Hart / Daniels / Osorio |
| 2:50PM | 60M HH FINAL WOMEN – Owens / Ross-Ransom / McEnany |
| 2:53PM | 60M HH FINAL MEN – Hart / Pitt |
| 2:56PM | 60M FINAL WOMEN – Sanders / Gause |
| 3:00PM | 60M FINAL MEN – Wright / Hart / Daniels / Osorio |
| 3:35PM | 800M INVITATIONAL WOMEN – Francis |
| 3:40PM | 800M INVITATIONAL MEN – Schnulle / Arroyo |
| 4:30PM | 4X400M RELAY MEN – Futch-Hill-Wright-Aird |
IN THE POLLS
Women: No. 1
Men: No. 2
UP NEXT
This weekend, Florida will visit Fayetteville and the Randal Tyson Track Center for the first of three meets this indoor season at the Razorback Invitational Jan. 30-31 before returning for the Tyson Invitational Feb. 13-14 and NCAA Indoors March 13-14.
