Senior Jumper Marquis Dendy Named USTFCCCA National Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
Friday, March 20, 2015 | Track and Field
NEW ORLEANS -- The accolades keep rolling in for Florida senior jumper Marquis Dendy, the 2015 SEC Indoor and USTFCCCA South Region Field Athlete of the Year. Thursday afternoon, Dendy picked up USTFCCCA National Indoor Field Athlete of the Year recognition after sweeping both the long and triple jump titles at NCAA Indoors in Fayetteville last weekend.
Dendy, a mainstay on The Bowerman Award Watch List, is finishing his career as a Gator with a bang and has now swept both jumps at the last three championship meets -- 2014 NCAA Outdoors, 2015 SEC Indoors and 2015 NCAA Indoors -- and has done so in historic fashion. In Eugene last spring, Dendy was the first athlete since 2002 to sweep both jumps, and at SEC Indoors this year, was the first since one of UF's bests, Christian Taylor, did so in 2009.
Florida's top horizontal jumper is saving his best for last as Florida eyes the outdoor season. The Middletown, Del., native had PR (and school record) jumps at indoor nationals in the long (8.28m/27-2) before taking his triple jump to new lengths with a world-leading 17.37m/57 leap to win his fifth individual national title, third indoors, last Saturday. Dendy's triple performance went down as the third-best jump in collegiate indoor history and was the best mark for a collegian since 1986.
WATCH: Marquis Dendy in-season feature
READ: From NCAA.com (Chip Souza): Better Than Ever: Florida senior overcomes injury to win long jump title
The sky is the limit for @CheckTheSky, who will go down as one of the best jumpers ever.
The majority of Florida's athletes will get the party started outdoors with the Texas Relays in Austin March 25-28, while three women's throwers will debut outdoors at the UCF Black and Gold Challenge March 22.
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