Florida Gators
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Gators Women Sweep 4x1, 4x4 Relay National Titles to Wrap Up 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships
Sunday, June 14, 2015 | Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. -- Florida's first-ever 4x1 national title set the tone for the final day of the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the Gators ladies, and a 4x4 national title capped it off nicely as UF jumped from 33rd (1) after the first day of competition to eighth (32) Saturday for Florida's second straight top-10 finish at Hayward Field in Eugene.
The Orange and Blue didn't stop with the pair of relay titles, as redshirt sophomore Kyra Jefferson (22.24) showed her Gator pride with a new school record in the 200m with her tightly contested fourth-place finish. While the 4x1 national title was the first in UF history for the women's quartet, the nightcap 4x4 crown was the Gators' third ever 4x4 title, its first since 1992. Oregon took home the women's team title Saturday with 59 points.
UF's two national titles Saturday are its most since 2010 when the Orange and Blue brought home three NCAA outdoor crowns.
Robin Reynolds, Destinee Gause, Shayla Sanders and Jefferson used a 42.95 effort in the opening 4x1 relay, while Reynolds, Jefferson, Gause and Claudia Francis struck with a 3:28.12 finale in the 4x4.
Florida senior Fawn Miller scored UF's first points on the opening day of NCAA Outdoors with an eighth-place finish in the javelin to position the Gators 33rd (1) entering the second and final day of competition Saturday. Florida put up 31 more points with UF's relay wins, Jefferson's performance, a fifth-place finish in the 100 hurdles by Bridgette Owens (12.86) and seventh-place points from Francis in the 800m (2:07.72)
In the thrilling 200 final, Jefferson -- the 2015 USTFCCCA South Region Track Athlete of the Year -- crossed fourth with a new PR and school record 22.24 (+1.9), the No. 6 mark in the world so far this year in the event.
HEARING OUT HOLLOWAY
“I'm very proud of both relays, it's not common that one team wins both relay championships. I'm very proud of all of those ladies and their execution. Kyra ran a very good race today in the 200. She kind of fell asleep in the middle and couldn't quite catch them at the end. She still ran a PR, so can't fault her there. After that, we don't have a whole lot to talk about. I have to go back and take a really good look at what we're doing. We weren't who we are this weekend. We didn't compete with the pride and passion I'm accustomed to seeing out of my teams. I'm the head coach and that falls on my shoulders. We're going to go back and get it fixed.”
FLORIDA 4x1 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
On starting the day with 10 points for the Gators:
Destinee Gause: It felt really good. Before nationals, we had said that we really wanted to win the 4x1. We came out here, executed the race, got our handoffs right. Just the fact that we got everything right in our race and got the win feels great. I feel that we set a good tempo for our team.
On winning Florida's first 4x1 national championship on the women's side:
Shayla Sanders: Coming in as freshmen, it was always the four of us that everyone wanted to see on the 4x1, so now that we had the chance to run it and win at nationals is a very good feeling. We executed everything, handoffs. It's what Florida has been looking for.
On setting the tone for the Gators in the first event of the day:
Robin Reynolds: Me being the leadoff, I set the tone. I started the day in the 4x1 and hope to always do it in the 4x4 as well.
KYRA JEFFERSON
On sweeping both relay titles:
“It was a great feeling considering it was our first national title for my teammates and I -- it was the first national title in school history in the 4x1. On the 4x4, Claudia and I weren't happy with our open races, so we really had to make sure we gave it our all and came together for the 4x4.”
WOMEN'S TOP 10 TEAM SCORES
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FLORIDA NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS SATURDAY RESULTS
DAY ONE RECAP (men) ?| DAY TWO RECAP (women) | DAY THREE RECAP (men)
| Saturday, June 13 (WOMEN – CHAMPION CROWNED) | |
| 4x100 (F) | 1. Robin Reynolds, Shayla Sanders, Destinee Gause, Kyra Jefferson, 42.92 | Florida's first 4x1 national title |
| 100 Hurdles (F) | 5. Bridgette Owens, 12.86 (+1.7) | scored four Gator points |
| 800m (F) | 7. Claudia Francis, 2:07.72 | scored two Gator points |
| 200m (F) | 4. Kyra Jefferson, 22.24 (+1.9) | scored five Gator points, No. 6 mark in world, new PR & school record |
| 4x400 (F) | 1. Robin Reynolds, Kyra Jefferson, Destinee Gause, Claudia Francis, 3:28.12 | 10 Gator points |
UP NEXT
While the collegiate season is a wrap, a number of Gators will continue the 2015 outdoor season with international competition. The USA Gators will return to Hayward Field and Eugene June 25-28 for USA Outdoors, while the IAAF World Championships are slated for August 22-30 in Beijing.
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