Holloway Named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, Brown Earns SEC Honor

Marques Burgman, Grant Holloway, Caleb Chambliss

Grant Holloway (center) got the Gators off to a hot start this past weekend.

Holloway Named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, Brown Earns SEC Honor

Tuesday, January 10, 2017 | Track and Field

Holloway and Brown were two of the five Gator underclassmen who cracked UF's all-time indoor top 10 lists in the season-opening meet

By: Zach Dirlam

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two Florida track and field freshmen were recognized for their stellar collegiate debuts, with sprinter, hurdler, and jumper Grant Holloway earning both USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week and SEC Runner of the Week, and high jumper Clayton Brown nabbing SEC Field Athlete of the Week honors Tuesday (Jan. 10) afternoon.

At last Saturday's (Jan. 7) Orange & Purple Classic, Holloway became the first man in history to break 32.81 seconds in the 300 meters and 7.65 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles.

Here's a breakdown of everything else Holloway achieved in his first collegiate races:

Opened with a time of 7.75 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles preliminary—which would have ranked him No. 4 on UF's all-time top 10
Won 60 hurdles final in a nation-leading 7.63—fastest pre-NCAA Indoor Championships time by a freshman since at least 2002
- Joined Shamar Sands (7.59 at 2003 NCAA Indoors) and Arkansas' Omar McLeod (7.57 and 7.58 at 2014 NCAA Indoors), the collegiate record holder and 2016 world indoor champion, as the only other freshmen since at least 2003 to break 7.65
- No. 2-ranked time on UF's all-time top 10

Won the 300 meters in 32.80 seconds— second-fastest time by any man in history prior to turning 20 years old (per AllTime-Athletics), No. 3 time in collegiate history, 38th-fastest time in world history
- Three-time Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt, who ran 31.94 on Feb. 10, 2006, four months and 17 days prior to his 20th birthday, is the only other man in history to run faster prior to turning 20.
- Holloway turns 20 this November, making him ineligible for junior (U20) records
- Also broke Tyrone Kemp's 27-year-old school record of 32.94, the fifth-fastest time in collegiate history

Not to be overshadowed, Brown cleared a nation-leading 2.25 meters (7 feet, 4.5 inches) in the high jump Saturday evening.

For perspective, the St. Andrew, Jamaica native's clearance made him:

Fourth freshman since 2010 to clear 2.25 meters, joining Mississippi State's James Harris, the 2014 national champion, two-time national runner-up Ricky Robertson (Ole Miss), and Kansas State's Christoff Bryan
First Gator to clear 2.25 meters since Mike Morrison (2.27 meters at 2006 SEC Indoor Championships)
No. 5-ranked high jumper on UF's all-time indoor top 10

For a detailed discipline-by-discipline look at UF's 2017 campaign, check out this photo-based season preview.

The Gators continue their 2017 season Friday (Jan. 13) and Saturday (Jan. 14) at the Commodore Invitational, hosted by Vanderbilt.

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