Gators Break Two School Records; Relay Runs Fourth-Fastest Time in History

Saturday, February 10

Clemson, SC

Florida Gators

Tiger Paw Invitational

L to R: Benjamin Lobo Vedel, Grant Holloway, Chantz Sawyers, Kunle Fasasi.

Gators Break Two School Records; Relay Runs Fourth-Fastest Time in History

Saturday, February 10, 2018 | Track and Field

It took a collegiate record and the second-fastest time in 4x400 relay history to top the Gators Saturday

By: Zach Dirlam

CLEMSON, S.C. – Florida's 4x400 relay team ran the fourth-fastest time in history, and redshirt junior AJ McFarland broke his weight throw school record for a third consecutive meet, as the Gators concluded competition Saturday afternoon at Clemson's Tiger Paw Invitational and the Iowa State Classic.

The men's quartet of junior Kunle Fasasi (46.08 seconds), sophomore Grant Holloway (45.12), freshman Chantz Sawyers (45.67), and freshman Benjamin Lobo Vedel (45.36) combined to run 3:02.23 seconds, taking runner-up honors to Southern California (3:01.98) with the second-fastest time in collegiate history. Both the Gators and USC broke Texas A&M's collegiate record of 3:02.52, which was set in January 2017.

The top five of the world all-time 4x400 relay list is now as follows:

United States of America (2006) – 3:01.96
Southern California (2018) – 3:01.98
United States of America (2014) – 3:02.13
Florida (2018) – 3:02.23
United States of America (2016) – 3:02.45

Here's the wild anchor leg from the second-fastest 4x400 in COLLEGIATE HISTORY, and fourth-fastest of ALL-TIME!

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Took a world record of 3:01.98 to beat us today, but we'll see em again ? pic.twitter.com/hrTaFY4zfl
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) February 10, 2018

McFarland broke his school record by one foot and posted the eighth-ranked mark in the nation (22.20 meters / 72 feet, 10 inches), only finishing third to the NCAA leader and the fourth-ranked mark in the country. Also in the weight throw, freshman Thomas Mardal demolished his personal record by two feet, 11.75 inches to become the No. 2-ranked weight thrower on the Gators' All-Time Top 10. Mardal's mark of 21.71 meters (71 feet, 2.75 inches) ranks 15th on the national descending order list.

The highlight of the afternoon for the women also came in the 4x400 relay. Although the Gators did not top their best time of the year, sophomore Sharrika Barnett, freshmen Taylor Manson and Lauryn Ghee, and sophomore Brandee' Johnson clocked the No. 9-ranked time on the program's All-Time Indoor Top 10 (3:32.05).

Barnett's leadoff split of 51.74 seconds was the fastest in the field by a lead runner, and the second-fastest overall among all 4x400 relay runners Saturday.

Next up for Florida are the SEC Indoor Championships, which will be Feb. 24-25 in College Station, Texas.

HEARING OUT (COACH) HOLLOWAY
Head coach Mike Holloway on the men's 4x400 relay…
"We knew coming in USC had a special group of athletes just like we do; we knew it was going to be a great race. Hats off to them. They did a phenomenal job. Now we know what we've got to get ready for in a month."

Holloway on AJ McFarland's school record and Thomas Mardal's huge personal record…
"(Associate head) Coach (Steve) Lemke has been really excited about what that group has been doing in training. It was good to see what he's been seeing in training show up in competition. Very proud of AJ. Both of those guys told me after the competition there's more in the tank, so we're excited about making that happen."

Holloway on some of the overall takeaway from this weekend as the team moves into championship season…
"The biggest thing is we got better. We've just got to keep working toward our ultimate goal—which is to be at our best two weeks (from now) at conference, and even better two weeks after that at the national meet. We can't rest on our laurels. We have to leave all that here in the building. We have to get back to Gainesville and get back to work. As we saw here today, we're good, but there's a lot of good teams out there. We've got to start working to get better first thing Monday morning."

TIGER PAW INVITATIONAL MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern)

Results (Adkins Timing Associates)
Day One Recap
Venue: Clemson University Indoor Complex
Nationally-Ranked Competing Teams: Alabama (No. 5 men; No. 17 women); Auburn (No. 24 men); Georgia (No. 2 women; No. 3 men); Kentucky (No. 5 women; No. 18 men); Mississippi State (No. 20 women); South Carolina (No. 19 women); Southern California (No. 4 women; No. 15 men); Tennessee (No. 18 women); Texas A&M (No. 4 men; No. 8 women); Virginia Tech (No. 9 men)

*Saturday, February 10 (all events are finals)*
Event	Place, Gator – Time Mark \| Notes
200m (M)	3. Kunle Fasasi – 20.95 \| Topped personal record by 0.01 seconds
	7. Benjamin Lobo Vedel – 21.12
	15. Ryan Clark – 21.45
200m (W)	17. Sharrika Barnett – 23.95
800m (M)	7. Justin Pacifico – 1:49.66 \| Topped personal record by 0.55 seconds
	13. Kyren Hollis – 1:52.01
800m (W)	15. Abbie Harrelson – 2:12.75 \| Season-best time
	18. Elisabeth Bergh – 2:13.95 \| Topped previous personal record by 2.35 seconds
3,000m (M)	6. Marshall Dillon – 8:30.33 \| First collegiate 3,000m race
	11. Jack Rogers – 8:38.41 \| First collegiate 3,000m race
4x400 (M)	2. Fasasi-Grant Holloway-Chantz Sawyers-Lobo Vedel – 3:02.23 \| Second-fastest time in collegiate history; fourth-fastest time in world history
	7. Jabari Hill-Cory Poole-Cole Johnson-Hollis – 3:11.49
4x400 (W)	2. Barnett-Taylor Manson-Lauryn Ghee-Brandee' Johnson – 3:32.05 \| No. 9-ranked time on UF's All-Time Indoor Top 10
	9. Nikki Stephens-Taylor Sharpe-Destiny Ward-Amanda Froeynes – 3:39.25
HJ (M)	5. Clayton Brown – 2.15 meters (7-0.5) \| Tied season best
	t-10. Jhonny Victor – 2.10 meters (6-10.75)
HJ (W)	14. Froeynes – 1.70 meters (5-7)
	t-20. Stephens – 1.60 meters (5-3)
PV (M)	6. Mike Harris – 4.95 meters (16-2.75) \| Season-best mark; one centimeter off personal record
TJ (M)	6. KeAndre Bates – 15.44 meters (50-8) \| Passed final four attempts
TJ (W)	13. Darrielle McQueen – 12.50 meters (41-0.25)
WT (M)	3. AJ McFarland – 22.20 meters (72-10) \| No. 8-ranked mark in Division I; Broke school record by 31 centimeters
	5. Thomas Mardal – 21.71 meters (71-2.75) \| No. 15-ranked mark in Division I; No. 2-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Indoor Top 10; topped personal record by 91 centimeters
	6. Anders Eriksson – 20.69 meters (67-10.75)
WT (W)	9. Amara Wiggan – 18.35 meters (60-2.5) \| Topped personal record by 26 centimeters
	10. Lloydricia Cameron – 18.04 meters (59-2.25)
	12. Jontavia Dykes – 17.30 meters (56-9.25)

IOWA STATE CLASSIC MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern)

Results (PrimeTime Timing)
Venue: Lied Recreation Center (Iowa State University)
Nationally-Ranked Competing Teams: Alabama (No. 5 men); Arizona State (No. 25 women); Baylor (No. 16 women); BYU (No. 12 men); Georgetown (No. 25 men); Georgia (No. 2 women; No. 3 men); Indiana (No. 11 men; No. 23 women); Iowa State (No. 21 women); Kentucky (No. 5 women; No. 18 men); Michigan (No. 20 men); Minnesota (No. 10 women); Ole Miss (No. 11 women); Penn State (No. 7 men); Stanford (No. 8 men); Syracuse (No. 19 men); Villanova (No. 24 women); Wisconsin (No. 15 women)

*Saturday, February 10 (all events are finals)*
Event	Place, Gator – Time \| Notes
Mile (M)	17. Jack Beitter – 4:07.13 \| Topped personal record by 0.78 seconds