Cameron Wins Shot Put; Gators’ Men Atop Standings at SEC Indoor Championships

Saturday, February 24

College Station, TX

3:55 PM

Florida Gators

SEC Indoor Championships

Lloydricia Cameron won the Gators' first indoor shot put title since 2010.

Cameron Wins Shot Put; Gators’ Men Atop Standings at SEC Indoor Championships

Saturday, February 24, 2018 | Track and Field

“I’m just proud of the program as a whole. Nobody put the uniform on and laid down." --Mike Holloway, Head Coach

By: Zach Dirlam

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Florida's men totaled 30.5 points to seize the team lead, while Lloydricia Cameron's shot put title headlined a 29-point performance by the Gators' women, putting them third overall after Saturday's opening night of SEC Indoor Championships.

Cameron entered her sixth and final attempt in third place, but broke through with a throw of 17.65 meters (57 feet, 11 inches), an 18-centimeter personal record. The Miami, Fla. native's mark held off Ole Miss' Janaeah Stewart by two centimeters. Cameron's mark also tied the No. 4-ranked mark on the program's All-Time Indoor Top 10.

Also last year's SEC Outdoor shot put champion, Cameron's title is the 10th in school history, as well as UF's first since Mariam Kevkhishvili won consecutive indoor crowns in 2009 and 2010.

Florida's women also picked up major points in the pentathlon and long jump.

Freshman Amanda Froeynes set three personal records en route to a bronze medal in the pentathlon. It marks the highest finish in program history, and Froeynes is the first freshman since Georgia's Kendell Williams took runner-up honors in 2014. In the long jump, Darrielle McQueen and Yanis David posted the No. 5 and No. 6 marks in the country to finish third and fourth, respectively. McQueen tied her personal record from 2016 (6.51 meters / 21 feet, 4.25 inches), and David set a 10-centimeter personal best (6.49 meters / 21 feet, 3.5 inches).

The men collected the majority of their points from the weight throw and high jump. The trio of redshirt junior AJ McFarland, freshman Thomas Mardal, and redshirt sophomore Anders Eriksson logged a 3-4-5 finish for 15 points. McFarland's bronze medal marks the highest finish by a Gator since 2013, when David Triassi and Jeremy Postin swept the gold and silver medals. High jumpers Jhonny Victor, who set a five-centimeter personal record to take fourth place, and Clayton Brown combined for 8.5 points.

Both the men and women enjoyed solid days of qualifying. Seven men and three women advanced in running events.

Head among them for the men were freshman Hakim Sani Brown (60 meters) and Grant Holloway (60-meter hurdles), both of whom posted the fastest overall times in their events. Holloway also contributed five points to the team score with his fourth-place finish in the long jump.

Bad start? No problem. Still an easy 6?.6?5? for @Hakimsanib ????!

He clinches an #SECTF final spot in his long-awaited collegiate debut.

Watch Live: https://t.co/MAruZLt8c8 pic.twitter.com/h9qJJNB26R
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) February 24, 2018

That's ?? ???? into tomorrow's #SECTF 60 hurdles final!

1. @Flaamingoo_ - 7.63 ??
6. @CoryP_Jr - 7.90 ?

Watch Live: https://t.co/MAruZLt8c8 pic.twitter.com/6VtWgWdbbh
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) February 24, 2018

The top women's qualifiers were both quarter-milers—junior Sharrika Barnett and freshman Taylor Manson. Barnett's qualifying time of 52.07 seconds was third fastest in the field Saturday night.

Our girl 'Rika eats up the field and posts 52.07. That'll get her to the #SECTF Women's 400m final!

Watch Live: https://t.co/MAruZLt8c8 pic.twitter.com/0sWEdB1amg
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) February 24, 2018

SEC Network will televise Sunday's action from 6 p.m. ET through the meet's conclusion.

HEARING OUT (COACH) HOLLOWAY
Head coach Mike Holloway on his overall assessment of the men's day…
"If you asked me before the today, would I be happy if we had 30 points after the first day? I'd tell you yes. We had a great day on the men's side. Did we have some snafus? Yes. The long jump didn't go the way we wanted to. But the high jump was better, the weight throw was better, we qualified great. We just have to come in here tomorrow and, in a couple situations, turn up the intensity a little bit. It's going to be live in here tomorrow, and we've got to join the party."

Coach Holloway on the women's team scoring 29 points…
"[Assistant] Coach [Nic] Petersen and I have had a lot of talks, and he was determined to get the women jumping. They did. For them to be third and fourth was a phenomenal job. Just a matter of, now, coming back tomorrow and doing that again in the triple jump. The pentathlon, we went into the final event fifth and 11th, and we come out third and seventh. Great job by two freshmen girls in arguably the biggest meet of their lives. Overall, what you saw today was a group of young ladies who were very focused and determined to get it done. What you saw today was a lot of fight in a lot of people, but even on the women's side we have some places where we have to come in here tomorrow and compete harder."

Coach Holloway on Lloydricia Cameron's shot put title…
"Big congrats to Lolo on her win. We always say, 'Last one, best one.' Lolo coming through on her last throw was just a phenomenal job."

Coach Holloway on the day's other top qualifiers…
"Hakim (Sani Brown), we knew he could do that. Just a matter of him being healthy and being in the right situation. That was a very controlled run, so we're excited about the prospects for him tomorrow. Also very proud of Michael Timpson Jr. making his first SEC final. He made some mistakes and came off the track laughing and said, 'Coach, I apologize and I'm better than that.' We know that, but he made the final so let's be happy about that. Grant was Grant. Also very proud of Cory Poole for making that final even though he didn't run his best race. Sharrika was very impressive. She's going to have to get after it tomorrow, because two of the better girls in the country are in the meet and she won't be in the heat with them. She's going to have to get after it a little bit.

Coach Holloway on the men's weight throw scoring 15 points…
"The guys going 3-4-5 in that was huge. We thought we could get big points there and we did. [Associate Head] Coach [Steve] Lemke has done a wonderful job with those guys. Big kudos to AJ. Coming up to his third throw he was ninth. And he goes from ninth to third throw, and got a little better in the final. Proud of him."

Coach Holloway on the program's performance as a whole…
"I'm just proud of the program as a whole. We're really young in a lot of places, and that showed up a little bit today. But I don't think anyone who put the uniform on gave up on us. Nobody put the uniform on and laid down. You're going to have ups and downs in athletics. That's just part of what it is. What we have to do is forget today … and we have to come in here tomorrow determined that we're going to do well."

SEC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION (all times Eastern)

Meet Notes (PDF)
Live Results (Flash Results)
Sunday Live Stream / Television – SEC Network [6 p.m.]
Venue: Gilliam Indoor Stadium (Texas A&M University)

*Saturday, February 24 (unless denoted by , all events are finals)**
Event	Place (Points), Gator – Time / Mark \| Notes
60m (M)*	1. Hakim Sani Brown – 6.65 \| Advanced to final (automatic)
	6. Michael Timpson Jr. – 6.69 \| Advanced to final (time)
	9. Ryan Clark – 6.74 \| Missed final by 0.003 seconds
200m (M)*	15. Clark – 21.32 \| Season-best time
400m (M)*	8. Kunle Fasasi – 46.18 \| Advanced to final (time); season-best time
	9. Benjamin Lobo Vedel – 46.26 \| Missed final by 0.08 seconds
	13. Chantz Sawyers – 46.73 \| Season-best time
	25. Jabari Hill – 47.73 \| Topped indoor personal record by 0.35 seconds
	34. Cole Johnson – 49.91
400m (W)*	3. Sharrika Barnett – 52.07 \| Advanced to final (time)
	7. Taylor Manson – 53.51
	21. Taylor Sharpe – 54.82
	23. Lauryn Ghee – 54.97
	28. Destiny Ward – 55.41 \| Season-best time
800m (M)*	15. Kyren Hollis – 1:52.81
	22. Justin Pacifico – 1:56.25
800m (W)*	17. Abbie Harrelson – 2:15.37
Mile (M)*	5. Jack Guyton – 4:07.50 \| Advanced to final (automatic)
	10. Marshall Dillon – 4:09.46 \| Advanced to final (time)
	12. Jack Beitter – 4:10.23
	13. Jack Rogers – 4:10.32
	23. Sam Ahrenholz – 4:23.48
Mile (W)*	4. Elisabeth Bergh – 4:47.60 \| Advanced to final (time); season-best time
3,000m (M)	13. Magnus Pettersen – 8:17.30 \| Topped personal record by 2.69 seconds
3,000m (W)	12. Caitlin McQuilkin-Bell – 9:53.57
	18. Lauren Perry – 10:03.86
60mH (M)*	1. Grant Holloway – 7.63 \| Advanced to final (automatic)
	6. Cory Poole – 7.90 \| Advanced to final (time)
60mH (W)*	10. Brandee' Johnson – 8.29 \| Missed final by 0.05 seconds
HJ (M)	4 (5). Jhonny Victor – 2.18 meters (7-1.75) \| No. 10-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Top 10; topped indoor personal record by 7 centimeters
	t-5 (3.5). Clayton Brown -- 2.18 meters (7-1.75) \| Season-best mark
LJ (M)	4 (5). Holloway – 7.76 meters (25-5.5)
	7 (2). KeAndre Bates – 7.61 meters (24-11.75)
LJ (W)	3 (6). Darrielle McQueen – 6.51 meters (21-4.25) \| Tied No. 2-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Top 10; No. 5-ranked mark in Division I
	4 (5). Yanis David – 6.49 meters (21-3.5) \| Broke tie for No. 3-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Top 10 (10-centimeter personal record); No. 6-ranked mark in Division I
SP (W)	1 (10). Lloydricia Cameron – 17.65 meters (57-11) \| SEC Champion; tied No. 4-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Top 10 and topped personal record by 18 centimeters; No. 4-ranked mark in Division I
WT (M)	3 (6). AJ McFarland – 21.72 meters (71-3.25)
	4 (5). Thomas Mardal – 21.36 meters (70-1)
	5 (4). Anders Eriksson – 21.17 meters (69-5.5) \| Improved No. 5-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Top 10 by 5 centimeters
Pentathlon	3 (6). Amanda Froeynes – 4,175 points
	7 (2). Nikki Stephens – 3,920 points \| No. 5-ranked score on UF's All-Time Top 10

	*Pentathlon Event-by-Event Scoring*
60mH	10. Stephens – 8.66 [982 points]
	12. Froeynes – 8.82 [948 points] \| Personal record
HJ	4. Froeynes – 1.73 meters (5-8) [891 points]
	11. Stephens – 1.67 meters (5-5.75) [818 points] \| Personal record
SP	5. Froeynes – 11.47 meters (37-7.75) [626 points] \| Personal record
	13. Stephens – 8.88 meters (29-1.75) [456 points] \| Personal record
LJ	4. Froeynes – 5.86 meters (19-2.75) [807 points]
	8. Stephens – 5.61 meters (18-5) [732 points]
800m	1. Stephens – 2:12.28 [932 points] \| Personal record
	2. Froeynes – 2:14.31 \| Personal record

*Sunday, February 25 (all events are finals)*
Time	Gators – Event
6 p.m.	Amanda Froeynes – Women's High Jump
	Harry Glasser; Mike Harris – Men's Pole Vault
	KeAndre Bates; Clayton Brown – Men's Triple Jump
	Yanis David; Darrielle McQueen – Women's Triple Jump
	Lloydricia Cameron; Jontavia Dykes; Amara Wiggan – Women's Weight Throw
6:01 p.m.	Grant Holloway; Cory Poole – Men's 60-meter Hurdles
6:11 p.m.	Hakim Sani Brown; Michael Timpson Jr. – Men's 60 meters
6:20 p.m.	Marshall Dillon; Jack Guyton – Men's Mile
6:29 p.m.	Elisabeth Bergh – Women's Mile
6:39 p.m.	Kunle Fasasi – Men's 400 meters
6:49 p.m.	Sharrika Barnett; Taylor Manson – Women's 400 meters
7 p.m.	Magnus Pettersen – Men's 5,000 meters
8:12 p.m.	Morgan Hull – Women's 5,000 meters
8:58 p.m.	Ahrenholz-Poole or Hollis-Pacifico-Guyton – Men's Distance Medley Relay
9:12 p.m.	Bergh-Ward-Harrelson-McQuilkin-Bell – Women's Distance Medley Relay
9:27 p.m.	Fasasi-Holloway-Sawyers-Lobo Vedel – Men's 4x400 relay
9:42 p.m.	Johnson-Manson-Ghee-Barnett (Sharpe; Nikki Stephens) – Women's 4x400 relay

Top 5 Men's Teams
Place	Team – Points
1.	No. 2 Florida – 30.5
2.	No. 8 Alabama – 28
3.	No. 5 Georgia – 26
4.	No. 3 Arkansas – 24
5.	No. 11 Kentucky – 15

Top 5 Women's Teams
Place	Team – Points
1.	No. 1 Arkansas – 41
2.	No. 4 Georgia – 38
3.	No. 8 Florida – 29
4.	No. 3 Kentucky – 21
t-5.	No. 17 Alabama – 13
	Ole Miss – 13