Mardal, Pascoe Win Titles as Gators Open SEC Outdoors

Thursday, May 9

Fayetteville, AR

7:30 PM

Florida Gators

SEC Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Tim Casey

Mardal, Pascoe Win Titles as Gators Open SEC Outdoors

Thursday, May 9, 2019 | Track and Field

Photo Gallery by Tim Casey

By: Zach Dirlam

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Florida sophomore Thomas Mardal stole the hammer throw title from the defending champion on his final attempt, and redshirt junior Jessica Pascoe won the Gators' first 10,000 meters crown since 2008 to cap a strong opening day at the SEC Outdoor Championships.

.@Jesspascoe_'s first-ever 10k race was last year at #SECTF Outdoors. She finished 7th.

Thursday night was her second-ever 10k. She won the #SECTF title 🏆

"I see it as a new challenge, something to embrace." 🗣️🗣️#GoGators 🐊 #WeBelieve pic.twitter.com/Bli799TtdC
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 10, 2019

Streaming / Television Broadcast Information (all times Eastern)

Friday Streaming – 7-10:30 p.m. (SEC Network + / Watch ESPN)
Saturday Television Broadcast – 6-10 p.m. (SEC Network)
Tape-Delay Television Broadcast – Monday, May 13 at 9 p.m.

Pascoe, who had never run a 10,000 meters race prior to finishing seventh at SEC Outdoors last year, captured the program's fifth title in the event. The Australian demolished the personal best she set in 2018, lowering it from 36:01.52 to 34:08.41. Pascoe's time, which ranks fourth on UF's All-Time Top 10 list, qualifies her for the NCAA East Preliminary as well.

Mardal entered the sixth round of throws in third place – behind last year's champion, Georgia's Denzel Comenentia, and teammate AJ McFarland – but he uncorked a personal record of 73 meters (239 feet, 6 inches) to win by five feet. Mardal's title is the fourth in school history, and Florida's first since current teammate Anders Eriksson won it as a freshman in 2016. Mardal, a native of Gloppen, Norway, topped his personal record by almost three feet and improved his standing as the No. 2-ranked hammer thrower in school history.

2️⃣0️⃣ points and an SEC 🏆?

2️⃣0️⃣ points and an SEC 🏆 😱#GoGators 🐊 #LessSaid pic.twitter.com/CNrfJ6XuNl
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 9, 2019

McFarland and Eriksson also came up big, posting third- and fifth-place finishes, respectively, to make it a 20-point showing for the Gators. McFarland's season best of 70.99 meters (232 feet, 11 inches) moved him up to 10th nationally, while Eriksson opened his outdoor season with the nation's No. 13-ranked mark (69.12 meters / 226 feet, 9 inches).

Florida's women also got a point from redshirt senior Megan Reed. The softball player turned javelin thrower entered the competition seeded 12th, but she finished eighth and scored at a championship meet for the first time in her career.

The Gators turned in a solid night of qualifying, too, with sophomore Hakim Sani Brown leading the contingent of finalists.

2⃣0⃣.3⃣6⃣@Hakimsanib is the top qualifier and put it on cruise control down the stretch 😨😨

📹: https://t.co/fw9ZV77w0g #GoGators 🐊 #LessSaid pic.twitter.com/PArziXuJZ4
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 10, 2019

Sani Brown was the top qualifier in the 200 meters by over three tenths of a second, moving up to No. 9 in the national rankings with a time of 20.36 seconds. Sophomore Cory Poole and junior Denzel Villaman advanced to the men's 400-meter hurdles final on time, as did junior Brandee' Johnson on the women's side. Freshman Gabrielle Wilkinson grabbed the final time qualifier for the women's 800 meters final.

SEC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION (all times Eastern)

Live Results (Flash Results)
Nationally-Ranked Teams: Alabama (No. 8 women; No. 10 men), Arkansas (No. 1 women, No. 20 men), Georgia (No. 15 men, No. 19 women), Kentucky (No. 4 women), LSU (No. 2 men; No. 7 women), Mississippi State (No. 13 men), South Carolina (No. 17 men, No. 25 women), Texas A&M (No. 2 women; No. 5 men),
Venue: John McDonnell Field (University of Arkansas)

*Thursday, May 9 ( - denotes preliminary; all other events are finals)**
Event	Place (Score), Gators – Time / Mark [Wind] \| Notes
200m (M) *	1. Hakim Sani Brown – 20.36 [+2.4] \| Advanced to final (automatic); No. 9-ranked time in Division I
	16. Raymond Ekevwo – 21.15 [+2.2]
	22. Ryan Clark – 21.25 [+1.9]
200m (W) *	32. Lauryn Ghee – 24.77 [+3.6]
800m (M) *	14. Kyren Hollis – 1:52.77
800m (W) *	8. Gabrielle Wilkinson – 2:07.59 \| Advanced to final (time)
	14. Abbie Harrelson – 2:11.56
10,000m (W)	1 (10). Jessica Pascoe – 34:08.41 \| No. 16-ranked time in East Region; No. 4-ranked time on UF's All-Time Top 10; topped personal record by 1 minute, 53.11 seconds
	11. Morgan Hull – 34:59.80 \| No. 47-ranked time in East Region; No. 10-ranked time on UF's All-Time Top 10
400mH (M) *	7. Denzel Villaman – 51.03 \| Advanced to final (time); topped personal record by 0.13 seconds
	9. Cory Poole – 51.15 \| Advanced to final (time)
400mH (W) *	9. Brandee' Johnson – 1:00.48 \| Advanced to final (time)
	13. Nikki Stephens – 1:01.92
HT (M)	1 (10). Thomas Mardal – 73.00 meters (239 feet, 6 inches) \| Improved No. 5-ranked mark in Division I; improved No. 2-ranked mark on UF's All-Time Top 10 by 80 centimeters (2 feet, 8 inches)
	3 (6). AJ McFarland – 70.99 meters (232 feet, 11 inches) \| No. 10-ranked mark in Division I; topped season best mark by 77 centimeters (3 feet, 2 inches)
	5 (4). Anders Eriksson – 69.12 meters (226 feet, 9 inches) \| No. 13-ranked mark in Division I
JT (M)	13. Jacob Stanko – 61.08 meters (200 feet, 5 inches)
JT (W)	8 (1). Megan Reed – 46.95 meters (154 feet) \| First career SEC Championships points
Heptathlon	3. Amanda Froeynes – 3,310 points \| 22 points ahead of last year's Day 1 score (finished as SEC bronze medalist)

	*Event-by-Event Heptathlon Scoring (Day 1)*
100mH	9. Froeynes – 14.25 [+2.9] \| 971 points
HJ	2. Froeynes – 1.70 meters (5 feet, 7 inches) \| 855 points
SP	2. Froeynes – 11.81 meters (38 feet, 9 inches) \| 649 points
200m	8. Froeynes – 25.26 [+1.1] \| 863 points

*Friday, May 10 (unless denoted otherwise, events are finals)*
Time	Gators – Event
3:35 p.m.	Amanda Froeynes – Women's Long Jump [Heptathlon]
4:45 p.m.	Froeynes – Women's Javelin Throw [Heptathlon]
5:30 p.m.	Yanis David; Kala Penn – Women's Long Jump
5:45 p.m.	Froeynes – Women's 800 meters [Heptathlon]
6 p.m.	Clayton Brown; Jhonny Victor – Men's High Jump
7 p.m.	Grant Holloway; Cory Poole – Men's 110-meter Hurdles (prelim)
7:15 p.m.	Brandee' Johnson; Timetria Mitchell – Women's 100-meter Hurdles (prelim)
7:20 p.m.	Connor Bandel – Men's Shot Put
7:40 p.m.	Sam Ahrenholz; Justin Pacifico – Men's 1,500 meters (prelim)
8 p.m.	Imogen Barrett; Elisabeth Bergh; Madison Morse – Women's 1,500 meters (prelim)
8:05 p.m.	Holloway – Men's Long Jump
8:20 p.m.	Jabari Hill; Cole Johnson; Benjamin Lobo Vedel; Chantz Sawyers – Men's 400 meters (prelim)
8:45 p.m.	Doneisha Anderson; Sharrika Barnett; Lauryn Ghee; Taylor Manson – Women's 400 meters (prelim)
9:10 p.m.	Ryan Clark; Raymond Ekevwo; Hakim Sani Brown – Men's 100 meters (prelim)
10 p.m.	Marshall Dillon; Trevor Foley – Men's 3,000-meter Steeplechase
10:20 p.m.	Grace Blair – Women's 3,000-meter Steeplechase

*Saturday, May 11 (all events are finals)*
Time	Gators – Event
1:30 p.m.	Connor Bandel; Thomas Mardal; AJ McFarland; Edward Shelikoff; Adam Shuler – Men's Discus Throw
3:30 p.m.	Clayton Brown – Men's Triple Jump
3:45 p.m.	Kristina Moore – Women's Discus Throw
6 p.m.	Mike Harris – Men's Pole Vault
6:05 p.m.	Raymond Ekevwo-Hakim Sani Brown-Grant Holloway-Ryan Clark – Men's 4x100 relay
6:15 p.m.	Yanis David; Asa Garcia; Kala Penn – Women's Triple Jump
6:25 p.m.	Sam Ahrenholz; Justin Pacifico – Men's 1,500 meters
6:35 p.m.	Imogen Barrett; Elisabeth Bergh; Madison Morse – Women's 1,500 meters
6:45 p.m.	Holloway; Cory Poole – Men's 110-meter Hurdles
6:55 p.m.	Brandee' Johnson; Timetria Mitchell – Women's 100-meter Hurdles
7:05 p.m.	Jabari Hill; Cole Johnson; Benjamin Lobo Vedel; Chantz Sawyers – Men's 400 meters
7:15 p.m.	Doneisha Anderson; Sharrika Barnett; Lauryn Ghee; Taylor Manson – Women's 400 meters
7:25 p.m.	Clark; Ekevwo; Sani Brown – Men's 100 meters
7:55 p.m.	Gabrielle Wilkinson – Women's 800 meters
8:05 p.m.	Cory Poole; Denzel Villaman – Men's 400-meter Hurdles
8:15 p.m.	Johnson – Women's 400-meter Hurdles
8:25 p.m.	Sani Brown – Men's 200 meters
8:45 p.m.	Matt Clark; Nick Deal; Trevor Foley; Colin Schaefer – Men's 5,000 meters
9:05 p.m.	Morgan Hull; Jessica Pascoe – Women's 5,000 meters
9:30 p.m.	Men's 4x400 relay
9:40 p.m.	Women's 4x400 relay

FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators; #PushTheButton; #TheMissionContinues; #WeBelieve; #LessSaid