Thursday, May 12
Oxford, Miss.
ALL DAY
Florida Gators
at
SEC Outdoor Championships
Florida Advances Seven to Finals, Opens Scoring in Men’s Javelin on First Day of SEC Outdoor Championships
Friday, May 13, 2022 | Track and Field
OXFORD, Miss. – Despite being interrupted by an hour-plus rain delay, Florida had an outstanding opening day at the SEC Outdoor Championships on Thursday evening.
The Gators put seven individuals into finals on Saturday, scored the first points of the weekend in the men's javelin and saw Sterling Lester take a first-day lead in the Heptathlon.
Florida's women stayed on track as they chase the team title this weekend. The Gators advanced all five of its runners expected to place this weekend across the 200 meters, 400-meter hurdles and 800 meters.
Gabrielle Wilkinson (2:03.52) and Imogen Barrett (2:04.22) were the top two qualifiers in the 800 meters with each runner winning their respective heat.
The duo kicked it into high gear in the closing 100 meters before coasting into the finish line with an automatic-qualifying mark for Saturday's final.
Talitha Diggs ran a smooth qualifier in 22.86 following the weather delay to win the final heat and advance to her first of what is expected to be many races on Saturday.
She will try and advance to the 400-meter final in tomorrow night's qualifier and is also slated to run the 4x100 relay to open up Saturday's competition.
Florida's duo of runners in the women's 400-meter hurdles took automatic spots into Saturday's final with each of them finishing in the top three of their heat.
Anna Hall bettered her personal best and school record to 54.91. She had the second-best qualifying mark and will head into the final in fine form.
Vanessa Watson also made it into the finals with a qualifier of 57.31.
Sterling Lester finished as the leader following the opening day of the Heptathlon. Through four events, Lester has scored 3537 points and holds a 120-point lead.
She recorded personal bests in the High Jump (1.69m/5-6.5) and the 200 meters (23.56) enroute to the day one lead.
Tomorrow's action will see her compete in the Long Jump and Javelin before closing out with one of her better events, the 800 meters.
Lester is attempting to win her first conference title in the multi-events.
Joseph Fahnbulleh (200 meters) and Sam Austin (800 meters) qualified through to the Saturday finals on the men's side.
Austin won his qualifying heat in 1:49.88 to secure his spot in the final. He was third in the SEC during the indoor season in the event.
Fahnbulleh cruised to an auto-qualifying spot in 20.39 to earn his spot on the line Saturday. He will race for his first conference title in the 200 meters.
He was the NCAA Outdoor Champion in the event in 2021.
Mark Porter and Zach Godbold tallied the first points of the competition for Florida.
Even though he was limited to one throw, Godbold tossed the Javelin 64.68m/212-02 to claim eighth place and score a point for Florida.
Mark Porter had his best mark of the night on his final attempt. He launched the Javelin 69.08m/226-07 to secure fifth place at his first SEC Outdoor Championships.
Florida has some of its first point-scoring opportunities on the women's side tomorrow. The Heptathlon wraps up tomorrow afternoon before the Long Jump, Shot Put and Steeplechase get underway for the Gators.
The Florida men will have chances to score tomorrow when PJ Austin, Malcolm Clemons and Caleb Foster contest the Long Jump.
Lester will open competition tomorrow at 2:35 p.m. CT with the Long Jump portion of the Heptathlon.
Qualified to Saturday's Finals:
- Joseph Fahnbulleh (200m)
- Talitha Diggs (200m)
- Anna Hall (400mH)
- Vanessa Watson (400mH)
- Sam Austin (800m)
- Imogen Barrett (800m)
- Gabrielle Wilkinson (800m)
Thursday Point Scorers:
- Mark Porter: Javelin: 5th (4)
- Zach Godbold: Javelin: 8th (1)
Men's Team Score (Through 3 Events)
1. Alabama: 29
2. Georgia: 17
3. Arkansas: 16
4. Mississippi State: 13
5. LSU: 12
Women's Team Score (Through 3 Events)
1. Auburn: 23
2. Alabama: 22
3. Ole Miss: 17
4. Texas A&M: 12
5. Arkansas: 10
Holloway's Thoughts:
"I thought we had a pretty solid day. I was very impressed with Sterling [Lester]. She had a big first-day personal best. Really proud of her for stepping her into her role and being a leader to help the ladies kick off the day. I thought we ran well across the board."
"I'm very proud of Joseph [Fahnbulleh]. Probably one of the best technical first half of his races he's ever had in his life."
"The women are locked in. They understand how to qualify, how to get things done. The big thing for me is we're not showing that on the men's side and we have to get that addressed."
A complete list of results for the Gators is below.
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The Gators put seven individuals into finals on Saturday, scored the first points of the weekend in the men's javelin and saw Sterling Lester take a first-day lead in the Heptathlon.
Florida's women stayed on track as they chase the team title this weekend. The Gators advanced all five of its runners expected to place this weekend across the 200 meters, 400-meter hurdles and 800 meters.
Gabrielle Wilkinson (2:03.52) and Imogen Barrett (2:04.22) were the top two qualifiers in the 800 meters with each runner winning their respective heat.
The duo kicked it into high gear in the closing 100 meters before coasting into the finish line with an automatic-qualifying mark for Saturday's final.
Talitha Diggs ran a smooth qualifier in 22.86 following the weather delay to win the final heat and advance to her first of what is expected to be many races on Saturday.
She will try and advance to the 400-meter final in tomorrow night's qualifier and is also slated to run the 4x100 relay to open up Saturday's competition.
Florida's duo of runners in the women's 400-meter hurdles took automatic spots into Saturday's final with each of them finishing in the top three of their heat.
Anna Hall bettered her personal best and school record to 54.91. She had the second-best qualifying mark and will head into the final in fine form.
Vanessa Watson also made it into the finals with a qualifier of 57.31.
Sterling Lester finished as the leader following the opening day of the Heptathlon. Through four events, Lester has scored 3537 points and holds a 120-point lead.
She recorded personal bests in the High Jump (1.69m/5-6.5) and the 200 meters (23.56) enroute to the day one lead.
Tomorrow's action will see her compete in the Long Jump and Javelin before closing out with one of her better events, the 800 meters.
Lester is attempting to win her first conference title in the multi-events.
Joseph Fahnbulleh (200 meters) and Sam Austin (800 meters) qualified through to the Saturday finals on the men's side.
Austin won his qualifying heat in 1:49.88 to secure his spot in the final. He was third in the SEC during the indoor season in the event.
Fahnbulleh cruised to an auto-qualifying spot in 20.39 to earn his spot on the line Saturday. He will race for his first conference title in the 200 meters.
He was the NCAA Outdoor Champion in the event in 2021.
Mark Porter and Zach Godbold tallied the first points of the competition for Florida.
Even though he was limited to one throw, Godbold tossed the Javelin 64.68m/212-02 to claim eighth place and score a point for Florida.
Mark Porter had his best mark of the night on his final attempt. He launched the Javelin 69.08m/226-07 to secure fifth place at his first SEC Outdoor Championships.
Florida has some of its first point-scoring opportunities on the women's side tomorrow. The Heptathlon wraps up tomorrow afternoon before the Long Jump, Shot Put and Steeplechase get underway for the Gators.
The Florida men will have chances to score tomorrow when PJ Austin, Malcolm Clemons and Caleb Foster contest the Long Jump.
Lester will open competition tomorrow at 2:35 p.m. CT with the Long Jump portion of the Heptathlon.
Qualified to Saturday's Finals:
- Joseph Fahnbulleh (200m)
- Talitha Diggs (200m)
- Anna Hall (400mH)
- Vanessa Watson (400mH)
- Sam Austin (800m)
- Imogen Barrett (800m)
- Gabrielle Wilkinson (800m)
Thursday Point Scorers:
- Mark Porter: Javelin: 5th (4)
- Zach Godbold: Javelin: 8th (1)
Men's Team Score (Through 3 Events)
1. Alabama: 29
2. Georgia: 17
3. Arkansas: 16
4. Mississippi State: 13
5. LSU: 12
Women's Team Score (Through 3 Events)
1. Auburn: 23
2. Alabama: 22
3. Ole Miss: 17
4. Texas A&M: 12
5. Arkansas: 10
Holloway's Thoughts:
"I thought we had a pretty solid day. I was very impressed with Sterling [Lester]. She had a big first-day personal best. Really proud of her for stepping her into her role and being a leader to help the ladies kick off the day. I thought we ran well across the board."
"I'm very proud of Joseph [Fahnbulleh]. Probably one of the best technical first half of his races he's ever had in his life."
"The women are locked in. They understand how to qualify, how to get things done. The big thing for me is we're not showing that on the men's side and we have to get that addressed."
A complete list of results for the Gators is below.
| Thursday, May 12: SEC Outdoor Championships | |
| Event | Place, Gators – Time / Mark | Notes |
| Heptathlon: 100mH (W) | 2. Sterling Lester: 13.46 (+2.4) (1056) |
| Heptathlon: High Jump (W) | 5. Sterling Lester: 1.69m/5-6.5 (842) | Personal Best |
| Heptathlon: Shot Put (W) | 3. Sterling Lester: 11.32m/37-1.75 (616) |
| Heptathlon: 200 Meters (W) | 1. Sterling Lester: 23.56 (+1.9) (1023) | Personal Best |
| 800 Meters: Prelims (W) | 1. Gabrielle Wilkinson: 2:03.52 | Season Best, Qualified to Final 2. Imogen Barrett: 2:04.22 | Qualified to Final 25. Ashley Klingenberg: 2:13.45 |
| 800 Meters: Prelims (M) | 5. Sam Austin: 1:49.88 | Qualified to Final 27. Deshay Fernandes: 1:51.44 33. Chase Ruskin: 1:52.48 |
| 200 Meters: Prelims (W) | 3. Talitha Diggs: 22.86 (-0.3) | Qualified to Final 22. Cait Tate: 23.79 (-0.3) |
| 200 Meters: Prelims (W) | 3. Joseph Fahnbulleh: 20.39 (0.0) | Qualified to Final 12. Dedrick Vanover: 20.86 (-0.1) 20. Tyler Davis: 21.09 (0.0) 23. Cameron Mahorn: 21.27 (-0.1) 26. Kemuel Santana: 21.37 (-0.1) |
| 400 Hurdles: Prelims (W) | 2. Anna Hall: 54.91 | Qualified to Final, School Record, Personal Best 6. Vanessa Watson: 57.31 | Qualified to Final |
| Javelin: Final (M) | 5. Mark Porter: 69.08m/226-07 8. Zach Godbold: 64.68m/212-02 |
| 400 Hurdles: Prelims (M) | 12. Collin Sieffert: 51.08 | Personal Best DNF. Miles Green |
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