Friday, April 12
Gainesville, FL
12:00 p.m. ET
Florida Gators
vs
Tom Jones Memorial Invitational
Gators Host Collegiate and Professional Athletes at Tom Jones Memorial Invitational
Thursday, April 11, 2024 | Track and Field
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators Track & Field program hosts its second home meet of the 2024 Outdoor season this weekend as they prepare for both collegiate and professional athletes to compete in the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13.
Not only will the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational feature Olympic Athletes, World Champions, World Record holders and more, but will also play host to some of the best collegiate competition in the country. Both the Men's and Women's sides of the competition will feature 14 of the 25 ranked teams in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Coaches' Poll.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gators most recent competition came this past weekend as a subset of throwers competed in the Triton Invitational in San Diego, California. The meet was highlighted by two program records set by Kai Chang and Alida van Daalen in the Men's and Women's Discus Throw.
Van Daalen captured a new school record mark for the second consecutive week. After becoming the first Gator in program history to break the 60.00m mark, which she accomplished at the Pepsi Florida Relays, she has now reached the 62.00m mark as her best throw at the Triton Invitational landed at 62.23m/204'2". Van Daalen recorded three throws over 61.00m in the contest. Her new personal best measurement places her No. 1 in the NCAA in 2024 in the discus throw.
Chang, after notching the No. 2 mark of UF's Discus Throw All-Time Top 10 list at Pepsi Florida Relays, topped his distance from a week ago with a throw of 61.65m/202'3". The senior from Kingston, Jamaica surpassed the school record that was held by Wes Stockbarger for seventeen years (2007). Chang's impress performances in the first two meets of the outdoor season have resulted in a No. 5 standing in the NCAA in No. 2 in the SEC in Discus so far this year.
ON THE TRACK & IN THE FIELD
Florida has entered north of 60 athletes for the weekend's events. The Gators will compete in a variety of OPEN and INVITE events.
A complete list of entries for both running and field events can be found below.
TOM JONES MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL MEET INFORMATION
ATHLETE ENTRIES
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𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 in the 𝐆𝐍𝐕 🌴
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) April 9, 2024
Tom Jones Memorial Invitational 🔜#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/UxIsDdJYzz
Not only will the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational feature Olympic Athletes, World Champions, World Record holders and more, but will also play host to some of the best collegiate competition in the country. Both the Men's and Women's sides of the competition will feature 14 of the 25 ranked teams in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Coaches' Poll.
| Men's Team | Men's Ranking | Women's Team | Women's Rankings |
| Texas A&M | 1 | Texas A&M | 1 |
| Florida | 2 | LSU | 2 |
| South Florida | 3 | South Carolina | 3 |
| LSU | 4 | Texas Tech | 5 |
| Alabama | 5 | Ole Miss | 7 |
| Texas Tech | 6 | Arkansas | 8 |
| Mississippi State | 8 | Georgia | 11 |
| Auburn | 9 | Florida | 12 |
| Georgia | 11 | TCU | 13 |
| Virginia Tech | 14 | Tennessee | 15 |
| Ole Miss | 16 | UCF | 16 |
| Kentucky | 17 | Baylor | 19 |
| South Carolina | 20 | Penn | 24 |
| Penn State | 24 | Houston | 25 |
LAST TIME OUT
The Gators most recent competition came this past weekend as a subset of throwers competed in the Triton Invitational in San Diego, California. The meet was highlighted by two program records set by Kai Chang and Alida van Daalen in the Men's and Women's Discus Throw.
Van Daalen captured a new school record mark for the second consecutive week. After becoming the first Gator in program history to break the 60.00m mark, which she accomplished at the Pepsi Florida Relays, she has now reached the 62.00m mark as her best throw at the Triton Invitational landed at 62.23m/204'2". Van Daalen recorded three throws over 61.00m in the contest. Her new personal best measurement places her No. 1 in the NCAA in 2024 in the discus throw.
Chang, after notching the No. 2 mark of UF's Discus Throw All-Time Top 10 list at Pepsi Florida Relays, topped his distance from a week ago with a throw of 61.65m/202'3". The senior from Kingston, Jamaica surpassed the school record that was held by Wes Stockbarger for seventeen years (2007). Chang's impress performances in the first two meets of the outdoor season have resulted in a No. 5 standing in the NCAA in No. 2 in the SEC in Discus so far this year.
ON THE TRACK & IN THE FIELD
Florida has entered north of 60 athletes for the weekend's events. The Gators will compete in a variety of OPEN and INVITE events.
A complete list of entries for both running and field events can be found below.
TOM JONES MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL MEET INFORMATION
| Location / | Gainesville, Florida / Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium |
| Date/Times | Friday, April 12: 12:00 p.m. ET – 9:30 p.m. ET Saturday, April 13: 9:00 a.m. ET – 7:30 p.m. ET |
| Admission | Admission is FREE |
| Broadcast Information | Friday: SECN+ @ TBD - Broadcast Link Saturday: SECN+ @ 9:15 a.m. ET – Broadcast Link |
| Live Results | Tom Jones Memorial Invitational Live Results |
| Updates & Info | @GatorsTF on X |
ATHLETE ENTRIES
| Friday, April 12 – Track | |
| Events | Athlete Entries |
| 200m (M) | Ryan McCloskey |
| 200m INVITE (M) | Robert Gregory Wanya McCoy Malique Smith-Band |
| 200m INVITE (W) | Jayla Hollis Kayla Davis |
| 1500m (M) | Joe Wester Ethan Geiger Matthew Mule' Jonathan Pitchford Eoin McNally Michael Fiore Macarius Wright Josh Stern |
| 1500m (W) | Lucinda Rourke Ashley Klingenberg Caroline Bauer Rylee Pustilnik Breanna Stuart Olivia Jones |
| 5000m (M) | Ethan Geiger Orlando Cicilioni |
| 5000m (W) | Liina Winborn Caroline Bauer Breanna Stuart |
| Friday, March 29 – Field | |
| Events | Athlete Entries |
| Long Jump (M) | Jordan McCants |
| Long Jump INVITE (M) | Malcolm Clemons Sean Dixon-Bodie |
| Long Jump (W) | Kendall Brown India Alix |
| Long Jump INVITE (W) | Claire Bryant Anthaya Charlton |
| Shot Put INVITE (M) | Kai Chang |
| Shot Put INVITE (W) | Alida van Daalen Gracelyn Leiseth |
| Hammer Throw (W) | Imani Washington |
| Javelin Throw (M) | Zach Godbold Abraham Sargent |
| Saturday, March 30 – Track | |
| Events / Time (EST) | Athlete Entries |
| 100m (M) | Malique Smith-Band Ryan McCloskey Kevar Williams |
| 100m (W) | Anthaya Charlton |
| 110m H INVITE Prelims (M) | Joshua Brockman Joey Stravato |
| 100m H INVITE Prelims (W) | Jayla Hollis Grace Stark |
| 400m (M) | Jacob Miley |
| 400m INVITE (M) | Reheem Hayles Jevaughn Powell Jenoah McKiver Rios Prude Jr. Ashton Schwartzman |
| 800m (M) | Sam Austin Ryan Maseman Miguel Pantojas Joe Wester Edward Kepran Gavin Nelson Jonathan Pitchford Michael Fiore Matthew Mule' Noah Musselwhite Chase Ruskin Eoin McNally |
| 800m (W) | Lucinda Rourke Jessica Edwards Layla Haynes |
| 4x100m Relay (M) | Florida Relay Team |
| 4x100m Relay (W) | Florida Relay Team |
| 4x400m Relay (M) | Florida Relay Team (A) Florida Relay Team (B) Florida Relay Team (C) |
| Saturday, April 13 – Field | |
| Events | Athlete Entries |
| High Jump INVITE (W) | Claire Bryant |
| Triple Jump INVITE (M) | Sean Dixon-Bodie Michael Holloway II |
| Triple Jump (W) | India Alix |
| Triple Jump INVITE (W) | Alissa Braxton |
| Shot Put (M) | Logan Montgomery |
| Hammer Throw INVITE (M) | Will Gross IV |
| Discus Throw (M) | Calvin Bostic Logan Montgomery |
| Discus Throw INVITE (M) | Kai Chang |
| Discus Throw (W) | Gracelyn Leiseth Da'Moni Kelly |
| Discus Throw INVITE (W) | Alida van Daalen Akari Isaac |
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
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Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
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/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
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Distance
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