Florida’s two home dates this outdoor season could not have been any more different.
After picking up only four total victories in two days at the Florida Relays on April 1-2, the Gators clinched 10 events Saturday at the Tom Jones Memorial Classic.
“We made a lot of progress,” UF coach Mike Holloway said. “For us, it’s more about effort right now.”
One of the best efforts on the day came from junior sprinter Jeff Demps.
Demps ran the best wind-assisted 100-meter dash time in the world during the 2011 calendar year, finishing the race in 9.96 seconds.
“I will give you $1,000 for everybody that tells you that they’re surprised Jeff Demps did that,” Holloway said jokingly. “Nobody’s surprised by what he did.”
Demps also anchored Florida’s 4x100 relay team, which won with a time of 39.07 seconds.
Joining Demps in the relay team was freshman Eddie Lovett, junior Christian Taylor and senior Terrell Wilks.
“(Demps) is the hardest-working guy I’ve ever been around in my life,” Holloway said. “What you saw today was just a product of that.”
Other Gators who picked up victories on the weekend included Jeremy Postin (men’s hammer throw), Dumisane Hlaselo (men’s 1500-meter run), Callie Cooper (women’s 3000m steeplechase), Keely Medeiros (women’s shot put), Sean Obinwa (men’s 800m run), Anthony Morales (men’s 3000m run), Michael Anderson (men’s 3000m steeplechase) and Frankie Hammond (men’s high jump).
Former Florida athletes Kemal Mesic (men’s shot put) and Willie Perry (men’s 200m dash) also won events at Percy Beard Track over the weekend.
HORN WINS DECATHLON: Gray Horn gave UF its first victory of the week with an impressive showing at the Mt. Sac Relays Decathlon Wednesday and Thursday in Azusa, Calif.
Horn posted a personal-best score of 7,791 points, the second-best mark in school history.
Horn’s previous best performance came at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships last season, when he scored 7,652 points en route to a conference title.
