With two individual wins, both the Gators men's and women's track and field teams put themselves in position to win the 2011 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships heading into the final day of competition in Athens, Ga.
Junior distance runner Genevieve LaCaze captured the women's steeplechase to give Florida's women the overall lead with 50 points. Host Georgia trails by a single point.
On the men's side, No. 2 jumper Will Claye's winning leap in the long jump advanced Florida into second place with 51 total points. Georgia leads the men's competition with 68 points.
"I think we had a great day today," coach Mike Holloway said. "We started with the long jump, and Will had a lifetime-best with one of the top jumps in the world, and Christian [Taylor] had a season-best and he's getting better every week."
Taylor, a junior, placed fourth in the long jump with a season-best leap of 8.00m/26-3 (+0.5). Claye's jump of 8.29m/27-2.50 (+1.9) also broke a facility record.
LaCaze also qualified second for the 1,500 meter finals with a preliminary time of 4:22.82. Her win in the steeplechase was her second SEC title in the event after capturing it as a freshman in 2009.
"It was a tough one. I knew (the Bulldogs) were going to come back," LaCaze said. "That's what the steeple is all about. It's trying to go out hard but make sure you have enough to finish it."
The Gators are slated to compete in 25 final events on Sunday to close the four-day SEC meet.
UF Communications contributed to this report.
