Coach Mike Holloway is proud of his team.
Both the Gators men and women finished near the top of the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.
“I’m very proud of my team,” Holloway said. “I’ve said for the longest time that I think this is the best meet, and if you look at the results, you’ll see that.”
Host-team Arkansas’ No. 1 men and No. 3 women swept the SEC Indoor Championships this season. Florida’s No. 6 women finished fourth and No. 2 came in second.
“Absolutely, my hat’s off to Arkansas’ men’s and women’s teams,” Holloway said. “I really respect what they do here. I don’t like to finish second to anyone, but you have to take your hat off to people when they (win), and they were really impressive this weekend.”
Junior hurdler Eddie Lovett captured his third consecutive conference title in the men’s 60m hurdles on Sunday. Posting a time of 7.54 seconds on Sunday, Lovett broke his own school record that he had set the day before in prelims with a time of 7.57 seconds.
“I had a great day. We wanted to come in here and let everyone know that Florida was here,” Lovett said. “It’s kind of like a rivalry against Arkansas indoors, and it’s fun. I wanted to come out here and get better and have fun. I feel like I set the example for everyone else to follow.”
Junior distance runners Cory McGee and Sean Obinwa also shined on Sunday.
McGee won her second SEC individual event in the women’s mile.
“I love the mile. The mile is my race,” remarked McGee. “I was focused on this race for weeks. There are more fast girls in this race than ever. I almost pushed too hard and had to sit back and run my race.”
McGee also anchored the Gators’ distance medley relay squad to a controversial first-place finish. Soon after the victory, Florida was disqualified for what was deemed a pushing foul that occurred in the 800m leg of the event. However, the call was eventually overturned upon protest from Florida, and the Gators’ victory was cemented.
Obinwa won the men’s 800m title this Sunday, becoming the first UF athlete to win the event since former Gator Mark Everett did it in 1990.
“I was behind after 400 meters and just had to stay focused and relaxed on those last two laps,” Obinwa said. “I gave it everything I’ve got. I’ve been praying all day and just left it in God’s hands. You have to trust your training and come out and give everything you’ve got.”
Florida’s most notable performance this weekend was that from sophomore jumper Marquis Dendy. After jumping a distance of 8.25m in the men’s long jump on Saturday, Dendy is now the 2013 world leader in the men’s long jump.
“When we recruited Marquis out of high school, we knew he was a big-time athlete,” Holloway said. “I’m really proud of him. SEC Champion and the SEC Championship record-holder and world leader, I just couldn’t be prouder of him and the work he and Coach Petersen have put in.”
The Gators leave Fayetteville without a conference title. However, they return March 8-9 for the NCAA Indoor Championships–a shot at redemption.
“The biggest thing about the last-chance meets is running fast enough to where you can come back and run here in two weeks,” Holloway said. “If you don’t have to go to last-chance meets, you have to be smart enough to know how to rest properly but not rest so much that you’re flat.
"We’ve been pretty good at that in years past and at the end of the day, we’ve got to do what we do best and that’s get our kids ready to perform at a high level at the NCAA Championship meet.”
Junior Eddie Lovett (left) races in the 55m hurdles at the Gator Invitational in the O’Connell Center.
