The No. 2 Florida men’s and women’s track and field teams finished the first day of the Iowa State Classic and the Tyson Invitational with 10 new personal records, led by program record-breaking performances by Bridgette Owens and Mark Parrish — both of whom eclipsed their own top marks.
The senior hurdler Owens took the 60-meter hurdle title at the Randal Tyson Track Center, finishing the race in 8.02 seconds — breaking the tie with Michigan’s Cindy Ofili for fastest time in the country.
“Bridgette was phenomenal tonight, she came out and executed just as we asked of her,” coach Mike Holloway said in a release.
Racing in his first 5,000-meter run of the indoor season, Parrish—a senior distance runner out of Tampa — placed third in the event with a 13:41.87 mark. The effort launched him into the top-16 in the NCAA, putting him in position to qualify for next month’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
Parrish’s performance highlighted a 5k that saw all seven of the Gators’ men’s and women’s participants set new indoor personal records.
Eddie Garcia and Jimmy Clark placed themselves in UF’s top-10 list in the event, as they finished the race in 14:04.53 and 14:14.98, respectively.
Coming off a disappointing performance at the Virgnia Tech Elite, senior thrower Jayla Bostic displayed her best throw of the season in the weight throw event, good enough for a sixth-place finish. Holloway, who said last week that Bostic knows what to do to get back into form, gave her much praise after Friday’s events and said that she has been working hard.
Junior sprinter Shayla Sanders delivered a third-place finish in the 60-meter dash, resulting in a season-best time of 7.24.
In the 400-meter event, Nick Uruburu and Kyra Jefferson each finished fourth in the men’s and women’s race, respectively, cementing a spot in the program’s top-10 for the 400.
The Gators will resume their ISU Classic tomorrow at 11:25 a.m., when Carlos Miranda and John Beitter will compete in the men’s miler.
Florida will kick off Saturday’s Tyson Invite at noon with a trio of jump events, as well as the women’s shot put.
Follow Kyle Brutman on Twitter @Kbrut13
Mark Parrish runs in the Southeastern Conference Championship on Nov. 1, 2013 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville.
