On Saturday, the Gators were back to their winning ways.
On the second day of the Gold & Cardinal Challenge hosted by the University of Southern California, 11 Gators placed first in their respective events.
One of the highlights of Saturday was senior Shayla Sanders tying Florida’s school record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.13 seconds.
“Extremely pleased with Shayla. We’ve had great conversations since the NCAA Indoor Championships, talking about the mistakes we both made indoors and how to correct them,” Florida coach Mike Holloway said in a release. “To tie the school record in one and be No. 2 in the other, phenomenal. And well deserved.”
Sanders also claimed first place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.77.
But she wasn’t the only Gator that shattered the record books this weekend.
Darrielle McQueen’s performance in the long jump was good enough for first place and the No. 10- ranked mark in UF history, as she jumped 6.35 meters.
Kimani Rushing (5.99 meters) secured third place for the Gators in the long jump.
On the men’s side, KeAndre Bates (7.77 meters) jumped to second place and recorded the No. 5-ranked mark in the Division 1 this year.
Marija Vucenovic (54.05 meters) and Kike Oniwinde (47.81 meters) kept the momentum rolling for Florida in the javelin throw, placing first and second, respectively, with Vucenovicposting a top-5 Division I mark.
In the shot put, Lloydricia Cameron placed first with a best mark of 16.33 meters.
“Marija (Vucenovic) posted a good season opener. Lloydricia (Cameron), who had maybe three 16-meter throws in her life, had five 16-meter throws today,” Holloway said. “Darrielle (McQueen) and KeAndre (Bates) both did a good job today. Very pleased with Kimani (Rushing) in the long jump..”
Later in the competition, Florida’s men’s 4x100 relay team made up of Shayne Rodney, Hugh Graham Jr, Michael Timpson Jr. and Ryan Clark finished in first place with a time of 40.04 seconds, a top-15 Division 1 time.
The women’s 4x400 relay team of Robin Reynolds, Kyra Jefferson, Sharrika Barnett and Taylor Sharpe’s time of 3:30.07 earned them second place, and became the No. 7-ranked time in school history.
In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Skylar Ross-Ransom placed the highest, earning fifth place with a time of 13.46 seconds, while teammates Kimani Rushing (13.65) and Ryann McEnany (13.81) finished in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Kunle Fasasi ran a time of 45.76 to take the runner-up spot in the men’s 400 meter dash, which is the No. 2 time in Division 1 this year, while Nick Uruburu placed fifth.
Florida picked up another first place finish in the men’s 110 meter hurdles from Yanick Hart with a time of 14.08. Marques Burgman did not finish.
Eric Futch (49.45), TJ Holmes (51.44) Maurice Dix (53.19) , and Gabrie Aird (54.07) placed first, third, fifth, and sixth, respectively, in the 400 meter hurdles.
In addition, Claudia Francis (57.11) , who ran her first collegiate 400 meter hurdles race, placed second and ran the No.4-ranked time in Florida history. Mikayla Barber (1:01.19) earned eighth place.
Now the Gators head back to Gainesville in preparation for the Pepsi Relays that start Thursday, Florida’s only home track meet of the season.
“We’ve got to get back to Gainesville, get rested, and get focused. Our challenge will be that they’ll have to be very self-sufficient next week, as (the coaches) will be running the meet and coaching,” Holloway said. “We’re mainly looking forward to hosting a great track meet in front of our home crowd.”
You can contact Lauren Staff at lstaff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @lstaff27.
UF junior sprinter Shayla Sanders.
