The Gators open up their first day of competition today at the three-day Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Florida is attempting to win its sixth SEC Outdoor Championship between both the men’s and women’s teams.
The No. 2-ranked men’s team is looking to repeat its success from last year when it returned to Gainesville with the SEC title. If it is able to win again this year, it will be the first track team in school history to win back-to-back titles.
Florida’s No. 6 women’s team, which placed fifth in last year’s competition, is headlined by redshirt junior Kyra Jefferson. Jefferson will be running the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and will be part of the both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, which both hold the SEC-leading times.
Jefferson (200 meters) and redshirt senior Eddie Garcia (10,000 meters) will also try to become back-to-back SEC champions.
The Gators will be up against some elite competition, with six of the top 11 teams and 10 of the top-25 teams in the country competing on the women’s side. Six of the top nine men’s teams in the country will also be participating.
Competition begins today with Andres Arroyo in the 800-meter dash prelim and continues into Saturday.
Contact Lauren Staff at lstaff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @lstaff27.
Kyra Jefferson runs during the 2016 Pepsi Florida Relays on April 1, 2016, at James G. Pressly Stadium.
