For the second week in a row, Florida’s track and field teams shined despite a rain delay at the LSU Invitational. The Gators were also represented at the Penn Relays.
Claudia Francis highlighted Saturday for Florida at LSU, opening her first collegiate race in the 400-meter hurdles with a second place finish and placing No. 7 on UF’s all-time top 10.
She now holds four school all-time top 10 times in four events.
Francis, along with teammates Sharrika Barnett, Taylor Sharpe and Robin Reynolds, ran the top time in the 4x400 relay, tying the No. 7 time on UF’s all-time outdoor top 10.
“I wasn’t looking for times,” UF coach Mike Holloway said in a release. “I just wanted them to come up here, enjoy themselves, and embrace the competition.”
In the 200-meter dash, Kyra Jefferson ran a time of 22.79 seconds, which ranks 10th nationally and fourth in the East Region for the year.
The Gators’ jumpers had a successful outing on Saturday. In the long jump, KeAndre Bates jumped a distance of 7.95 meters, good enough to tie the No. 3 long jump mark in Division I this year. For the women’s triple jump, Darrielle McQueen set a personal record with a jump of 13.30, making her the No. 6 ranked triple-jumper in Division 1 this year.
“We had some people who did a good job,” Holloway said. “KeAndre Bates went over 26 feet in the long jump, Claudia (Francis) with a huge PR in the 400, an ok opener for Kyra (Jefferson) in the 200, Darrielle (McQueen) did a good job in the triple jump.”
At the Penn Relays, Florida’s 4x400 relay team of Kunle Fasasi, Arman Hall, Najee Glass and Ryan Clark took first with a time of 3:04.78. Clark also ran in the 100-meter dash where he took second place.
Now the Gators have until May 12th to prepare for the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
“There were a lot of areas where we could’ve engaged and got better that we didn’t take advantage of,” Holloway said. “We’re going to get back to Gainesville and get rested up, because we’ve got one of the toughest meets in the country coming up in Alabama in a couple weeks.”
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