An emerging Florida freshman found himself at the top twice over the weekend.
Grant Holloway, a freshman hurdler and jumper, won an event on both Day 1 and Day 2 of Virginia Tech’s Hokie Invitational.
Holloway ran a time of 7.77 in the men’s 60-meter hurdle final on Day 1, which gave him the win.
He currently holds the Division I-leading time for the event — 7.63 — which he posted in a meet at Clemson on Jan. 7.
On Day 2, Holloway was on top again in the men’s long jump final by jumping 8.05 meters — a new Division I-leading mark.
Other Florida jumpers found their marks among the best nationally as well.
Junior KeAndre Bates and freshman Clayton Brown, for example, jumped into the 1-2 spots in the men’s triple jump final.
Bates’ mark — 16.37 meters — narrowly edged his teammate’s mark of 16.34 meters, but both marks were good enough for the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked marks in Division I.
As for the women, Yanis David, a sophomore, placed first in the women’s triple jump final on Day 1. With a mark of 13.49 meters, she jumped far enough to place in the No. 2 spot in Division I and now holds the No. 4-ranked mark on UF’s all-time indoor top 10.
Her teammates followed her lead.
Jumpers Asa Garcia, Ebony Luster and Darrielle McQueen secured the No. 2, 3 and 4 spots to sweep the top four in the women’s triple jump final.
David thinks she can jump farther than her mark on Day 1 but was still impressed with the distance she jumped, which she said she wasn’t hitting at this time last year.
“If I am already hitting 13.49 now, then I think I can do better,” David said.
As for other UF successes at the meet, sophomore sprinter Kunle Fasasi placed first in the men’s 400-meter final with a time of 46.53 — a time that ranks third in Division I.
Sophomore Sharrika Barnett also placed first in her event — the women’s 400-meter final — with a time of 53.25, which is ranked No. 8 in Division I.
Her teammate, junior Taylor Sharpe, came in second with a time of 54.41.
Coach Mike Holloway said his team’s enthusiasm was key to its success on Day 2.
“I challenged everybody to come out and trust their fitness — put their best foot forward,” Holloway said in a release. “And I think everybody did that.”
Up next for the Gators is a trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to compete in the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 27-28.
Contact Daniel Smithson at dsmithson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DanielTSmithson.
UF freshman Grant Holloway jumps at the Hokie Invitational men's long jump final on Jan. 21, 2017.
