Mike Holloway’s answer was simple.
When asked last Wednesday who on his team he’d like to see improve over the weekend at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, the Florida track and field said everyone.
“Anybody who puts on the Gator uniform,” Holloway said.
And the team did show improvement.
On Friday at the Tyson Invitational, Florida standout freshman Grant Holloway topped the Division I-leading 60-meter hurdle time of 7.61 by posting a time of 7.58.
He regained the top-ranked time nationally after his previous season-best and No. 1-ranked time of 7.63 was topped by Youngstown State University sophomore Chad Zallow on Feb. 3.
Also on Day 1 of the Tyson Invitational, Gator pole vaulter Aaron Owens had a career-best day, clearing four-straight bars for a personal record of 5.40 meters – tied for the No. 2 spot on Florida’s all time top-10.
Over 450 miles north of Fayetteville, senior distance runner Taylor Tubbs ran for a career-best time on the first day of the Iowa State Classic.
Despite coming up four hundredths of a second away from a top-10 finish, Tubbs clocked a time of 16:13:08 in the women’s 5000-meter invitational – 27 seconds faster than her previous personal record and the second-best in school history.
Day 2 of the Tyson Invitational had its fair share of career-best performances by the members of the team as well.
Junior KeAndre Bates surpassed his previous record by 10 centimeters in the men’s triple jump invitational with a mark of 16.76 meters – a mark that ranks second in Division I.
Sophomore Yanis David’s personal-best mark of 13.93 meters was good enough for the victory in the women’s triple jump invitational. Her teammate, Darrielle McQueen, finished 3rd in the event with a mark of 13.44 meters. She improved her season best by over 82 centimeters (2 feet, 8.25 feet). The two jumpers’ marks rank No. 2 and tied for fifth in Division I respectively.
Another personal record came when sophomore Kunle Fasasi posted a time of 20.96 in the men’s 200-meters. His teammates, Ryan Clark and Michael Timpson Jr. posted season-best times in the event.
And one of the two Gator men’s 4x400 relay teams that competed clocked Florida’s fastest 4x400 time of the season, 3:05:14. The team, which was comprised cohesively of Fasasi, Holloway, Eric Futch and TJ Holmes for the first time this season, currently ranks fifth in Division I.
Coach Holloway said he was happy with the team’s effort over the weekend. He said as the team moves into championship season, the team and coaches will be even more focused and “ready to get the job done.”
“The biggest thing for us right now is we have to remember who we are, and how we do things,” Holloway said in a release. “At the end of the day, this is the time of the year we show up and perform well, and we have to do that again.”
Up next for Florida, the team will travel to Nashville to compete in the SEC Indoor Championships on Feb. 24-25.
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.
