The Florida men’s track and field team was almost 3,000 miles away from home, but it only took 8.05 meters for them to get on the board.
In day one of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, junior KeAndre Bates barely edged teammate Grant Holloway’s 8.00-meter long jump to secure the top two spots in the team’s only final event.
Holloway also took second place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.41 seconds, one of six preliminary events for the day.
In the 400-meter hurdles, seniors Eric Futch and TJ Holmes performed well. Futch finished in second place with a time of 48.66 seconds and Holmes would come in sixth, finishing in 49.26 seconds.
Holmes and Futch both posted qualifying times.
Senior Andres Arroyo also made the cut, taking fifth place in the 800-meter with a time of 1:46.89, good enough to earn a spot in the final round.
Florida’s relay team produced mixed results. A time of 3:03.38 in the 4x400 led the team’s heat and secured an appearance in the 4x400 finals. The Gators finished third on the day.
The team had no such success in the 4x100, failing to qualify behind an 11th place time of 39.07 seconds.
Sophomore Ryan Clark was the only Gator that failed to qualify in an individual event.
The lone Florida participant in the 100-meter dash, Clark’s mark of 10.25 seconds put him 17th overall. Only the top eight times moved on.
All final events for the men will take place Friday, while the women will compete today and Saturday. Leading the way for UF’s women’s team is senior Kyra Jefferson (200-meter preliminary) and sophomore Yanis David (long jump finals).
Today’s competition begins at 7:30 p.m. with the 4x100.
Contact Andrew Huang at ahuang@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @AndrewJHuang.
UF hurdler Eric Futch races during the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 10, 2016, in Eugene, Oregon.
