UF’s men’s and women’s track and field teams have been preparing for the Tom Jones Memorial as if it were an away meet.
The teams flourished off the cheers of the home crowd at the Florida Relays two weeks ago, but they don’t want to become lackadaisical competing in their second consecutive home meet.
“The thing we can’t do is assume everything is going to go well because we’re at home,” coach Mike Holloway said. “We still have to have the same drive, passion and awareness that we would have if we were on the road.”
The Gators’ No. 1-ranked men and No. 9-ranked women will host tough competition in today’s meet, which will feature several Olympic athletes, world champions and top NCAA collegiate athletes.
Grant Holloway, ranked No. 2 in the nation in the 110-meter hurdles, will face Alabama’s No. 4 ranked hurdler Ruebin Walters. Walters is last year’s national runner up in the event, while Holloway is coming off a finish at the Florida Relays that was good for the national lead at the time and No. 2 in the world. Holloway (13.45) now sits just behind LSU’s Damion Thomas (13.43), and he will look to reclaim that lead at today’s meet.
Junior Clayton Brown ranks fifth in the nation in the men’s high jump after opening his outdoor season with a win two weeks ago. He and redshirt junior Jhonny Victor, who won the event at the FSU Relays at the beginning of the season, will return to the high jump against Alabama’s SEC indoor champion Shelby McEwen, who ranks 15th nationally.
Florida’s throwers have started the outdoor season with three athletes in the top 15th. Junior Anders Eriksson (No. 3), freshman Thomas Mardal (No. 7) and redshirt junior AJ McFarland (No. 15) will all compete in the hammer throw at this weekend’s meet.
“We knew coming into the season that (the throwers) would be a big piece to the puzzle, and they understand that,” Holloway said. “We’ve challenged them to work hard and get better every week and they’re doing that.”
For the women, No. 2-ranked quarter-miler Sharrika Barnett, who missed UF’s school record by 0.1 seconds two weeks ago, will compete in the 200 meters along with freshman Taylor Manson.
Senior Lloydricia Cameron will take the field again in the women’s discus throw, and junior Yanis David and senior Darrielle McQueen will return to the long jump.
To conclude the meet, UF’s NCAA-leading men’s 4x400 relay team of junior Kunle Fasasi, Holloway, freshman Chantz Sawyers, and freshman Benjamin Lobo Vedel will take the same track on which it ran a time of 3:01.00 two weeks ago.
“On the women’s side, we didn’t show how good we are in that relay (two weeks ago),” Holloway said. “ And on the men’s side, we’ve got some good competition coming this weekend and we just have to step up to the competition.”
Follow Alanis Thames on Twitter @alanisthames and contact her at athames@alligator.org.
Coach Mike Holloway and the Gators men's and women's track and field teams sit in third place at the SEC Championships after Day 2.
