UF track and field coach Mike Holloway was pleased with Yanis David's performance at the National Relay Championships in Arkansas, saying, “She got focused, and she worked on the things she needed to do to jump farther."
Yanis David had been working for this moment all season.
After her fourth triple jump attempt of the day, the junior pumped her fists as the words “collegiate leader” blared through the speakers of John McDonnell Field.
And she left the outdoor complex as not only the UF school-record holder in the event, but as a new member of the Collegiate All-Time Top 10 list.
David became the No. 7-ranked performer in collegiate history as as the Gators added four more of the nation’s top-five marks and times to their season on Day 2 of the National Relay Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The mark ‒ 14.13 meters ‒ by David was the 15th-farthest in collegiate history, it surpassed the previous school record by 22 centimeters and it was the second-farthest jump in the NCAA this season.
“With Yanis, it was just phenomenal watching her compete today,” coach Mike Holloway said in a release. “She got focused, and she worked on the things she needed to do to jump farther.”
In addition to David’s record-breaking jump, the women’s competition saw senior Darrielle McQueen post a triple jump mark of 13.37 meters, good for third in the event and 14th in the country.
UF got big performances from triple jumpers on both sides, as senior KeAndre Bates won the event with an NCAA-leading mark of 16.69 meters. Sophomore Clayton Brown’s 16.50-meter mark earned the No. 4 spot in the nation.
Sixth-year senior javelin thrower Avione Allgood was another field athlete that moved up in the national descending order list on Saturday after her season-best throw of 55.73 meters put her at fifth in the nation. Her performance led a field that featured the NCAA-leading javelin thrower Mackenzie Little of Stanford, who finished behind Allgood with a throw of 54.50 meters.
The Gators’ trio of redshirt sophomore Anders Eriksson, freshman Thomas Mardal and redshirt junior AJ McFarland took second, third and seventh, respectively, in the men’s hammer throw.
In the relay races, UF’s men’s quartet of freshmen Benjamin Lobo Vedel and Chantz Sawyers, junior Kunle Fasasi and sophomore Grant Holloway won the 4x400-meter event in 3:02.68 behind Holloway’s anchor split of 44.54. While the women’s team of freshmen Taylor Manson and Nikki Stephens, senior Taylor Sharpe and junior Sharrika Barnett finished with a second-place time of 3:31.21 that ranks fourth in the nation.
The men’s distance medley relay event resulted in another school-record breaking performance as the group of juniors Sam Ahrenholz and Kyren Hollis, redshirt sophomore Jack Guyton and senior Jabari Hill finished with a time of 9:35.90 to top the previous record of 9:36.32 set 23 years ago.
“The biggest thing is we came out of here relatively healthy,” Holloway said. “So we’re in a position now to get back to Gainesville, get back to training and just start getting razor-sharp so we can be competitive for the championship season.”
Contact Alanis Thames at athames@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @alanisthames.
