Execute.
It’s a mantra that the men and women of Florida’s track and field program have heard repeatedly from coach Mike Holloway up this point of the season.
It’s a word that rings through each athlete’s ears as he or she steps up to compete.
And as UF heads into the final day of the SEC Outdoor Championships, it will lean on execution to help its men hold on to a third place seat in the standings and to help its women climb up from third place.
Avione Allgood and Grant Holloway put their teams in good position as both of them collected titles on Day 2 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Allgood’s mark of 55.40 meters won the women’s javelin competition with a 3.31-meter disparity between her throw and that of the runner up. The sixth-year senior grabbed the 11th javelin SEC Title in school history.
“I’m just really thankful and blessed that I was able to come out here and compete at all,” Allgood said in a video posted on Twitter. “And to win a championship, that’s really amazing to me.”
Holloway came next in a long jump flight that included four of the top ten long jumpers in the nation. And it was a competitive come-from-behind series for the sophomore.
“The long jump competition was stressful,” Holloway said in a video posted on Twitter. “Going against Tim Duckworth from Kentucky and Will Williams (from Texas A&M). Those are two of my good friends on the track, and they’re also great competitors.”
Holloway, who entered the competition with the No. 9-ranked mark in the nation, jumped out to a lead after his first try of 8.17 meters. But No. 8 Duckworth took that top spot with a 8.19-meter mark, and he didn’t concede it until late in the competition.
“It was nerve-racking for me because I wasn’t doing my approach the way I was supposed to,” Holloway said. “But everything came together on my fifth jump.”
The fifth jump of 8.32 meters allowed the Chesapeake, Virginia, native to reclaim first place and swipe the title from Duckworth, who fell behind Williams (8.25) for third place.
Holloway’s mark now leads the NCAA.
In the same competition, senior KeAndre Bates posted a season best mark of 8.00 meters, good for fourth place.
Florida’s women finished Day 2 in third place after junior Yanis David and senior Darrielle McQueen grabbed 14 points in the long jump. David’s mark of 6.67 meters was good enough for runner up behind Georgia’s Keturah Orji (6.81), and it ranks No. 3 in the nation. McQueen finished third with a personal-best mark of 6.65 meters that ranks fourth in the NCAA this year.
Senior Lloydricia Cameron, who won the SEC title in the women’s shot put in 2017, finished in fourth place on Saturday with a top mark of 16.92 meters.
The men’s shot put resulted in four more points added to the men’s total as sophomore Connor Bandel finished with a mark of 19.18 meters for fifth place.
As for the Day 2 running events, Florida saw 12 more runners and hurdlers qualify for Sunday’s final races.
Holloway and freshman Cory Poole both advanced to the men’s 110-meter hurdles final.
Trio of juniors Jack Guyton, Jack Beitter and Sam Ahrenholz advanced for the men in the 1500-meter run, and sophomore Elisabeth Bergh and junior Lauren Perry qualified for the women.
Four of Florida’s quarter-milers will circle the orange and grey track at LaPorte Stadium including No. 2-ranked Sharrika Barnett, whose time of 51.94 was first overall in the prelims. Freshman Taylor Manson and senior Taylor Sharpe will join Barnett after finishing sixth and seventh, respectively, in the same event.
Freshman Chantz Sawyers will represent the men’s quarter-milers as his time of 46.19 was just enough to secure the top eight spot needed to qualify.
And in the men’s 100 meter prelim, junior Ryan Clark advanced with a fourth place time of 10.27.
The SEC Outdoor Championships will conclude with the event finals and two different relay races, including Florida’s No. 1 4x400 team of Holloway, Sawyers, junior Kunle Fasasi and freshman Benjamin Lobo Vedel.
You can follow Alanis Thames on Twitter @alanisthames or contact him 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.
