Both the Florida men’s and women’s track and field teams headed to College Station, Texas to compete in the McFerrin 12-Degree Invitational Saturday. Of the 58 athletes representing Florida, 39 men and 19 women competed in 24 total events. The Gators competed against Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
The first meet of the new year for the Gators started with strong performances in the field events. Senior Claire Bryant and junior Malcolm Clemons swept the long jump and both set facility records at Fasken Indoor Track. Clemons put up a personal best of 8 meters (26 1/4 feet) even and Bryant jumped 6.61m (21.69ft).
Additionally, Bryant placed first in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.84m (6.03ft). Also, freshman Gracelyn Lieseth finished third in the women’s shot put with a throw of 15.57m (51.08ft).
Senior Grace Stark became the first collegiate woman to run a sub-eight second 60-meter hurdle in 2024 with a time of 7.97 seconds to finish in first. Fellow senior Jayla Hollis placed third in the same event, running an 8.29. On the men’s side of the 60m hurdles, junior Joshua Brockman landed in second with a time of 7.76 seconds, just .04 seconds behind Baylor’s Demario Prince in first.
Second place in the men’s 60m dash went to Florida’s Wanya McCoy with a 6.72. On the women’s side of the 60m dash, sophomore Jasmine Montgomery placed fourth overall with a time of 7.37.
The men’s 200m went well for Florida, securing three of the top five spots. Senior Robert Gregory took first with a 20.47 run. Sophomore Wanya McCoy landed in third with a time of 20.86, and senior JeVaughn Powell secured fourth place with a 21.02 run.
Gators mid-distance had a strong day with five athletes recording personal bests in the men’s 600m, taking second. Junior Sam Austin ran a 1:16.80 to secure second place.
The meet also marked freshman Parvej Khan’s collegiate debut. Khan notched the men’s 800m by putting up a time of 1:51 flat to win. Sophomore Joe Wester joined Khan on the podium with a time of 1:51.62, placing second.
The women’s 3,000m earned both sixth and eighth place finish for the Gators. Sophomore Rylee Pustilnik’s 9:54.68 and freshman Breanna Stuart’s 10:02.85 helped lock in those positions, respectively. The Gators cracked the top five in the men’s 3,000m with an 8:23.67 from sophomore Aiden Villasuso.
Anchored by senior JeVaughn Powell, Florida closed the meet by winning the men’s 4x400m relay with a time of 3:05.89.
The Gators head over to Fayetteville, Arkansas Jan. 26-27 for their next meet, the Razorback Invitational.
Contact Emma DiNicola at edinicola@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @emdinicolaUF
