After an indoor season that left a lingering haze of frustration over the program, the Florida track and field team was eager to get the outdoor season underway. A quick trip up the road to Tallahassee for a low-key opener at the FSU Relays provided an opportunity to do just that.
With many of the Gators’ national qualifiers from two weeks ago still on the comedown from the indoor season, the return of junior Alida van Daalen to the discus circle drew the most eyes when entries were released.
Already the best discus thrower in school history, van Daalen became an Olympian over the summer for her native Netherlands. A shoulder injury sidelined her for the indoor season, where she missed the opportunity to claim her third First-Team All-American honor in the indoor shot put. But now, she’s back and seemingly hasn’t missed a beat since.
After scratching the shot put on Thursday evening, van Daalen dominated Friday’s discus competition. Her winning mark of 63.36 meters ranks second in the NCAA so far in this young outdoor season. Even with a healthy dose of athletic tape still on her right shoulder, she opened up nearly a meter-and-a-half better than she did in her historic 2024 campaign.
Freshman Habiba Harris was also absent from the indoor slate but made a statement in her first race in the Orange and Blue. The Jamaican U20 champion from last June over the 100-meter hurdles, Harris cleared all ten barriers and crossed the finish line in a blazing time of 13.05. Like van Daalen, that’s the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season, as her debut now puts her at number six on UF’s all-time list.
On the men’s side, sophomore Leikel Cabrera Gay provided one of the brightest highlights of the meet with a dominant win in the javelin. A transfer from Umpqua Community College in Oregon, each of Gay’s four legal throws would have won the competition by well over six meters. His best mark, 73.97 meters, is already the sixth-best in program history.
Coming off a strong indoor season, freshman Jaden Wiley was the only athlete on the day to dip under 21 seconds in the 200-meters. His time of 20.86 is his fastest as a Gator. Wiley led a strong showing across the board for the Gators’ half-lappers, as junior Garrett Fox, freshman Nicholas Spikes and senior Markevus Jackson all finished inside the top seven and sophomore Quincy Penn finished third in the women’s race.
Junior Imani Washington had a standout day in the women’s hammer, which was a perfect continuation of her excellent indoor campaign. In the weight throw, Washington set a new personal best at each and every meet, and she carried that over into her outdoor debut.
On her first attempt, she broke the 60-meter barrier for the first time. She proceeded to repeat that feat on each of her next four throws, eventually securing a best mark of 61.81 meters. This performance should already be good enough to mark her name down for a spot at the NCAA East Prelims in May, and it also moves her to number six on the UF all-time list.
The Gators picked up four more wins in field events at the hands of Jacob Lemmon, Alyssa Banales, Logan Montgomery and Gracelyn Leiseth.
Lemmon, a senior from Fort Myers who is back in the Sunshine State after starting his career at Virginia, comfortably won the men’s discus with a best mark of 58.80m. After narrowly missing out on qualifying for the national championship meet indoors, Banales started her outdoor collegiate career with a narrow victory in the women’s long jump. The freshman jumped 6.20 meters on the final jump of the competition, only a centimeter better than FSU freshman Azharia Jones. Montgomery and Leiseth swept the shot put crowns for the Gators, with Montgomery, a junior, throwing 17.21 meters and Leiseth, a sophomore, throwing 16.81 meters.
Florida closed the meet out with a victory in the men’s 4x400-meter relay. Led off by redshirt senior Reheem Hayles, who missed the indoor season, the Gators stormed around the oval and came away with an early collegiate lead of 3:04.30. Hayles, the seventh-place finisher in the open 400-meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, was joined on the team by junior Justin Braun, Fox and Spikes.
The Gators will be back at it next week with their first of two home meets. The Pepsi Florida Relays, always an entertaining display of early season action from all levels of the sport, will be held April 4th and 5th at James G. Pressly Stadium. The first collegiate event begins at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Contact Paul Hof-Mahoney at phof-mahoney@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @phofmahoney
Paul is a junior sports journalism major who is covering the track and field beat in his first semester with the Alligator. In his free time, he enjoys watching commentary Youtube channels and consuming every medium of track and field content imaginable.
