Hakim Sani Brown, the sophomore sprinter from Tokyo, placed the baton cleanly into the hands of junior Grant Holloway. Holloway rounded the curve to give it to senior Ryan Clark, who finished the relay with nobody on either side of him, clearly in first place.
The Florida men’s 4x100 team set the fastest time in the nation (38.74 seconds) on Friday at the FSU Relays at Mike Long Track. The team missed the school’s top 10 all-time record list by only six hundredths of a second.
The Gators track and field team earned four NCAA leads at its first meet of the outdoor season.
Holloway had the farthest long jump in the nation with a length of 7.97 meters. Senior Yanis David secured the top-ranked distance on the women’s side at 6.48 meters. Junior transfer Kala Penn earned a No. 2 ranking of 6.43 meters.
Redshirt senior Jhonny Victor also contributed to the success the Gator jumpers enjoyed over the weekend. He tied the nation’s No. 1 ranking in the high jump at 2.21 meters.
UF football player Adam Shuler made his debut as a two-sport athlete. He finished second in the discus throw at 53.15 meters.
Some Gators didn't participate in all of their typical events, and some didn't even compete at all.
The meet did not have any hurdle events, so Holloway didn't compete in his best event. David will not begin her outdoor triple jump season, the event she won at the NCAA Indoor Championships, until the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville.
Senior thrower and SEC weight-throw champion AJ McFarland did not compete at FSU at all and will make his outdoor season debut at home as well.
The Florida Relays will also be senior night for those in their last year such as David and McFarland. The FSU Relays were the second-to-last time the seniors competed in the state of Florida. The Florida Relays will be the last.
Follow Graham Marsh on Twitter @GrahamMarshUF and contact him at gmarsh@alligator.org.
The Gators track and field team earned four NCAA leads at its first meet of the outdoor season.
