Stan and LaTasha Holloway watched eagerly from the sidelines as their son, sophomore Grant Holloway, peeled off without hesitation at the sound of the starting gun.
Hurdle after hurdle, the Chesapeake, Virginia, native sped forward until there were no more barricades to jump. He stood alone, with a time of 7.42 seconds, as the new collegiate record holder in the men’s 60-meter hurdles.
On Friday night at the Tiger Paw Invitational, Stan hurried over to the track to hug his son, who was bent over, overjoyed by what he’d just accomplished.
The thought of his parents being able to watch him achieve this milestone hit Holloway immediately, as he cried tears of joy and relief.
“That felt good,” Holloway said in a release. “My mom was kind of upset when I was here (three) weeks ago, when I ran against Jarret Eaton and ran 7.49. She was upset saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t get to see you run it,’ thinking I wasn’t going to run it again. But I told my mom I got her… Just to have all my family here for this occasion, it was something special.”
Holloway has had an extraordinary 2018 indoor season, but success has been prevalent throughout his young collegiate career.
Holloway entered the 2018 season as one of the only men in the world since 1999 with an indoor personal record below 7.75 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles and of at least 8.05 meters in the long jump.
He holds NCAA titles in the 60-meter hurdles and the 110-meter hurdles — the first freshman in Division I history to do so — plus an SEC title in the 60-meter hurdles.
Holloway is the first man in Division I history to record top-two finishes in both 110 hurdles and long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
As of last week, Holloway and teammate KeAndre Bates were on the Bowerman Watch List, making them candidates for one of the highest honors in collegiate track and field.
Holloway ranked second nationally in the long jump and was a part of the Gators’ 4x400 relay team that ran the eighth-fastest time in collegiate history (3:03.49) at the Clemson Invitational earlier this season.
As Holloway’s accolades continue to build, and as he continues to contribute to his team’s overall success, one can’t help but wonder what else he has in store.
“Of course we need an SEC and national title indoors,” Holloway said. “But everything I’m doing now is gearing me up for outdoors because outdoors is the bread and butter of University of Florida track and field.”
A story from floridagators.com contributed to this report.
Follow Alanis Thames on Twitter @alanisthames and contact her at athames@alligator.org.
Sophomore Grant Holloway will defend his NCAA Championship title on Friday in Eugene, Oregon
