The first day of the Florida Relays saw the Gators capture three
events and set a new school record Friday.
Jeff Demps (100m dash), Christian Taylor (400m dash), and Cory
McGee (800m run) were winners for UF, while Jeremy Postin chipped
in by breaking his own school record in the hammer throw.
“(The 400m dash) went well, the preparation was there,” Taylor
said. “I had 44 (seconds) in my mind, and I didn’t do that, but
I’ll take the win.”
Taylor, known mostly for indoor and outdoor triple jump national
championships, ran the fastest collegiate time in the 400m dash
time so far this year (45.46 seconds).
Taylor’s time was 0.09 seconds better than his winning mark in last
year’s Florida Relays 400m dash and 0.43 seconds better than
runner-up Calvin Smith of Adidas.
“We expect that from Christian because he’s a phenomenal athlete,”
head coach Mike Holloway said. “He won (the 400m dash at the
Florida Relays) last year and finished second the year before, so
nothing Christian does surprises us.”
Meanwhile, Demps won the 100m dash in a time of 10.07 seconds,
which was one-tenth of a second better than his best time at the
Florida Relays (10.17), which came back in 2008.
“10.07 (seconds) for him is close to his lifetime best, so he’s off
to a good start,” Holloway said.
On the women’s side, McGee added another accomplishment to a résumé
that already includes two Southeastern Conference Freshman of the
Week Awards and an Indoor SEC Championship in the mile run.
The freshman distance runner bested her competition by 0.72
seconds, winning the 800m run in 1:07.45.
Though winless for the day, Terrell Wilks was another Gator who
felt like he made progress during Friday’s action.
Wilks finished fourth in the 100m (10.35 seconds) and 200m dash
invite (20.39 seconds).
“I feel really good,” Wilks said. “That’s the first time I’ve run
that fast in a while.”
Wilks, a senior, qualified for the 60m dash at the NCAA Indoor
Championships in a last-chance meet during the indoor season and is
looking to have similar success during the outdoor campaign.
The Connecticut native improved on his times in the 100m dash and
the 200m dash invite from last year’s Florida Relays by 0.06 and
0.19 seconds, respectively.
“I was very proud of Terrell and he did a wonderful job,” Holloway
said. “The big thing is that he’s finally healthy. We’re trying to
get a good base for him and get him in racing rhythm.”
Also turning in a successful day without victory was Postin, who
posted a record-breaking hammer throw for the second consecutive
meet.
Postin’s 65.09m/213-6 mark bests his previous record (64.70/212-3),
which he just set at the UCF Invitational last weekend.
“It went alright, I threw my (personal record), which is good
enough,” Postin said. “But I should’ve done a lot better than that.
I’m training too well to do just that.”
The Florida Relays resume at 9:00 a.m. Saturday at Percy Beard
Track at James G. Pressly Stadium.
