The Gators enter the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships in Lexington, Ky., today with the men’s and women’s teams both ranked No. 1 in the nation and each with a chance to become outdoor champions for the first time since 2010 and 2009, respectively.
However, Florida has struggled against SEC foe Arkansas, which took the SEC Indoor title and finished in first at NCAA Indoors as well while UF settled for third overall at the national meet.
Although the men’s team faltered in last year’s SEC outdoors, sophomore sprinter Antwan Wright said maintaining a healthy competition within the team will lead to motivation for a title.
“It's just friendly competition,” Wright said. “We see them (SEC teams) probably 20 times a year. Running against the same faces is good because we know how they operate, but then it’s bad because they know how we operate.”
Wright has come across conference opponents numerous times and now poses the opportunity to overcome his opponents in multiple events.
The Riviera Beach, Fla., native runs the opening leg in the 4x100-meter relay, the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter run — all events in which he has shown he can turn in top finishes for the Gators.
He recorded a first-place, personal-record finish in the 200m during the Tom Jones Memorial Invite on April 19 and took the title along with his teammates in the 100m dash.
But if there’s room for improvement, he would like for it to come out of the sprint where the fastest men clock times globally.
“The 100 would have to be the event to work on,” Wright said. “I have to work on my reaction time, staying in my drive phase, coming up, and proper form. It’s coming along.”
With a legitimate shot at the conference outdoor championship this season, Florida will take five of its top athletes who have complied a list of honors throughout the outdoor season.
Dedric Dukes (SEC Men’s Runner of the Week, USTFCCCA National Men’s Athlete of the Week), Kyra Jefferson (SEC Co-Women’s Runner of the Week), Kyle Strawn (SEC Co-Men’s Field Athlete of the Week), Ciarra Brewer (SEC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week) and Stipe Zunic (the newly added SEC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week) all enter the championships with top marks throughout the season from April to May representing the Gators.
Florida owns nine conference titles — four on the men’s side and five on the women’s side. In order to bring a title back to Gainesville, the Gators can’t rely on all the potential they posses but rather utilize it to finish on top.
“We’re more confident when we are here (Gainesville) because it’s our track,” Wright said.
“We know how our track is and when we go out to a different track it’s just the little preparation the day before we go practice to see how the track feels. Other than that everything is the same, we do what we do at practice and we do that same thing at the track meet.”
Follow Lawrence Laguna on Twitter @LagunaLawrence
