After the second day of the 2013 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, Florida’s men are still in the lead.
Redshirt freshman Jimmy Clark won the men’s 10,000m on Friday, giving the Gators their second victory in the two scored events they’ve competed in so far. Clark won the event in dramatic fashion, overtaking leader Solomon Haile of Arkansas in the final 200 meters and finishing with a time of 29:44.54.
“I’m so incredibly proud of Jimmy,” coach Mike Holloway said. “He had a phenomenal last lap, and I can’t say enough about the work coach (Paul) Spangler has done with him.”
Senior Josh Izewski finished fourth in the men’s 10,000m behind Clark, earning Florida five points. The men have 35 points and are up 10 points over second-place Arkansas.
In the women’s 10,000m, junior Florence Ngetich placed third with a time of 33:56.13, securing six points for Florida’s women.
“Florence had some knee trouble earlier in the year, so this is her first 10k and for her to just come out here, trust in her training and run the race she did, I was incredibly proud of her finish today,” Holloway said.
In Florida’s other scored events on Friday, Lorraine Graham wrapped up her heptathlon with a personal best 5,239 points in the event – earning the women three points – while sophomore Jayla Bostic finished fourth in the women’s hammer throw with a personal-record distance of 59.09 meters.
“Jayla had another personal best in the women’s hammer and it’s been great to see her progress during her first year outdoors,” Holloway said.
Florida's women are currently in fourth place with 14 points, trailing leader Arkansas by seven points.
The Gators also had success in Friday’s preliminaries, setting three personal bests and sending at least one qualifier in four of the five events in which they competed.
“All night long, we had great efforts by the Gators,” Holloway said. “It was a little cool for us, but I’ve been telling them all year that we’ve been preparing for meets like this by running in cooler races outdoors.”
Senior Ugonna Ndu won her heat in the women’s 400m hurdles with a personal-best time of 56.55 seconds and freshmen Kadesh Roberts and Gabe Aird finished eighth and eleventh in the men’s 400m dash with personal bests times of 52.85 and 53.34 seconds, respectively.
“So impressed with the work Ugonna and Kadesh have been putting in with coach (Erin) Tucker in the hurdles,” Holloway said. “It says a lot for a senior to PR at her final SEC Outdoors and for a freshman to qualify for a final at his first SEC meet.”
Competition ramps up Saturday for the Gators, who are set to compete in seven scored events. One of those competing in Saturday’s final events is reigning indoor Southeastern Conference and NCAA long jump champion Marquis Dendy.
“We’ve set ourselves up well for the rest of the meet,” Holloway said. “We’re looking forward to having a good rest of the meet. I’m so proud of my coaches and athletes for what they’ve done so far.”
Sophomore Marquis Dendy (far left) races in the 55m on Jan. 17 during the Gator Invitational in the O’Connell Center. Dendy is set to compete in the long jump on Saturday.
