Nothing on Day 2 of the Indoor Southeastern Conference Championship received more of a spotlight than Cory McGee.
McGee earned the Gators’ first individual SEC title of the 2014 campaign with a victory in the women’s 3,000-meter run in a personal-best 9:10.48.
The time is the second fastest in UF history and was a new SEC record.
The senior will cap off her indoor season with yet another accolade under her belt, but it wasn’t an easy task to accomplish.
“I definitely had some doubt,” McGee said. “I didn’t know if I could push through it but I heard my coach on the back turn and pushed through it. With a lap to go I felt great.”
McGee’s win in the 3,000m was just the fifth in school history and the first since 2010.
In addition to McGee’s honorable day, the men finally got into the mix with Eddie Lovett and Arman Hall owning their heats.
Lovett, who is en route to becoming the first-ever SEC runner to four-peat in the 60-meter hurdles clocked in a 7.65 second race in the prelims.
The senior qualified for the 60mH finals and has a chance to make history on the final day of events.
Hall (20.58) continues to improve his time by each event this indoor season along with Dedric Dukes (20.55).
The 200-meter duo now owns the top two times in the country, as well as the fourth and sixth fastest times in the world this year.
Coach Mike Holloway said the team had a very good day, and there were so many great performances today – too many to list.
Alongside those men’s performances came junior jumper Marquis Dendy, who put up the Gators first points on the men’s side.
Dendy jumped to a fourth-place finish with a long jump of 7.50 meters for five team points.
To conclude the day, Mark Parrish made his appearance in the 3,000-meter race.
The senior came in eighth place to add another team point for the Gators clocking a time of 8:11.19 in the race.
The final day of results will determine who will claim bragging rights as the SEC titleholder.
The women’s team sits in third place with 24 points, while the men’s are in ninth with six points.
In hopes for a final day positive turnout, the team will put all they’ve worked for this indoor season on the line.
“We’re very excited to see what tomorrow brings,” Holloway said. “We have to put ourselves in a good position on both sides and are very excited to see what happens.”
Follow Lawrence Laguna on Twitter @LagunaLawrence
