After opening the 2011 Southeastern Conference Outdoor
Championships in an early deficit, Gray Horn rallied and made
history.
The
junior trailed by 100 points in the men’s decathlon heading into
Friday, but he used a victory in the 110-meter hurdles to
springboard him to a school record 7,828 points and his third
straight outdoor title.
Horn became just the second SEC athlete to ever accomplish a
three-peat in the event.
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“I thought we had an incredible day,” Florida head coach Mike
Holloway said. “We challenged our team just to
execute, to come out and be who we are and do what we do…For Gray
Horn to win his third decathlon in a row is an incredible
accomplishment. To win one of these is great, but to win three in a
row is phenomenal, and to set the school record on top of
that.”
The
No. 2 Gators’ men’s team finished the second day of competition in
third place with 23 points after Horn’s win, staying within
striking distance of first-place Arkansas (26) and second-place
Georgia (24).
The
women’s team remained winless in fourth-place and now trails
Georgia by 18 points.
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In preliminary action, Florida
advanced five athletes to final events, including women’s
runners Darshay Davis (200m), Cory McGee (800m) and Ugonna
Ndu (400m hurdles). Two men’s runners, Sean Obinwa (800m) and
Terrell Wilks (200m), also qualified.
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“We qualified well across the board,” Holloway said. “I’m really
proud of everybody. Even the people who didn’t qualify came out and
competed hard. It’s just a testament to the way we do things. We
just have to go back to the hotel, rest up and come out tomorrow to
do the same thing all over again.”
UF Communications contributed to this report.
