Sprinter Jeff Demps has the fastest all-conditions time for the NCAA in the 100 meter, senior Gray Horn has won the decathlon title in every Southeastern Conference Championship he’s competed in and Florida men’s 4x100 meter relay team set the second-fastest collegiate time earlier in the season. However, none of them competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Despite missing out on three possible first-place finishes, Florida still edged LSU by two team points to win its first NCAA outdoor title.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this group of young men,” coach Mike Holloway said. “We had a lot of adversity, not just this week, but throughout the year. You think about things, the people that weren’t here, the people that didn’t want to give you a chance, but our guys never bought into it. I’m extremely proud of them.”
The adversity for Florida’s outdoor season started at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Horn entered the second day of heptathlon competition in first place and was two events away from securing a win, when the senior got injured during pole-vault warm ups.
Horn sat out a majority of the outdoor season due to the injury. After he was suspended for the SEC Outdoor Championships, Horn did not have a decathlon score to qualify him for the NCAA East Preliminary Round and therefore wasn’t able to qualify for the championships.
Demps came next. After the five-time NCAA Champion finished second in the first round at the NCAA East Preliminary Round, all he had to do was finish in the top 12 during the finals to advance to the championships. However, Demps was forced to pull out of the competition because of a tweaked hamstring.
After winning the title in the men’s 4x100 twice in the last three years, the hopes were high for the Gators to take home another one. Unfortunately for Florida, the relay team dropped the baton during a hand off at the NCAA East Preliminary Round, causing them to miss out on qualifying for nationals.
“We lost our best sprinter, we lost our best decathlete and our 4x100 didn’t qualify,” Holloway said. “A lot of people would have given up hope, but our group of guys didn’t. I sat them down after regionals and I said, ‘We are still the best team in the country, as long as you believe it,’ and our guys believed it.”
Despite losing out on those three events, the Gators still came out on top. Florida scored in seven events in comparison to LSU scoring nine times. However, they still outscored the runner-up Tigers to earn them their second NCAA title this year.
Out of those seven events, Florida took first place in three — Tony McQuay (400 meters), Omar Craddock (triple jump) and Dedric Dukes, Hugh Graham, Jr., Leonardo Seymore and McQuay (4x400 meter relay).
McQuay’s performance in the 400 meters set a new personal record for him with a time of 44.58. His win also gave the Gators their first title in the event in school history.
In addition to the 400 meters title, Florida also won its first 4x400 meter relay title. The four now hold the world leading time with a mark of 3:00.02.
Craddock earned his win with an all-conditions best of 16.92 meters, giving the Gators its sixth straight NCAA title in the triple jump.
The Gators also had two top-three finishes. Junior Jeremy Postin was runner-up in the hammer throw, and junior Dwight Barbiasz finished third in the high jump. Combined, the two earned 14 points for Florida.
As the Gators look forward to earning their third straight NCAA title next year, the men’s team will lose Demps and Horn.
“I actually figured out on the plane that we had no seniors (competing on the men’s side),” Holloway said. “Obviously, if we stay healthy, there is a bright future for the University of Florida, on both the men’s and the women’s sides.”
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
Florida’s Tony McQuay reacts after anchoring his team to victory in the men’s 4x400-meter relay at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships June 9 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
