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<p>UF freshman Grant Holloway jumps at the Hokie Invitational men's long jump final on Jan. 21, 2017. </p>

UF freshman Grant Holloway jumps at the Hokie Invitational men's long jump final on Jan. 21, 2017. 

An emerging Florida freshman found himself at the top twice over the weekend.

Grant Holloway, a freshman hurdler and jumper, won an event on both Day 1 and Day 2 of Virginia Tech’s Hokie Invitational.

Holloway ran a time of 7.77 in the men’s 60-meter hurdle final on Day 1, which gave him the win.

He currently holds the Division I-leading time for the event — 7.63 — which he posted in a meet at Clemson on Jan. 7.

On Day 2, Holloway was on top again in the men’s long jump final by jumping 8.05 meters — a new Division I-leading mark.

Other Florida jumpers found their marks among the best nationally as well.

Junior KeAndre Bates and freshman Clayton Brown, for example, jumped into the 1-2 spots in the men’s triple jump final.

Bates’ mark — 16.37 meters — narrowly edged his teammate’s mark of 16.34 meters, but both marks were good enough for the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked marks in Division I.

As for the women, Yanis David, a sophomore, placed first in the women’s triple jump final on Day 1. With a mark of 13.49 meters, she jumped far enough to place in the No. 2 spot in Division I and now holds the No. 4-ranked mark on UF’s all-time indoor top 10.

Her teammates followed her lead.

Jumpers Asa Garcia, Ebony Luster and Darrielle McQueen secured the No. 2, 3 and 4 spots to sweep the top four in the women’s triple jump final.

David thinks she can jump farther than her mark on Day 1 but was still impressed with the distance she jumped, which she said she wasn’t hitting at this time last year.

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“If I am already hitting 13.49 now, then I think I can do better,” David said.

As for other UF successes at the meet, sophomore sprinter Kunle Fasasi placed first in the men’s 400-meter final with a time of 46.53 — a time that ranks third in Division I.

Sophomore Sharrika Barnett also placed first in her event — the women’s 400-meter final — with a time of 53.25, which is ranked No. 8 in Division I.

Her teammate, junior Taylor Sharpe, came in second with a time of 54.41.

Coach Mike Holloway said his team’s enthusiasm was key to its success on Day 2.

“I challenged everybody to come out and trust their fitness — put their best foot forward,” Holloway said in a release. “And I think everybody did that.”

Up next for the Gators is a trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to compete in the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 27-28.

Contact Daniel Smithson at dsmithson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DanielTSmithson.

UF freshman Grant Holloway jumps at the Hokie Invitational men's long jump final on Jan. 21, 2017. 

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