Whether it is in a low-key competition or on a large stage against the top competitors in a sport, success is a major confidence booster for athletes, and this especially stands true for the younger athletes on the UF women's track and field team.
This weekend, the UF women traveled to Orlando for their outdoor season opener, the UCF Black and Gold Challenge and competed against Bethune-Cookman College, Texas and host Central Florida. They claimed four NCAA regional-qualifying marks and 20 top-10 finishes in the one-day event.
"Coming here was about competing against the clock, trying to find a way to get better and trying to work on some technical things, and that's what we did this weekend," coach Mike Holloway said.
Of the top performers this weekend, freshman sprinter Madison McNary may have gotten the biggest confidence booster Saturday when she won her first event of the season and had two other top-four finishes.
McNary won the women's 100-meter dash with a time of 11.81 seconds and was a part of the fourth-place 4x100-meter relay team.
She also finished second in the 200-meter dash in a personal best and a NCAA regional-qualifying time of 23.96.
McNary's performance was her best overall performance since the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 30-31, where she finished sixth in the 60-meter dash and ninth in the 200-meter dash.
In addition to the morale boost McNary got from her performance this weekend, Holloway thinks some new discoveries will aid her during the outdoor season.
"Madison is working on some technical things. I think that she's starting to figure some things out," Holloway said.
Some other Gators who had confidence-boosting performances this weekend were freshmen Paige Morton and Fidela James.
Morton had her best outing of the year in terms of finishes, as she placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.09 and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.48.
James recorded a 145 feet, 9 inch-throw and the second-place finish in the women's hammer throw. She also finished third in the shot put with an NCAA regional-qualifying toss of 48 feet, 2.5 inches.
"We are pleased with all the women, to be honest," Holloway said.
UF's overall performance this weekend gave them an early start on acquiring NCAA-qualifying marks and will go a long way to make the women's team feel more confident heading into the outdoor season.
