Let the countdown begin.
Just three weeks before playing host to the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, UF flaunted its talent on one of the largest stages for track and field this weekend, the 115th Penn Relays.
In three days of competition, UF gathered 24 total NCAA regional-qualifying marks and continued its progress as it heads towards the outdoor championship stretch.
UF coach Mike Holloway said the overall performance in Pennsylvania this year was one of the best in UF history and credited the athletes' success to preparation and focus.
"They trusted their training, they trusted their coaches, they trusted their abilities and didn't get caught up in the crowd," Holloway said.
"They just went out there and took care of the Gators, which is what we talk about all the time."
A team of hurdlers, which highlighted UF's performance this weekend, impressed Holloway and demonstrated the trust he talked about.
The team of Kallinka Pitt, Dennis Martin, William Wynne and Jarius Cooper set a new school record and defended UF's title in the Shuttle Hurdles Championships of America.
The group won the event in a regional-qualifying time of 54.30 - 0.46 seconds faster than the previous school record of 54.76.
"Those four guys trust and believe in each other. They put it together all on the same day," Holloway said. "That's part of being a relay team, hoping all four guys run well the same day, and that happened."
Wynne, the reigning SEC Male Freshman of the Week, had another impressive showing this weekend. The freshman from Marietta, Ga., won the men's 400-meter hurdles in a regional-qualifying time of 50.02, accounting for the second of UF's three victories on the weekend.
The other victory came in the women's long jump, where junior Shara Proctor had a regional-qualifying leap of 20 feet, 4.50 inches.
Holloway likes where the team currently stands, saying the team accomplished its simple goal of getting better.
"Things have gone according to planned, so far, and we just need to keep working towards the ultimate goal, which is to be ready at SEC, the regional and the national championship meets," Holloway said.
The team will get a week off before competing in Tallahassee on May 8.
