For the first time since 1998, UF will host the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships beginning today at 2:30 p.m. and running until Sunday evening at Percy Beard Track in James G. Pressly Stadium.
The Gators have hosted the SEC Outdoor Championships six previous times: 1960, 1970, 1974, 1981, 1989 and 1998.
The Seminole Twilight Invitational in Tallahassee this past weekend proved to be exactly what the Gators needed to continue making progress toward NCAA glory.
The Gators' objective going into Tallahassee was to gain momentum before the SEC meet. They responded with four event victories and 11 NCAA regional-qualifying marks.
Freshmen Ben Davies and Michael Anderson won the javelin and steeplechase, respectively. Natalie Moser took home her second pole vault title of the season, and junior Mariam Kevkhishvili won the women's shot put.
UF coach Mike Holloway stressed the importance of team success rather than individual performance.
"We are doing what we have always done," Holloway said. "We aren't focused on one athlete, we are focused on Florida."
The men's outdoor team has been ranked in the nation's top 10 throughout the entire season and jumped to the No. 1 spot in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll on April 29.
"We don't put pressure on our athletes," Holloway said. "All we ask is that they come out and perform at a high level."
During the Penn Relays in late April, the team of hurdlers consisting of Kallinka Pitt, Dennis Martin, William Wynne and Jarius Cooper set a new school record of 54.30 seconds while defending UF's title in the Shuttle Hurdles Championships of America.
"We feel good about our team as a whole, and we are just going to go out and perform to the best of our ability," Holloway said.
After the SEC Championships, the Gators will participate in the NCAA Regionals on May 29-30 in Greensboro, N.C., and the NCAA Outdoor Championships from June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.
"From the beginning of the season, our major goals were to be conference and national champions," Holloway said. "At the end of the season, we have a goal of being the best in the country."
