UF took home a SEC track title last weekend, but the team's gender might be a surprise.
The unranked women's track and field team ran away with its first SEC Outdoor Championship in six years, and UF's men's and women's teams combined for nine event victories at the four-day event hosted by UF at Percy Beard Track inside James G. Pressly Stadium.
The top-ranked UF men entered the meet as favorites to win the title but fell short finishing with 129 points to Arkansas' winning total of 141.
"These things don't come easy, and this really shows what a great team we have," UF head coach Mike Holloway said. "We push each other hard all season and that paid off this weekend."
With 135.5 points, the Gators defeated No. 4 LSU and No. 12 Tennessee, the only other teams to top100 points.
Holloway knew going into the weekend that earning points from both his track and field athletes was vital in winning the championship.
"We are a very balanced group, and that shows a lot about our program," Holloway said. "If you want to be a national championship team, you need that balance."
The women's team also claimed five of the nine individual championships. Junior Evelien Dekkers won the women's javelin, junior Mariam Kevkhishvili won the women's shot put, junior Shara Proctor claimed the women's triple jump title as well as the women's long jump, and freshman Genevieve LaCaze won the women's steeplechase.
Even though Kevkhishvili's winning throw of 59-2.75/18.05m was a personal best, set a new SEC record and was the top throw in the country this season, she feels she can do better.
"I think I did all right this weekend, but I know I can do better then what I did," she said. "I will be ready for regionals in a few weeks."
Men's junior sprinter Calvin Smith was awarded with the Commissioner's Trophy, which is awarded to the high-points scorer from the championships. Smith, who had 22 points, earned two SEC championship titles in the 400-meter dash as well as participating in the winning 4x100-meter relay team with Jeremy Hall, Terrell Wilks and Jeff Demps.
The 4x100-meter relay team won UF's first SEC title in that event with a time of 38.74 seconds, the third-fastest time in school history.
Hall, a winner in the men's 200-meter dash, ran the 100-meter dash in 10.08 seconds, finishing second to LSU's Trindon Holliday who finished with a new track record of 10.01 seconds. Demps, who also ran against Hall and Holliday, finished in ninth place after pulling his hamstring.
Demps, who had a similar injury following the Penn Relays in late April, was helped off the track by trainers and is being evaluated.
Freshman Gray Horn won the men's decathlon on Saturday, setting another record for UF by earning the school its first decathlon victory. Horn edged out Michael Ayers of Tennessee with 7,389 points, ending Tennessee's four-year winning streak in the event.
"It hasn't sunk in yet, and I doubt it will sink in for a very long time," Horn said after his victory Saturday. "This is something I've dreamed about for my entire life."
Next up for the men's and women's teams is a trip to Greensboro, N.C., to participate in the NCAA East Regional on May 29-30.
"We can't let this win take our focus away from NCAA competitions later this season," Holloway said.
