During the offseason, Christian Taylor improved his squat from 225 pounds to 365. Now, the UF jumper is looking for similar improvement when competing.
With this weekend’s Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, Ky., Taylor and the men’s and women’s track and field teams have their first opportunity to show the results of their offseason work.
“This was one of the best falls we’ve ever had,” UF coach Mike Holloway said. “They’re tired of seeing each other and ready to see where their effort gets them.”
The men’s team enters the season ranked second in the first poll by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) after its second-place finish in last season’s NCAA Indoor Championship. The women’s team is ranked sixth.
Opening the indoor track and field season for the second-straight year at the Kentucky Invitational, the Gators are more concerned with monitoring their progress than recording their best times.
“You do what you can do, and you see who else is out there and what the team looks like,” Taylor said.
After winning the NCAA Indoor triple jump title last season, Taylor’s offseason work could make him one of the most successful athletes in the sport.
So could former Arkansas coach Dick Booth. Booth joined UF this summer after 27 years with the Razorbacks, where he coached athletes to 45 individual national championships and tutored 11 Olympians. He will serve as jumps coach and recruiting assistant with the Gators and sets Taylor up for an even better 2010 season.
“I feel a lot better and I have a lot more confidence with Booth,” Taylor said.
Joining Taylor at the Kentucky Invitational on the women’s side is Mariam Kevkhishvili. The senior shot-putter won both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships last season and will be using 2010 to cement herself as one of the best in the sport’s history. She is a preseason finalist for The Bowerman Award presented to the best men’s and women’s track and field athlete by the USTFCCCA.
“I want to get out there and do my best and leave my name for as long as possible,” Kevkhishvili said.
Florida’s men’s 4x100-meter 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championship team returns Jeremy Hall, Terrell Wilks and 13-time All-American Calvin Smith and highlights a deep group of sprinters for the Gators.
The young group of women’s sprinters was one of the team’s weaker points in 2009, but sophomores Madison McNary and Alishea Usery are poised to lead a turnaround.
“I think we’ve progressed mentally and physically,” Usery said. “Our work ethic is better, and we’ve trained harder.”
The two-day event begins at 6 p.m. today and continues at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Florida will compete against the host Wildcats along with Alabama, Auburn, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Marshall, Miami, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, Tennessee, UCF, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky.
