After two days of competition, 1,000 meters is all that stood between senior Gray Horn and winning the 2012 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship for the heptathlon. He entered the last event only 97 points ahead of Kevin Lazas from Arkansas, but 2:51.25 later, Horn was able to claim his second SEC heptathlon title.
“Winning one of these is tough, so winning two in a row and five SEC titles in a row just makes it incredibly special,” said coach Mike Holloway. “Gray’s a special guy, and I’m extremely proud of him.”
The 753 points Horn earned in the 1000m were enough to bring his total to 5,885. His win helped move the men to first place for the day.
“I told my teammates this one was for them. We’re going for this team title,” Horn said.
Horn wasn’t the only one to add ten points to the men’s team. Junior Jeremy Postin and freshman Marquis Dendy both won titles, setting personal-best marks in weight throw and long jump, respectively.
“It just tells you how blessed I am to have the kind of athletes I have, as well as a great coaching staff,” Holloway said.
Besides the men, the women’s team also had their own success Saturday. Together, Lorraine Graham, Keely Medeiros, Fidela James, Agata Stausa, Cory McGee and Genevieve LaCaze were able to rack up 35 points.
Florida’s men lead the competition as they head into the final day of the championship with 50 points, and the women will begin the last day in second place with 40.
“That’s what this meet is all about: competing hard and going out and doing the things we work on in practice and if we’ll trust that, we’re going to be fine,” Holloway said.
The Gators have nine qualifiers on the women’s side, including sophomore Darshay Davis who will be competing in both the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash on Sunday, and 10 qualifiers for the men’s team.
“I think the big thing we’re looking forward to is just coming out big tomorrow,” Holloway said. “We have a lot of big events tomorrow for a lot of points on the board.”
