Junior Eddie Lovett was focusing on three things while setting up in the blocks for the finals of the men’s 55-meter hurdles.
Head down, back parallel to the ground and looking at his feet.
After finishing first during the preliminary heat with a time of 7.17 at Thursday’s Gator Invitational, hurdles coach Erin Tucker discussed his concerns with Lovett’s start.
“He told me that my start wasn’t as good, … and I picked my head up too soon,” Lovett said. “My advantage — what really gets the job done — is my start and me in between (hurdles), so I just really focused on that for the finals.”
Lovett’s focus worked.
In the finals, Lovett finished with a time of 7.10 to break a 23-year-old Florida record, which Earl Diamond set in 1990 with a time of 7.15. Lovett also claimed his second straight individual title this season.
“Eddie Lovett, what can you say,” coach Mike Holloway said. “He had a phenomenal performance — a new school record. … Couldn’t ask more from him today.”
Last year Lovett suffered a tear to his oblique that sidelined him for a majority of the indoor season. He also battled problems in his psoas muscle during the indoor season, which affected his posture during races.
Still, Lovett said that he’s much healthier and is confident in his last two performances as the Gators head into their most challenging meet yet — the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
“These two meets were a good practice,” Lovett said. “Now it’s just basically getting it going like a steamroller. As you go, it gets better, and I’ll be full speed by the time we get to [the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships].”
Along with Lovett’s victory, Florida had 11 wins at the Gator Invitational including 21 top-three finishes.
“I’ll be honest with you, I think we’ve got some work to do on the sprinters,” Holloway said.
“Overall, we’re in a good spot; I really liked what I saw. I just like this team as a whole. There’s good people, they’re hardworking and they really want to get better.”
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
Junior Eddie Lovett (left) races in the 55m hurdles at the Gator Invitational in the O’Connell Center.