On the third day of the 86th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Florida nabbed three individual event victories by way of freshman Marija Vucenovic, senior Omar Craddock and sophomore Marquis Dendy.
Vucenovic won the women’s javelin throw with a personal-best distance of 52.47m.
“I was really excited because it was my first meet ever here in the United States,” Vucenovic said. “For me to win my first competition as just a freshman, it showed me that I can go far here at Florida. I’m really excited about next week at Florida Relays. I think I’ll be even better.”
Also competing in the women’s javelin was sophomore Fawn Miller. Miller also threw a personal-best distance, finishing in third with a distance of 51.74m.
“Marija and Fawn did a fine job in the javelin,” coach Mike Holloway said. “Coach (Steve) Lemke continues to do a fine job with our throwers.”
Craddock took home the title in the men’s triple jump on Friday. By leaping a distance of 16.43m, Craddock is currently the NCAA leader in the event.
“This is my first time at Texas Relays since 2006, I think, and I love it,” Craddock said. “I haven’t competed in Texas in six years. I’m 21 now and I was 15 then.”
“This is the first time that my family has gotten to see me compete in college. They can’t get to Florida. This is the first time my grandma has gotten to see me compete, too. It’s just a wonderful feeling and I can’t complain. I came out here, got the win and I’m having a good time. I love Texas Relays and everything about it.”
With a distance of 8.17m, Dendy – the reigning NCAA indoor champion in the men’s long jump – was Florida’s third victor on Friday.
“I just want to continue to stay hungry and focused,” Dendy said. “This is a whole new season. Yes, I won indoors and I’m very proud of that, but this is like a new beginning and to come out here and get the Texas Relays title, it means a lot. I’m definitely ready for this season and know there’s room to improve.”
Heading into the final day of the Texas Relays, Florida is set to compete in six events. Most notably, Eddie Lovett is set to compete the men’s 110m hurdles final. By posting a time of 13.47 seconds, Lovett won Friday’s preliminaries in the 110m.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow and lots of great finals and chances for the Gators to get better,” Holloway noted. “It’s going to be very exciting and we need to match the excitement and intensity of the other teams here.”
Sophomore jumper Marquis Dendy competes in the long jump at the SEC Indoor Track Championships on Feb. 23 in Fayetteville, Ark. Dendy qualified for the men's triple jump in next week's NCAA Outdoors Championships.
