The Gators ended the Texas Relays with a bang.
“What a day at Texas,” a pleased Mike Holloway said.
On Saturday – the fourth and final day of the 86th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Tex. – Florida swept both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays.
The women’s squad, comprised of freshmen Robin Reynolds and Destinee Gause and juniors Lanie Whittaker and Ebony Eutsey, edged out the hometown Longhorns by .04 seconds to capture the women’s 4x400 title. With a time of 3:27.61, these women now hold the fastest time in the world for 2013 as well as second-fastest all-time at UF.
The men’s squad is also the 2013 world leaders after winning its 4x400m relay. Sophomores Hugh Graham, Jr. and Dedric Dukes along with freshmen Najee Glass and Arman Hall posted a time of 3:02.65, beating No. 1 ranked Texas A&M by .11 seconds. Along with posting a world-leading time, the men also go down as 10th-fastest in UF history.
The men’s 4x100m relay squad also turned in a solid performance with a time of 38.99 seconds. Led by 2013 NCAA indoor champion Eddie Lovett, the Gators managed to finish runner-up to Texas A&M, trailing by just .35 seconds
“I’m very proud of all the Gators,” Holloway said. “We were very competitive in both 4x1s and to close the meet winning both 4x4s was special. What we saw out there today is a testament to the hard work these young people are putting in at practice every day.”
It should be noted that the Gators were not only in Texas this weekend. A handful of athletes competed at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., and the North Florida Invitational in Jacksonville. In Jacksonville, the Gators won five events: Caitlin Schuessler won the women’s pole vault, Jared Watkins won the men’s pole vault, Jayla Bostic won the women’s hammer throw, David Triassi won the men’s hammer throw and Derek Wehunt won the men’s 1500m.
“What a weekend for the Gators,” Holloway said.
Added Holloway: “I want to give a shout out to our strength coach Matt DeLancey for the wonderful work he is doing with our athletes, and to trainer Andy Klock and his staff for their efforts in keeping everyone healthy. I couldn’t be more appreciative to have such incredible support staff.”
Junior Eddie Lovett (left) races in the 55m hurdles at the Gator Invitational in the O’Connell Center.
