Mike Holloway wasn’t ecstatic with the men’s team after not meeting expectations in the distance medley relay on the opening day of the Rod McCravy Memorial. He didn’t let the runners forget either.
After a fourth-place finish in the DMR on Friday in Lexington, Ky., the men had a different motive on the final day of events.
The second-ranked men dominated the 800-meter dash with a first-place finish on Saturday to reclaim their status.
“I was really proud of the men’s 800m runners,” Holloway said. “I challenged them last night after we didn’t have such a great DMR to trust our training, and they really stepped up to the plate today.”
Sean Obinwa lead the event in a first-place finish time of 1:48.20 and freshman middle-distance runner Donnie Lee, Jr. ran a 1:51.03 in his first collegiate 800-meter race.
Sophomore Ryan Schnulle (1:49.13) finished in fifth place and freshman Andres Arroyo (1:49.22) finished in sixth as both ran for an all-time top-10 mark for the Gators.
The men’s team also proved worthy in the 4x400 relay as the anchor, Arman Hall, closed the final leg for his team.
Nick Uruburu, Hugh Graham, Jr., and Ryan Schnulle all gave what their anchor needed to pull off a 3:07.20 first place finish, which was also a new meet record.
“Any time you can run a 3:07.20 in the men’s 4x4 without Najee Glass and Dedric Dukes, you’re having yourself a good start,” Holloway said.
The anchor also showed up in the men’s 400-meter run as Hall finished in the top spot with a time of 45.84 with teammate Graham Jr. just behind with a third place finish of 46.58.
The third-ranked women didn’t remain content after a successful opening day.
Sharing the spotlight of success in the women’s 3000-meter run, senior Cory McGee finished in first place with a 9:18.26 time and freshman Rebekah Greene ran a 9:18.44.
In addition, Eddie Lovett in back to back meets finished first in the men’s 60-meter hurdles.
Holloway said Lovett was great in the hurdles and McGee and Greene did a phenomenal job in the 3000-meter.
Ending the McCravy Memorial with seven event victories and two meet records, the UF track and field team concluded competition on a high note.
“We take this for what it is knowing we did a great job this weekend,” Holloway said. “We’ll get back to Gainesville and get back to work because we have bigger fish to fry down the line.”
Follow Lawrence Laguna on Twitter @LagunaLawrence
