Battling through adversity and a deficit, the top-ranked Florida men and women teams pulled off podium finishes.
The No. 1 Florida women’s team entered the final day of the Southeastern Conference Outdoor championship in fourth place but excelled to second place to grab silver in Lexington, Ky., with 116.5 points.
The men (93 points) shared a similar outcome with a third-place finish, edging out Georgia by just a point. However, they fell well short of an SEC first-place title that coach Mike Holloway and his athletes have been yearning due to their steady potential.
“Obviously mixed emotions today. This was an incredible meet and everyone competed hard,” Holloway said.
“On the men’s side, we were just a little shorthanded with Gino (Hall) being hurt, with Mark (Parrish) and Jimmy (Clark) being banged up and having to redshirt. It’s hard to come to this championship and expect to win without three vital pieces like that. I thought everybody competed really well today.”
Holloway continually spoke about his athletes’ potential but always reminds them that potential doesn’t mean anything if you haven’t done anything yet.
But four Gator athletes rose to the occasion each taking an individual SEC title in their respective events.
Ciarra Brewer (triple jump), Cory McGee (1,500-meter), Stipe Zunic (shot put) and Marquis Dendy (triple jump) each became SEC titleholders in their respective events and also vaulted Florida in the standings.
“I’m really proud of Stipe Zunic in the shot put – new school-record holder. He’s taken the shot really seriously since September, I’m really proud of him,” Holloway said.
“In the men’s 4x1, we threw that unit together an hour before the race and they ran one of the top times in school history. Marquis Dendy really figured some things out today. He grew up a lot today. Cory McGee has come in second (in the 1500m) three times at this meet and for her to come in here today, win it and win it big, I was really proud of her.”
Dendy shared a similar experience as he prevailed through a disappointing long jump performance a day prior to then win the triple jump on championship Sunday.
The junior jumper said he felt like he let the entire team down after a bad long jump performance. But Holloway called him to share some words with him, and then Dendy repeatedly verbally motivated himself and a title was the result.
Florida achieved much success overall, especially after a slow start to the conference championships.
Although many athletes exceeded meet records, personal records and school history marks, there’s nothing else more important than the challenge that lies ahead – nationals.
“Again, at the end of the day, we can’t walk out of here extremely happy because we didn’t win, but I was really pleased with the effort, really feel good going forward,” Holloway said. “We know what we have to work on now, we know where we have to get better.”
Follow Lawrence Laguna on Twitter @LagunaLawrence
Marquis Dendy competes at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 23, 2013, in Fayetteville, Ark.
