Florida spent the first two days of the Pepsi Florida Relays breaking records.
Day 3 proved to be no different.
The Gators stole the show in the 4x400 relay, winning all three events on Saturday.
The women’s relay team, made up of Claudia Francis, Robin Reynolds, Kyra Jefferson and Sharrika Barnett, set the school record with a time of 3:26:28.
“It felt great today,” Jefferson said. “Coach Holloway told us that the 4x4 is the last thing people remember, so give them a show. The fact that we were at home gave us a little bit of a home field advantage, because it got the crowd hyped and it just gave us more motivation to come out and run fast.”
For the third straight day, the Gators set an NCAA-leading time.
But they didn’t just set one on Saturday, they set two.
The first one came in the women’s 4x100 relay team of Robin Reynolds, Shayla Sanders, Skylar Ross Ransom and Kyra Jefferson. Their time of 42.85 earned the second-best mark in school history.
The second came in the last event of the day, the men’s Jimmy Carnes Invite, one of the three 4x400 relays Florida won. That relay team made up of Hugh Graham Jr., Arman Hall, Eric Futch and Najee Glass, ran a time of 3:03.42.
In the men’s sprint relay team of Michael Timpson Jr., Ryan Clark, Kunle Fasasi and Andres Arroyo,who held a commanding lead in the race up until the last half of the final lap, also finished second with a time of 3:14.24, just 1.03 seconds off the Florida school record.
Arroyo, who ran an Olympic standard yesterday, was presented with the William W. "Billy" Richardson Memorial Track Scholarship by Holloway, given to most outstanding junior track and field member, as designated by the head coach.
“I am grateful, we have been working so hard day in and day out in this track,” Arroyo said. “I just feel grateful for the coaches and everything. They helped to get me to where I am today.”
In the triple jump KeAndre Bates came in third with a jump of 16.04 meters, the No. 2 mark in Division 1 and number eight on UF’s all-time outdoor top 10. Teddy Tamgho, unattached, came in first in the event with a jump of 16.63 meters.
“I can do better, but I have come along this year,” Bates said. “I have been off of it mentally, so I am back a little bit and I am happy about that.”
The women’s shuttle hurdle relay made of Skylar Ross-Ransom, Kimani Rushing, Ryann McEnany and Tyjah Eady took second with a time of 54.18.
Lloydricia Cameron had a best mark of 17.06 meters in the shot put invite, giving her number six time on UF's all-time outdoor top 10.
But this day wasn’t just special for the Gators because of the races. It was also Senior day.
“It was hard but I didn’t cry,” Holloway said. “It was really special to share that moment with them, because they are a lot of special people. I’m not just talking about the points they scored or the records they broke or the accolades they won, I’m just talking about they are great people.
Now, the Gators have a few weeks to train and rest until their next meet, the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, on April 22 which will be at home.
Contact Lauren Staff at lstaff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @lstaff27.
Junior mid-distance runner Andres Arroyo competes in the 800 meters during the Florida Relays on April 1, 2016, at Percy Beard Track.
