Lloydricia Cameron waited four years to hear her name called over the speakers at James G. Pressly Stadium.
Shortly after she won the women’s shot put, Cameron gripped her white flowers with her left hand and clutched a family member’s wrist in her right as she received her senior plaque from coach Mike Holloway.
And she wasn’t the only one.
Each year, the Pepsi Florida Relays mark a time when the veterans on UF’s men’s and women’s track and field teams celebrate both the highs and lows of their collegiate journey. And on Saturday, four of those seniors took home a win in their final opportunity to compete at UF’s biggest home event of the season.
“Senior Day is always very emotional for me. Today, like all the other days, we hug each other and talk,” Holloway said in a release. “Then to see them all together, all the emotion kind of rushes over me because they all kind of have their own special story.”
Cameron’s story includes two SEC titles, three All-American honors and an SEC sportsmanship award.
She’s also the No. 3 discus thrower, as well as the No. 4 outdoor and No. 5 indoor shot put thrower on UF’s All-Time Top-10 List.
Another special story came from transfer Avione Allgood, who has only competed in two meets as a Gator. Her first season with Florida’s women’s track and field team would have been in 2017 after she transferred from Oklahoma. However, an injury kept her out the entire season.
The sixth-year senior javelin thrower made an emotional UF debut two weeks ago at the FSU Relays, where she threw for 53.59 meters.
“Watching her, after the injuries she fought through, it was emotional,” Holloway said. “You could see the fear in her eyes a little bit. But she’s a great athlete.”
In her first and last Florida Relays, the two-time outdoor All-American won the women’s javelin throw. And in her short time as a Gator, Allgood is already fifth on the program’s outdoor All-Time Top-10 list.
For Darrielle McQueen, Saturday was an opportunity for several members of her family to gather on Percy Beard track to watch the crowd cheer as she received her plaque.
In addition to her long jump win on the second day of the meet, McQueen is a nine-time All-American and sits in the top three on UF’s indoor and outdoor All-Time Top-10 lists in the event.
KeAndre Bates described his journey as a Gator as one that was centered around progress.
“I’ve grown a lot, especially these last two years,” Bates said. “It’s pretty much change, growing up, and seeing what my place in the world is.”
He has compiled 10 All-American honors, three national titles and three SEC titles.
The El Paso, Texas, native was named SEC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year as well as USTFCCCA National Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2017. He’s also the seventh man in Division I history to sweep the triple and long jumps at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and the eighth man to record top-three finishes in both jumps at consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“The whole time (at Florida) I was in a chrysalis like a caterpillar,” Bates said. “I’ve turned into a butterfly now.”
Follow Alanis Thames on Twitter @alanisthames and contact her at athames@alligator.org.
Senior Lloydricia Cameron is heading to the NCAA Outdoor Championship for the third-consecutive year.
