Multiple podium finishes in the distance events kept Florida competitive at the men’s SEC Indoor Championships, but the Gators’ efforts were only enough for fourth in the final team standings.
While Florida found key points through Oussama Allaoui’s runner-up finish in the mile and Kelvin Cheruiyot’s podium performances in the 5000-meter and 3000-meter races, the Arkansas men shined in the meet, securing the first-place finish and 111.2 points overall.
Florida’s 57 points mark a huge jump from their 2025 total, which sat at just 15 points and 15th overall, last in the competition.
Distance
In Friday’s 800-meter, Miguel Pantojas locked himself into a spot in Saturday’s final with a 1:49.42. Building upon his performance Saturday, he added a 1:49.01 and a sixth-place finish in the competition.
Oussama Allaoui continued his strong freshman campaign with a podium finish in the men’s mile, coming in second with a 4:02.80, just behind Missouri junior Drew Rogers and adding eight points for the Gators.
In Thursday’s men’s 5000-meter, Kelvin Cheruiyot gave the Gators a podium finish with his 13:40.75. The third-place finish put him just behind Arkansas’ Nick Busienei and Alabama’s Dismus Lokira.
Cheruiyot would add another podium finish in Saturday’s 3000-meter final, with his third-place finish giving the Gators six points and their third distance podium finish.
Sprints
In the 200-meter, Wanya McCoy had a stellar weekend, placing first in Thursday’s prelims. McCoy then notched a second-place finish in Saturday’s final with a season-best 20.31 sprint. His finish provided eight points to the Gators’ total.
McCoy was locked into a tight race with Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins, who took the race in a photo finish with a personal best time of 20.28.
Justin Braun and Jayden Horton-Mims both churned out stellar performances in Friday’s 400-meter. Both runners gave personal-best performances and earned spots in Saturday's final. Braun clocked a 45.30, good for second overall. Horton-Mims came in just behind him at third overall with a 45.36.
In Saturday’s final, Braun and Horton-Mims followed their Friday runs up with 45.58 and 45.67, respectively. The times would place them at fifth and seventh, behind runners from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina.
Throws
Freshman Jarno van Daalen continued to stand out for the Gators during the SEC championships, providing Florida a personal best performance in the men’s shot put with a 20.14-meter toss and a second-place finish.
Senior John Luke Witte added an eighth-place finish in his final SEC Championship, with a 21.89-meter throw.
Jumps
Temoso Masikane’s personal best performance in the triple jump was good for a fifth-place finish. The freshman’s 16.35-meter leap placed him behind four seniors. Jaden Lippett and Nicolas Crosswhite added 12th and 15th place finishes to go along with him.
The Gators also got a solid performance from Temoso Masikane in the men’s long jump, with his 7.79-meter leap placing him sixth. Luke Stradley and Nicolas Crosswhite each provided finishes at 12th and 13th, with jumps of 7.37 and 7.33.
Relays
Florida closed out its SEC championship weekend with the 4x400 relay, where the Gators finished fifth overall and secured a spot in fourth overall. The 3:04.65 put Florida behind Texas A&M, Arkansas, Georgia and LSU.
Contact Logan McBride at lmcbride@alligator.org. Follow him on X @LoganDMcBride.
Logan McBride is a journalism junior and a Spring 2026 track and field reporter. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows or playing basketball at Southwest Rec. He is also a big football fan and will die for Dak Prescott.
