On a weekend that featured senior spotlights, weather delays and outdoor debuts, several Gators found ways to shine at the UF’s Pepsi Relays.
Sprints
For Gators sprinters, it was the 100-meter that headlined the competition. In the women’s competition, Gabby Matthews delivered. Her 11.11-second run took first place overall and was second in program history.
Trenton Howard followed Matthews up with a fourth-place finish for the men, with his 10.17 putting him just behind runners from Penn State, Florida State and Middle Tennessee State.
In the men’s 200-meter, Justin Braun and Jayden Horton-Mims began their outdoor seasons with sixth and eighth-place finishes.
Sydney Sutton and Tyra Cox both added solid runs for the Gators on the women’s side, with 200-meter times of 23.09 and 23.26, placing them both within the top 10. Sutton’s run was fifth overall in the tightly contested race.
In Saturday’s men’s 800-meter, Gavin Nelson delivered a historic Gator performance and a second-place finish. His 1:46.60 was a personal best time and the seventh highest time in program history for the event.
Claire Stegall kept the momentum going, with a 2:01.07 to put the freshman in third.
Distance
In his outdoor debut, freshman Oussama Allaoui continued to shine in limited action. His 1500-meter run of 3:39.45 gave the youngster a first-place finish and another place in program record books. The time moved him to No. 3 on the program’s all-time list.
Riley Smith trailed behind him with a 3:40.33-second run that placed him fourth overall and fourth on UF’s all-time list. The Gainesville native has quickly made a name for himself with the Gators, etching his name into UF’s 3000-meter record books during the 2026 indoor season in February, and now the 1500-meter record books.
The 1500-meter continued to be a party for the Gators, with Gavin Nelson adding another personal best to his weekend resume. His 3:42.53 provided Florida another top ten finish, placing him ninth in the competition. Meanwhile, Riley Novack added another personal best time of 3:46.48, good for a top 20 finish.
The women’s 1500-meter invite saw success for Reagan Gilmore, who finished fifth overall with a 4:13.22. Freshman Isobelle Jones trailed just behind, with her 4:19.60 putting her at 12th.
Jumps
In Saturday's triple jump invites, both the men and women got podium finishes. For the men, Jaden Lippett leapt to a 15.48-meter jump that put him just behind jumpers from Oklahoma State and North Carolina A&T.
Meanwhile, sophomore Asia Phillips was adding a runner-up finish with her 13.14-meter jump.
Throws
Florida’s throwing was once again headlined by Lekeil Cabrera Gay’s javelin dominance. On Friday, the national champion runner-up was the only thrower to break 70 meters, with his 72.53-meter toss being five meters above the next closest thrower.
On Saturday, freshman Jarno Van Daalen started the day for the Gators with a 60.21-meter throw in the men’s discus invite, a toss good for third place. Van Daalen finished just behind Florida State junior Shamar Reid and Auburn senior Seth Allen.
Meanwhile, Gracelyn Leiseth was able to finish second in the women’s shot put invite with her 17.76-meter toss.
Relays
On Friday, Florida’s men blazed their way to a spot in the 4x100m relay finals. Trenton Howard, Jaden Wiley, Almond Small and Wanya McCoy won their heat and advanced with a 38.67-second run.
Saturday, the Gators followed their performance up with a second-place finish and a 39.14-second run in the final, finishing just behind Auburn’s 38.67-second relay.
Florida’s Saturday was headlined by the Jimmy Carnes 4x400 invites, a competition where Jayden Horton-Mims, Justin Braun, Wanya McCoy and Nicholas Spikes faced off with runners from Tennessee, Florida State, Penn State and Iowa.
In the event, the Gator men finished the weekend with a blazing 3:02.25-second finish and a win. The 3:02.25 was a full second over the second-place relay.
On the women’s side, Quincy Penn, Tyra Cox, Malia Campbell and Sydney Sutton took on runners from Michigan, Auburn, Miami, Iowa and Tennessee.
They were able to finish third, with their 3:26.02 placing them behind South Carolina and Tennessee.
The Gators will take the track again when they return to Gainesville for the Tom Jones Memorial April 17.
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.
