The Florida Gators stretched their success across three time zones in their third meet of the spring, posting historic marks in three different states.
While the bulk of the squad returned to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the Tyson Invitational, other Florida runners clocked in performances out west in Seattle and up north in Boston on Feb. 13–14.
Sprints
In the women’s 60-meter dash, Gabrielle Matthews was a headliner in Fayetteville, recording a first-place finish and a 7.19 that was good for No. 5 in program history. Jade Brown finished 6th in the event, running a 7.36.
In the 200 meters, the Gators got three top-10 finishes from Matthews, Tyra Cox and Quincy Penn. Matthews' 23.24 second run was good for sixth, while Cox and Penn landed in 9th and 10th with a 23.29 and 23.36.
In the men’s 60-meter, Wanya McCoy’s 6.68-second season best placed sixth in a tightly contested race.
Justin Braun clocked in at 45.82 in the men’s 400-meter dash, placing him third in the event, just behind Penn State’s Jake Palermo and Arkansas’ Devyn Wright.
In the men’s 200-meter, the Gators got a pair of top 10 finishes from Braun and Jaden Horton-Mims, who clocked in at 20.86 and 20.88, respectively.
In the men’s 800-meter, sophomore Jonah Kirspel added a personal best time of 1:48.34, good for a third-place finish. Gavin Nelson added a personal best time of 1:47.53, good for first in his heat and seventh in program history indoors.
Distance
In Boston, multiple Gators notched historic performances competing in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational.
Riley Smith continued to cement himself into Gator history, recording a 7:50.47 in the men’s 3000-meter, a time good for second in his heat and in program history. On Jan. 31, Smith became just the third Gator to run a sub-four-minute mile.
On Feb. 13, Oussama Allaoui became the fourth. In just his second indoor meet, Allaoui ran a blazing 3:57.47 mile, good for No. 3 all-time for Gators in the event.
Jonathan Leon’s 13:59.15 in the men’s 5000 meter cemented him at No. 4 in program history.
Across the country, the Gators’ distance success didn’t stop. In Fayetteville, Arkansas, Riley Novack placed first in the men’s mile, running a 4:04.71 personal best.
Kelvin Cheruiyot’s trip to Seattle was a resounding success. In Saturday’s Husky Classic, Cheruiyot's late surge propelled him to a first-place finish and a facility record, clocking in at 13:15.57.
Cheruiyot’s 5000-meter time was a whopping 16-second improvement from the previous UF school record, which Cheruiyot owned.
Jumps
In the men’s long jump, Temoso Masikane and Luke Stradley both landed on the podium with personal-best performances. Masikane was first in the event, with a 8.11 meter leap on his second attempt. The jump placed him in the top five in program history. Stradley’s 7.75-meter jump was good for third in the event.
Nicolas Crosswhite joined the pair in the top five, with a 7.58-meter leap.
Asia Phillips and Pauline Bikembo placed 12th and 15th in the women’s long jump, respectively, with 6.04 and 6.02 meter jumps.
Phillips added another successful jump in the women’s triple jump, breaking 13 meters for the first time this season. Her 13.33-meter leap placed her fourth overall.
Throws
John Luke Witte added a season-best, 21.98-meter throw in the men’s weight throw. The heave was good for ninth. On the women’s side, Imani Washington added a 19.30-meter toss that landed her in 20th overall.
In the men’s shot put, Jarno Van Daalen’s 19.33-meter toss was good for second and a personal best, finishing just behind Ole Miss’ All-SEC thrower Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan.
Relays
In Saturday’s 4x400 relays, Florida ended its trip to Arkansas with a blazing 3:02.15 in the men’s competition, leading to a win and placing it third in program history. The women finished second, with their 3:28.37 good for second in program history.
The Gators will return for the start of SEC action when the SEC Indoor Championships begin on February 26 in College Station, Texas.
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.
