Layla Haynes’ record-breaking 1500-meter run stole the spotlight as Florida track and field compiled an impressive slate of wins, personal bests and podium finishes in the East Coast Relays.
Sprints
The Florida women had a dominant showing in the 200-meter event. Freshman Sydney Sutton ran a 22.55, placed first and added the fourth fastest 200-meter time in program history. Quincy Penn wasn’t far behind, adding the fifth fastest time in UF outdoor history and placing third overall.
Tyra Cox gave the Gators another top 10 performance in the 200-meter, with a personal best 23.23.
In the men’s 200-meter, Wanya McCoy raced to a first-place finish with a 20.47, a time good for top 25 in the nation.
Justin Braun and Nicolas Spikes placed fifth and ninth, respectively, with Braun clocking in at 20.56 seconds, and Spikes adding a 20.72 second personal best time.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Vance Nilsson churned out a podium performance for the Gators, placing third with a personal best 50.54 second time, a top 25 time in the nation this year. On the women’s side, Marianna Wright’s 58.87 second run was good for sixth.
In the women’s 800-meter, Sydney Sutton added another podium finish. Her 52.14-second run earned the freshman third place.
Distance
The Gators had four top-10 finishes in the men’s 1500-meter, including first and second place from Riley Novack and Miguel Pantojas.
Jonah Kirspel finished fourth with a 3:50.60 effort in his first attempt at the 1500. Josh Ruiz gave the Gators another top-10 finish earning eighth place with a time of 3:52.58.
The Gator headliner was Layla Haynes, who ran a blazing 4:16.85 in the 1500-meter, good for a Barbados women’s national record and a first place finish.
Jumps
Asia Phillips’ 6.23 meter leap in the women’s long jump gave her a podium finish, and Pauline Bikembo wasn’t far behind. She placed fourth with a 6.02 jump, while Temoso Masikane's jump of 7.51-meters was good for fourth overall on the men’s side.
In the men’s triple jump, Masikane upped the ante, leaping 15.68 meters for a first-place finish. Right behind him was Jaden Lippett, who jumped 15.56 meters to secure second. Masikane and Lippett were the only contenders who leapt over 15 meters in the competition.
On the women’s side, Phillips gave the Gators another win with a 12.96-meter first place jump. Gabrielle Pierre’s 12.71-meter jump gave Florida another podium finish at third.
Throws
In the men’s hammer throw, Basel Abosina added a second-place finish. His 67.50-meter toss put him just behind Decio Andrade, with the two being the only throwers to break the 60-meter mark.
Jarno Van Daalen kept the momentum going for Gators throwers Friday, with a 19.53-meter mark in the men’s shot put that placed him first in the competition.
Van Daalen was able to place second in the discus throw, with a 54.21-meter toss, placing him behind Miami’s Desmond Coleman.
In the women’s shot put, Alida Van Daalen and Gracelyn Leiseth kept things rolling for the Gators. Leiseth placed first in the competition as the junior threw a 17.56-meter winner. Van Daalen added to the Gators’ success in her outdoor debut with a 17.16-meter toss for second. In the hammer throw, Imani Washington placed third with a 61.00-meter toss.
Van Daalen carried her momentum into the women’s discus throw, where her 63.97-meter toss placed first overall.
Relays
The women’s 4x100 relay of Payton Payne, Jade Brown, Gabrielle Matthews and Sydney Sutton was able to give the Gators a second-place finish, with a 43.12-second joint effort that put Florida just behind South Carolina.
The men’s 4x100 relay group of Justin Braun, Garrett Fox, Trenton Howard and Wanya McCoy placed fourth, behind two groups from Auburn and one from Tennessee.
In the women’s 4x400, Florida’s relay of Malia Campbell, Gabrielle Matthews, Layla Haynes and Marianna Wright placed second, running the event in 3:42.28 seconds collectively.
In the men’s 4x400, Nicholas Spikes, Malique Smith-Band, Ja-Neil Harris and Daneil Wright were able to finish the weekend with a 3:05.33-second runner-up finish for the Gators. In both the men’s and women’s relays, Florida was beaten out by South Carolina.
The Gators will return to the track next for the SEC Outdoor Championships in Auburn, Alabama, May 14-16.
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.
