The Gators are slowly climbing their way up the leaderboard.
On Thursday, Florida’s men earned six points thanks to a third place finish by senior Jeremy Postin in the men’s hammer throw – ending his career at UF on a high note.
“We talked yesterday about increasing our intensity and matching the efforts of the other teams here,” coach Mike Holloway said. “I felt we did that today.”
Postin’s last throw of 65.65 meters in the trials placed him at sixth overall, allowing him to advance to the final three throws. In the finals, Postin’s distance of 68.29m was good for third place and a critical six points for the Gators.
“I was very impressed with Jeremy Postin,” Holloway said. “After some early struggles in the preliminary round, he bounced back in the final and fought back to finish third in a tight competition.”
This outdoor season, Postin did not finish below third place in any hammer throw event in which he competed.
With the men’s hammer throw being the only scored event in which Florida competed on Thursday, the men are tied for 14th place with Postin’s six points. The women are currently tied for ninth with eight points.
Both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay squads qualified for Saturday’s finals as well.
The men’s squad, comprised of Najee Glass, Hugh Graham Jr., Dedric Dukes and Arman Hall, had a season’s best time of 3:02:64 – good for 10th-fastest in school history.
The women posted their second-fastest time this season without one of their regulars, Lanie Whittaker, who is out due to injury. Ugonna Ndu filled in for Whittaker and the squad posted a time of 3:30.48.
The Gators also managed to advance two individual qualifiers on Thursday.
Cory McGee and Eddie Lovett each qualified for the women’s 1,500m and men’s 110m hurdles, respectively.
Lovett posted an all-conditions personal best time of 13.29 seconds in the hurdles.
“I was very pleased with Eddie Lovett today, running the fastest time of his career under all conditions,” Holloway said. “He’s set himself up well for a great final.”
The action continues in three events on Friday for the Gators.
Ciarra Brewer is competing in Friday’s only scored event for Florida – the women’s triple jump – while Ndu is competing in the women’s 400m hurdles. Both Hugh Graham Jr. and Arman Hall are set to compete in the men’s 400m.
Gators track and field coach Mike Holloway said after Thursday’s competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships that he was impressed with senior Jeremy Postin’s performance in the men’s hammer throw. Postin finished third with a final distance of 68.29m.
