Gator Track and Field heads to the Razorback invitational

The reigning national champion Florida Gators track and field team will participate in the Razorback Invitational  Friday. Coming off their 2016 Men’s National Championship, Florida has reloaded with plenty of new talent. Head coach Mike Holloway thinks they can put Florida back in the conversation for another National Championship.

Young Talent

The freshman on Florida’s track team are really setting themselves apart and putting up great numbers. Freshman hurdler Clayton Brown leads the nation in the high jump (2.25m) and Grant Holloway is now leading all collegians with a whopping 8.05 in the long jump. With this mark, Holloway joins two-time decathlon gold medalist Ashton Eaton as the only man in the world to get 8.05 or more in the long jump and get higher than a 7.75 in the 60 meter hurdles. The jump also puts him at number three on the Gators’ list of top 10 long jumps. If that wasn’t enough, Holloway is also the only athlete in the country to be the national leader in two events, the long jump and 60 meter hurdles, that will be at the NCAA Championship.

Brown is no slouch either. He leads all Division I athletes in the triple jump by 56 centimeters. Brown is also the first collegiate since 2002 to hit the 2.25 mark in the high jump and the 16.30 mark in the triple jump in the same season. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he accomplished that in his triple jump debut.

https://twitter.com/GatorsTF/status/823951156611350528

The team will be expecting big things from these extremely talented freshmen come Friday. If they can continue their stellar performance, the Gators should set their sights on a 2017 national title.

The Competition

The Gators will head to the Razorback Invitational on Friday. They will compete in a field that includes last year’s national runner-ups, in host Arkansas.