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Florida Gators track and field brought its outdoor regular season to a close last weekend at the Louisiana State Relays in Baton Rouge and the East Coast Relays at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Florida came away with five gold, four silver and six bronze medals.
✌️ meets for the Gators this weekend!!
East Coast Relays- Friday/Saturday
📍 Jacksonville, FL
⏰: Friday- W's 1500m, 7:30 PM
📈: https://t.co/KH238kCcSBLSU Invitational- Saturday
📍 Baton Rouge, LA
⏰: Saturday- W's Hammer, 11:30 AM
📈: https://t.co/Mas033sryH#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/wc1Lt9LJaZ— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) April 28, 2023
LSU Relays
Alida Van Daalen once again took the gold in the women’s discus to give UF its first gold of the meet.
Malcolm Clemens (7.96m) topped the charts in the men’s long jump invite. Florida had eight athletes finish inside the top-7 of the triple jump, high jump and long jump.
Ryan Willie (44.93) and Emmanuel Bamidele (45.06) finished first and second in the men’s 400-meter race. In the women’s 400, Talitha Diggs earned the bronze (51.51).
Gators go 1⃣ and 2⃣ 😎
Ryan Willie finishes 🥇 (44.93) and Emmanuel Bamidele finishes 🥈 (45.06)
Willie finishes with a new outdoor PR and Bamidele now holds the 🔟th fastest time in school history#GoGators 🐊 |@RyanWilliee pic.twitter.com/XuB3JbNiMy
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) April 29, 2023
Florida ended its time at LSU with back-to-back runner-up finishes. Vanessa Watson ran the women’s 800 in two minutes, 5.33 seconds and the quartet of Willie, Jacory Patterson, Pjai Austin and Robert Gregory earned silver in the men’s 4×400 relay (38.69).
East Coast Relays
Florida only competed in four events in Jacksonville across Friday and Saturday. Sam Austin made his event debut in the men’s 400 and placed 16th.
Ryan Maseman (5th, 1:50.07) and Caden Monk (10th, 1:51:08) finished inside the top-10 of the men’s 800. In the women’s 800, Gabrielle Wilkerson placed sixth (2:05.64).
Welcome back Parker🤩
In her first 5K race of the outdoor season, @parker_valby runs 15:32.44 and earns 🥇#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/y5U0yJWQIK
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) April 29, 2023
Monk and Wilkerson were the two highest-placing Gators in the 1,500-meter events. Monk finished in fourth with a 3:47.13 time and Wilkerson earned the gold with a 4:18.63 effort. Kathryn Nohilly and Emily Culley also finished inside the top-6.
The Gators showed out in the 5K, the meet’s final event. Parker Valby ran the event in 15:32.44 and earned the women’s gold while Cavan Wilson finished in 14:43.70 to earn the men’s bronze.
What’s Next?
The postseason is upon the Gators once again. Florida will head back to Baton Rouge to complete in the SEC Outdoor Championships May 11-13. Florida’s men are the reigning SEC outdoor champions, while last year’s women’s squad placed fourth.
Florida is the defending national outdoor champion in both the men’s and women’s categories.
