Florida Track and Field Dominate SEC Outdoor Championships

The Gators track and field team dominated competition at the SEC Outdoor Championships over the weekend. The men’s team finished sixth and the women’s team finished second, collecting 15 medals. The team took home seven gold, two silver and six bronze medals.

New Record in the 4×400

The highlight of the weekend was the 4×400 relay. Jevaughn Powell, Emmanuel Bamdiele, Jacory Patterson and Ryan Willie recorded a new collegiate record of 2:57.76 and earned a gold medal.

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A Plethora of Medals

The Gators got off to a hot start on the second day of competition Friday. With the help of Sterling Lester, the Gators collected a bronze medal with 5,779 points in the women’s heptathlon. Alida van Daalen collected a gold medal in the women’s shot put competition, and to finish off the day, Jasmine Moore collected a gold medal while Claire Bryant took home a bronze.

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Additionally, in the men’s 4×100 relay, Willie, Patterson, Pjai Austin and Robert Gregory took home a silver medal. Willie won gold in the men’s 400m, recording the second-fastest time in school history and fourth fastest in the world this year.

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The Gator women had an impressive day as well. Daalen earned a silver medal in the women’s discus competition. Gabrielle Wilkinson took home the bronze in the women’s 1,500m while Talitha Diggs secured a bronze in the 400m, recording her season-best time.

Moreover, the women collected three more medals, including a gold from Moore who has now swept the SEC indoor and outdoor long jump and triple jump events for the last two years. Imogen Barret collected a bronze for her performance in the 800m which is now her third SEC 800m medal. Also, Vanessa Watson finished the 400m hurdles with a bronze.

Final Results from Baton Rouge#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/HUQhV0tgXX

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 14, 2023

Gregory was awarded the Men’s Commissioner Trophy for collecting the most points in the SEC Outdoor Championships. He earned 17 points in total with 10 coming from his gold medal in the 200m and the other seven from his placements in the 100m and 4×100.

Next, the Gators will travel to Jacksonville for the NCAA Preliminaries beginning May 24.