Gators Track And Field Inches Closer To Title Meets

Florida track and field only has one meet left on its schedule before the SEC Championships. For that, the Gators will head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the LSU Invite on May 3. The SEC Outdoor Championships follow two weeks later and then preparation for the NCAA Outdoor Championships begins.

Standings

The men’s team is ranked No. 11 in the Week 4 USTFCCCA National Track and Field Rating Index. The squad fell three spots from No. 8 last week, but still remains the fifth-highest ranked SEC team.

The women’s team jumped 10 spots, coming in at No. 7. It’s now one of seven SEC teams in the top 10.

Part of that rise is due to Anthaya Charlton, who was named SEC Field Athlete of the Week on Tuesday. Charlton holds the wind-legal world and NCAA lead in the long jump, earning the position at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational. It was the junior’s outdoor season debut, as she also won the women’s 100 meters with the 12th-best performance in the NCAA this season.

Everyone Else

The Gators have made strides throughout the outdoor season, picking it up in recent weeks off leading performances in the men’s 4×400 meters and Charlton’s dominance.

The USC and Texas A&M currently lead the nation, though. The Aggies secured their first men’s SEC indoor title earlier this season and have stayed hot, winning 12 of 22 events at the Oregon Invitational last weekend. Their men’s team is No. 2 and women’s at No. 3 in the nation.

The Trojans men’s team overtook the Aggies for the No. 1 spot in the latest USTFCCCA rankings after their performance at the Mt. SAC Relays. The Trojan women are No. 2 in the rankings, trailing Georgia. USC swept the Big Ten’s weekly honors on April 16, earning track, field and freshman of the week.

Title Meets

The SEC Outdoor Championships are on May 15-17 in Lexington, Kentucky. Florida will then participate in the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminaries on May 28-May 31 in Jacksonville, Florida, before the NCAA Outdoor Championships begin on June 11 in Eugene, Oregon.