First, Hayward Stadium is the most spectacular track stadium in the world. Just beautiful.
For the women, nice finish to place 7th, but it could have been even 3rd.
- Arianne Durarte-Morris had qualified in the javelin and threw 180-11 earlier in the season, which would have scored 3 or 4 points. Unfortunately she was unable to compete and has suffered injuries all Spring.
- Grace Stark had run a 12.72 in the prelims, but was not great at the start and ran a 12.89. If she had run a 12.72 yesterday, she would have been 2nd and an extra 3 points. In addition, she is a redshirt freshman, not a junior listed by the NCAA.
- Freshman Claire Bryant has jumped over 22’, but on Thursday she placed 6th after jumping low 21’. She could have scored several more points- 3 to 5 points. In fairness, the weather was not great and all jumpers were jumping inferior distances.
- Taylor Manson had run a 51.02 in the prelims and would have been 5th in the final, thus score 4 more points. Talitha Diggs was spectacular and has dramatically improved her HS times at UF. She should be the favorite next season when phenom Athing Mu turns pro, which is pretty obvious.
- Gabrielle Wilkinson was fantastic in the 800 with a career best time.
- 4x400 relay had a season best time and was great. The surprise team was UCLA, which had no individuals in the 400 and their previous best had been over 3:28, in comparison to yesterday when they ran a 3:25.
- Natricia Hooper had been ranked 5th in the triple jump coming into meet and had jumped over 45’, but yesterday jumped only 44’ 1/2. In fairness, even if she had had matched her season best, she still would have been 7th at best. Great group of triple jumpers.
In short, could have scored 15 more points, easily 3rd. Alas, it was not to be. The Gator women were great, and again in fairness, LSU and Georgia could have scored more points. Still, the Gators are a young, young team that could be the favorites next season. In contrast, USC had a ton of seniors who will not be returning and Texas A&M will most likely lose Gittens and Mu, a combo who scored 44 points.
For the men, they surprised many experts by finishing 4th, missing 3rd by .5 points. I maintain that the Gator men met their standard.
- Joseph Fahnbulleh is amazing in the 200m. His improvement from HS to now is phenomenal. In HS he ran very good times in the 100 (10.35) and 200 (20.62), but his improvement has been incredible (same with Diggs). Just proves what a great coach Mouse Holloway is for sprinters and hurdlers. And he is only a redshirt freshman. I seriously doubt he turns pro because he needs to improve his starts in both 100 and 200. Also, I am curious why he is not added to the 4x400 relay because of his incredible strides, just like Grant Holloway ran the 4x400 relay despite being 110 HH sprinter.
- Thomas Mardal was phenomenal and has also improved his throws at UF under the training of Coach Lemke. Both will be sorely missed. I am still incredulous that the Track and Field writer predicted that Mardal would be 2nd when he had outthrown the closest competitor by 6 to 7 feet. This idiot also projected Florida finishing 17th.
- Senior Clayton Brown had been projected not to be in the top 10 in both HJ and TJ. If he had matched his season best 7-3 3/4, he would have been 3rd yesterday. Initially thought that was going to happen because he had cleared each height with his first jump. In the triple jump, he matched his season best. Also, it was tough to compete in both events. Indeed, he had to pass on one of his triple jumps because of the high jump. All that said, he is a very good athlete who has not improved very much in either event after 4 years in Florida. In HS, he was jumping 7-2 1/2, in the triple jump over 53’. Normally such a great athlete should have improved significantly- see Fahnbulleh, Diggs, Claire Bryant, etc. However, I know he works hard and loves the Gators. Just curious if he takes advantage of the pandemic and returns for a fifth season. And to reiterate, he scored only 3.5 points in the high jump because he tied for 5th, otherwise 4 points would have tied NC A&T with 34 points.
- Ryan Willie had a nice run in the 400 as a true freshman and could/should fall under 45 next season.
- The 4x400 team was a surprise finishing 7th, running a season best 3:03.60, barely beaten in a whisker by an opponent running 3:03.58. I was impressed by the run of Chantz Sawyers on second leg and had Florida in 2nd place. And he is still not 100%. If healthy, he would have finished in top 8 in the 400. Like Willie, I would not be surprised be if he falls under 45 next season. Fasasi, who is not 100%, and Miley ran well; Miley must be be 6-3 or 6-4 - he is really tall. Still, he is a 800m runner, not a 400m sprinter. When Florida won in 2019, Villaman was part of the team that ran 2:59.53. Just curious why he did not run, or Ian Davis who was second time AA after running a leg of the Michigan 4x400 relay team. Have to check with Mouse. Again, Miley was ok. In my humble opinion, this team met the Gator standard and was not smoked in the 4x400 Relay.
- To reiterate, the 4x100 would have easily qualified for the finals if they had not been disqualified at the Eastern Regionals. With a team of Fahnbulleh, Vanover, Tyler Davis and Clayton Brown (who had never run in the 4x100 prior to this season), the Gators were the 5th best team in the country. To say that they did not meet the Gator standard is absurd. Mouse is great training relay teams.
- The loss of Raymond Ekevwo was huge. Pre-season he was the clear favorite in the 100m, having run in the summer 9.95. He would have won the gold medal easily, plus the 4x100 relay team would have been 1 or 2. I was shocked he had returned this season. Just curious if he could return because of the pandemic. Not sure in the case of Ekevwo. He is another example of what a great coach Mouse is. When he ran from Oral Roberts, his best time was 10.35.
- But Ekevwo is not the only loss. PJ Austin placed in the top 8 in the LJ at the Indoor Championship, jumping 26-1, yet he has not been healthy outdoors to jump over 25’. Not close. Jonathan Miller was great in the SEC Championship in the triple jump, out jumping Brown, but in the Eastern Regionals he jumped 2 feet shorter. Strange. Cameron Miller came in last season as a true freshman and had run a HS time of 20.55, faster than teammate Fahnbulleh, plus his first 2 meets indoor in 2020 he was faster than Fahnbulleh before suffering injury and being redshirted. He is still suffering injuries and has not been able to race in 2021. If healthy, he should be able to place in the top 8 nationally. Have to check with Mouse, but not sure why Marcus Clemons has not competed outdoors, but he could have scored in Eugene in the long jump.
- Not sure why, but true freshman Caleb Foster has not competed in the 110 HH. In HS, he was the top HS hurdler in the country. He is also from California and he beat freshman J. Marshall at Arizona State who placed in the 110HH yesterday in Eugene. I am sure Foster will compete in the 110 HH next season.
In summary, this was a great season for the men. Even though they will miss Mardal, Ekevwo (?) and Brown (?), Florida is still young. Fanhnbulleh, Willie, Cameron Miller, Sawyers, Marcus Clemons, PJ Austin, Jonathan Miller, Caleb Foster are all returning, plus they have a great class coming in. I am sure that LSU will lose Harrison in the high jump and long jump, Laird will probably go pro, so they will slip some. Still, they are also young and will be the best competitor, along with Oregon, but Florida will still be right there competing for another national championship. Go Gators!
One final comment. Arkansas won both the men and women SEC Championship, but the women placed 15th and the men 28th. Depth helps them in the SEC, but nationally they are mediocre. In fairness, I wish the NCAA would give points to those who finish 9th to 16th.
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For the women, nice finish to place 7th, but it could have been even 3rd.
- Arianne Durarte-Morris had qualified in the javelin and threw 180-11 earlier in the season, which would have scored 3 or 4 points. Unfortunately she was unable to compete and has suffered injuries all Spring.
- Grace Stark had run a 12.72 in the prelims, but was not great at the start and ran a 12.89. If she had run a 12.72 yesterday, she would have been 2nd and an extra 3 points. In addition, she is a redshirt freshman, not a junior listed by the NCAA.
- Freshman Claire Bryant has jumped over 22’, but on Thursday she placed 6th after jumping low 21’. She could have scored several more points- 3 to 5 points. In fairness, the weather was not great and all jumpers were jumping inferior distances.
- Taylor Manson had run a 51.02 in the prelims and would have been 5th in the final, thus score 4 more points. Talitha Diggs was spectacular and has dramatically improved her HS times at UF. She should be the favorite next season when phenom Athing Mu turns pro, which is pretty obvious.
- Gabrielle Wilkinson was fantastic in the 800 with a career best time.
- 4x400 relay had a season best time and was great. The surprise team was UCLA, which had no individuals in the 400 and their previous best had been over 3:28, in comparison to yesterday when they ran a 3:25.
- Natricia Hooper had been ranked 5th in the triple jump coming into meet and had jumped over 45’, but yesterday jumped only 44’ 1/2. In fairness, even if she had had matched her season best, she still would have been 7th at best. Great group of triple jumpers.
In short, could have scored 15 more points, easily 3rd. Alas, it was not to be. The Gator women were great, and again in fairness, LSU and Georgia could have scored more points. Still, the Gators are a young, young team that could be the favorites next season. In contrast, USC had a ton of seniors who will not be returning and Texas A&M will most likely lose Gittens and Mu, a combo who scored 44 points.
For the men, they surprised many experts by finishing 4th, missing 3rd by .5 points. I maintain that the Gator men met their standard.
- Joseph Fahnbulleh is amazing in the 200m. His improvement from HS to now is phenomenal. In HS he ran very good times in the 100 (10.35) and 200 (20.62), but his improvement has been incredible (same with Diggs). Just proves what a great coach Mouse Holloway is for sprinters and hurdlers. And he is only a redshirt freshman. I seriously doubt he turns pro because he needs to improve his starts in both 100 and 200. Also, I am curious why he is not added to the 4x400 relay because of his incredible strides, just like Grant Holloway ran the 4x400 relay despite being 110 HH sprinter.
- Thomas Mardal was phenomenal and has also improved his throws at UF under the training of Coach Lemke. Both will be sorely missed. I am still incredulous that the Track and Field writer predicted that Mardal would be 2nd when he had outthrown the closest competitor by 6 to 7 feet. This idiot also projected Florida finishing 17th.
- Senior Clayton Brown had been projected not to be in the top 10 in both HJ and TJ. If he had matched his season best 7-3 3/4, he would have been 3rd yesterday. Initially thought that was going to happen because he had cleared each height with his first jump. In the triple jump, he matched his season best. Also, it was tough to compete in both events. Indeed, he had to pass on one of his triple jumps because of the high jump. All that said, he is a very good athlete who has not improved very much in either event after 4 years in Florida. In HS, he was jumping 7-2 1/2, in the triple jump over 53’. Normally such a great athlete should have improved significantly- see Fahnbulleh, Diggs, Claire Bryant, etc. However, I know he works hard and loves the Gators. Just curious if he takes advantage of the pandemic and returns for a fifth season. And to reiterate, he scored only 3.5 points in the high jump because he tied for 5th, otherwise 4 points would have tied NC A&T with 34 points.
- Ryan Willie had a nice run in the 400 as a true freshman and could/should fall under 45 next season.
- The 4x400 team was a surprise finishing 7th, running a season best 3:03.60, barely beaten in a whisker by an opponent running 3:03.58. I was impressed by the run of Chantz Sawyers on second leg and had Florida in 2nd place. And he is still not 100%. If healthy, he would have finished in top 8 in the 400. Like Willie, I would not be surprised be if he falls under 45 next season. Fasasi, who is not 100%, and Miley ran well; Miley must be be 6-3 or 6-4 - he is really tall. Still, he is a 800m runner, not a 400m sprinter. When Florida won in 2019, Villaman was part of the team that ran 2:59.53. Just curious why he did not run, or Ian Davis who was second time AA after running a leg of the Michigan 4x400 relay team. Have to check with Mouse. Again, Miley was ok. In my humble opinion, this team met the Gator standard and was not smoked in the 4x400 Relay.
- To reiterate, the 4x100 would have easily qualified for the finals if they had not been disqualified at the Eastern Regionals. With a team of Fahnbulleh, Vanover, Tyler Davis and Clayton Brown (who had never run in the 4x100 prior to this season), the Gators were the 5th best team in the country. To say that they did not meet the Gator standard is absurd. Mouse is great training relay teams.
- The loss of Raymond Ekevwo was huge. Pre-season he was the clear favorite in the 100m, having run in the summer 9.95. He would have won the gold medal easily, plus the 4x100 relay team would have been 1 or 2. I was shocked he had returned this season. Just curious if he could return because of the pandemic. Not sure in the case of Ekevwo. He is another example of what a great coach Mouse is. When he ran from Oral Roberts, his best time was 10.35.
- But Ekevwo is not the only loss. PJ Austin placed in the top 8 in the LJ at the Indoor Championship, jumping 26-1, yet he has not been healthy outdoors to jump over 25’. Not close. Jonathan Miller was great in the SEC Championship in the triple jump, out jumping Brown, but in the Eastern Regionals he jumped 2 feet shorter. Strange. Cameron Miller came in last season as a true freshman and had run a HS time of 20.55, faster than teammate Fahnbulleh, plus his first 2 meets indoor in 2020 he was faster than Fahnbulleh before suffering injury and being redshirted. He is still suffering injuries and has not been able to race in 2021. If healthy, he should be able to place in the top 8 nationally. Have to check with Mouse, but not sure why Marcus Clemons has not competed outdoors, but he could have scored in Eugene in the long jump.
- Not sure why, but true freshman Caleb Foster has not competed in the 110 HH. In HS, he was the top HS hurdler in the country. He is also from California and he beat freshman J. Marshall at Arizona State who placed in the 110HH yesterday in Eugene. I am sure Foster will compete in the 110 HH next season.
In summary, this was a great season for the men. Even though they will miss Mardal, Ekevwo (?) and Brown (?), Florida is still young. Fanhnbulleh, Willie, Cameron Miller, Sawyers, Marcus Clemons, PJ Austin, Jonathan Miller, Caleb Foster are all returning, plus they have a great class coming in. I am sure that LSU will lose Harrison in the high jump and long jump, Laird will probably go pro, so they will slip some. Still, they are also young and will be the best competitor, along with Oregon, but Florida will still be right there competing for another national championship. Go Gators!
One final comment. Arkansas won both the men and women SEC Championship, but the women placed 15th and the men 28th. Depth helps them in the SEC, but nationally they are mediocre. In fairness, I wish the NCAA would give points to those who finish 9th to 16th.
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