The Florida men’s track and field team won its third-straight NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Friday. The Gators defeated the Auburn Tigers by one point to claim the national title.
This marks the 12th championship earned by the men and 15th overall for the combined Gators track program. All 12 of the men’s titles have come under head coach [autotag]Mike Holloway[/autotag]’s direction.
Last year, the Orange and Blue entered the championships ranked fourth in the nation following a sixth-place finish in the Southeastern Conference, overcoming significant odds to earn the title. This year’s team followed a similar narrative, claiming the title despite entering the season finale ranked No. 3 in the nation and placing fourth at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
The team title came down to one event: the 4x400m relay. Florida held the second-place position in the standings, trailing the Tigers by five points (35 to 40) beforehand. The quartet of Reheem Hayles, Jevaughn Powell, Rios Prude Jr. and Jenoah McKiver proceeded to finish third with a time of 2:58.98 securing the six points necessary to clinch the national title.
Coach Mike Holloway reacts
“It was a tough day, we had some things not go our way,” he begins.
“We built this program with a lot of pride and a lot of passion. When we talk about a standard that we fight to, that’s what you saw today. Every time something went wrong, somebody stepped up and got it done. Very proud of everybody to put the uniform on today.”
As for what made this particular title unique, Holloway offered the following.
“I think the unique thing about it is like I just talked about like we have some adversity throughout the year people get nicked up,” he noted.
“I want to give a shout-out to my strength and conditioning coach Matt DeLancey, Yolanda Lawrence in the training room and our wonderful staff. Them piecing people back together when they got a little dinged up and then my coaching staff has just been phenomenal.
“Again, we’re a team, we’re family. We talk about a standard and we fight to win every single day and that’s what you saw this week.”
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