No. 8 Florida Track and Field Faces Top Competition at Razorback Invitational
After opening the indoor season with 11 victories, 22 podium finishes and six personal bests, Florida track and field landed in Fayetteville, Arkansas to continue competition at the Razorback Invitational.
The two-day meet at the Randal Tyson Track Center runs Thursday and Friday, marking the Gators’ fourth consecutive appearance. A total of 55 athletes are entered to compete, with the first event, the women’s pentathlon 60-meter hurdles, set for Friday at noon.
Florida, ranked No. 8 in the men’s and women’s USTFCCCA standings, already owns 37 top-10 marks at the Razorback Invitational across both programs.
Some of the meet’s record-holders include former Gator Anthaya Charlton, who holds the women’s long jump mark at 6.98 meters set in 2025. On the men’s side, Grant Holloway set the runner-up record in the 60 meters in 2019 with a time of 6.51 seconds. Amanda Froeynes ranks third all-time in the pentathlon at the Razorback Invitational, recording a score of 2:12.04, also in 2019.
This meet will host 13 of the nation’s top teams. On the men’s side, six programs are ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 25, while the women will compete against eight ranked teams. Highlighted schools include No. 2 Georgia, No. 1 Illinois on the women’s side, and No. 3 Texas Tech for the men, according to the NCAA.
Other participating programs range from Florida schools like Florida State and Miami to out-of-state schools including Oregon, LSU, Texas Tech and more.
“It’s a good way to get a lot of athletes and teams together to get that high competitive adrenaline going as you make that push into the championship season,” throws coach Eric Werskey said.
Florida’s athletes will compete in 36 events this weekend. Friday’s schedule includes the women’s pentathlon, weight throw, long jump and distance medley relay. Saturday’s action will feature the mile, 60-meter hurdles and sprints, 400 meters, shot put, triple jump, and 4×400 relays.
Several athletes will make their season debut at this highly competitive meet, including senior Alida van Daalen, returning in the women’s shot put after missing the Jimmy Carnes Invitational. Van Daalen enters the weekend as the 2024 SEC Outdoor Champion in the discus throw.
Sophomore Abigail Elmore will not make her season debut, but she will compete in her first-ever pentathlon this meet. Elmore last competed at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational, where she finished eighth in the shot put, 10th in the high jump, 29th in the 60-meter hurdles prelims and eighth in the women’s 4×400 relay. That meet marked her return to competition after missing her freshman season due to a stress reaction in her lower back.
“I’m going to go into this with an open mind,” Abigail Elmore said. “I really want to actually have fun with it. I don’t need to stress myself out.”
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Track and Field, SEC
