Inside Florida Track and Field Outdoor Season Debut
About 20 Top-3 finishes, 13 personal bests exact and 12 program all-time top-10 marks.
For Florida Track and Field, those numbers summed up its outdoor debut across two days.
“I thought it was a phenomenal start to the season,” throws coach Eric Werskey said.
Following a third-place finish by the men and a fifth-place tie by the women at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Gators opened the outdoor season split between the Raleigh Relays and the Terry Long FSU Relays.
The outdoors introduces many new events, the hammer throws being one of them.
On opening day in the cage, Basel Abosina won the men’s hammer throw, launching the 16-pound implement 66.20 meters. Not far behind on the women’s side, Imani Washington found the second, first-place finish after her 62.08-meter toss, a personal best.
“It was better than anything I could have asked for. I just gave my best, and it just turned out all the hard work I’ve been putting in was really paying off,” Washington said.
The transition to outdoor didn’t erase what she built during the indoor season.
“I sometimes rank myself lower in my head, but going indoors or SEC’s and competing the way I did just showed me I can really keep up with these girls,” she said, “I’m really up there.”
Closing Thursday’s throwing events, sophomore duo Pauline Bikembo and Abigail Elmore placed third and fifth, respectively, in the women’s javelin. Both recorded personal bests, with Bikembo throwing 45.74 meters and Elmore following with 38.98 meters.
Tallahassee saw two more Florida outdoor debuts and added two more winners to the score sheets on that day.
In the men’s long jump, Luke Stradley found the sand in 7.69 meters earned himself a first-place finish. The men’s 400-meter hurdles also saw the same success after Daneil Wright clocked 50.76, winning by 0.61 seconds.
Just more than 600 miles northwest of Tallahassee, two men etched their names into program top-10 marks with another Gator making his outdoor debut.
In the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Raleigh Relays, Graham Myers recorded a personal best 8:42.63 time. His performance placed him in the No.7 spot in the program’s all-time list.
Next to Myers in the accomplishments was Josh Ruiz in the men’s 5000 meters. After clocking a personal best 8:42.63, he made it to No.9 on the program’s all-time list.
To close the meet Thursday, junior Geofrey Ronoh had his outdoor debut as a Gator in the men’s 10,000-meter.
Florida continued seeing success on the second and final day of the meets.
In the Tar Heel state, three women earned themselves new program top-10 marks.
Opening for Florida in the 5,000 meters, Tia Wilson recorded a best of 15:44.07, vaulting her to the No. 5 spot on UF’s all-time list.
Even with rain falling during the 10,000 meters, the Gators stayed hot on their heels. Hilda Olemomoi crossed the line first in 32:03.59, a personal best and the No. 2 time in program history, while Judy Chepkoech followed closely at 32:04.01, now No. 3 all-time. Both finished nearly three seconds ahead of the third-place runner, showcasing Florida’s dominance despite the wet conditions.
From North Carolina State to Florida State, just like Thursday, Tallahassee started the action with the throws. Sweeping the podium in the javelin event, Leikel Cabrera Gay, Ayden Campbell and Aidan Broussard made their mark in the landing sector claimed top three.
Cabrera Gay performed a modified approach in taking home the first-place finish, skipping the usual running start and going straight into the final crossover steps before his throw.
“Since we’re thinking (of the) big picture we wanted to work out some of the kinks from the short approach, modified approach, and then let the year build with that extra momentum,” Werskey said.
This strategy helped him take the lead in the javelin by more than 30 feet.
The women’s discus throwers secured two spots in the top three. Akari Isaac set the mark at 56.23 meters on her first attempt, taking first place and walking out of the cage with a personal best.
Even with a personal best from the opening throw, the encouragement never faded. As Isaac prepared for another attempt, her teammate Washington reminded her to ‘be steady, just be chill.’
Gracelyn Leiseth continued adding to the podium in the discus, placing second with a throw of 55.76 meters.
“I was happy with it,” Leiseth said, “ I was very consistent, which means good things coming soon.”
Both women were the only two athletes breaking the 50-meter mark.
Shifting to the track, nine Gators earned top-3 finishes, two of which were personal bests.
The women’s 100 meters saw Payton Payne take the victory, crossing the finish line in 11.54, just 0.06 seconds ahead of her FSU competitor.
The podium stayed hot in the men’s 100 meters, with Jaden Wiley finishing second in 10.25 and Trenton Howard close behind in 10.30.
Howard’s time marked a personal best, improving his previous mark by 0.27 seconds. Both Wiley and Howard matched their podium placements in the men’s 200 meters, finishing second and third once again. Howard added another personal best in the event, cutting his time by 0.47 seconds.
The final victory came in Tallahassee in the women’s 200 meters, with Jade Brown crossing the finish line in 23.35.
Two more podium finishes were added in the men’s 400 meters with Ja’Neil Harris placing second in 47.76 and Gavin Nelson taking third in 48.17.
Closing the meet in the Mike Long Track were two quartets. Wright, Payne, Bikembo and Elmore turned in a 3:47.81 in the 4×400 relays earned another second-place finish and Wright, Nelson, de Bastos and Harris found themselves in fourth.
The Gators will next host the Pepsi Florida Relays, the first of two home meets, at James G. Pressly Stadium, Percy Beard Track on Friday and Saturday with high school and college competition.
Tickets are on sale now and will also be on sale at the Ticket Office on event days.
In Washington’s words, “be there or be square.”
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Track and Field
