NEW ORLEANS – For the third consecutive year,
Florida track and field opens the 2018 season ranked No. 1 in the USTFCCCA Preseason Men's Indoor National Team Computer Rankings, and the
women check in at No. 6 for a third straight preseason.
Florida leads No. 2 Georgia by 67.29 points, marking the second-largest margin since 2008, when the USTFCCCA first issued preseason rankings. The only No. 1 team to open a season more than 55 points ahead of the No. 2 team was Arkansas' 2013 squad (100.38 points)—which won the indoor national title by 15 points and scored the fourth-most points in NCAA Indoor Championships history (74).
This is the fifth time since 2011 UF's men open the season ranked No. 1.
Both the 2011 and 2012 teams began the year ranked No. 1 and went on to win the NCAA Indoor Championships. The 2016 team finished seventh at NCAA Indoors, but won the NCAA Outdoor Championships. And last year's squad finished second—by half a point—at NCAA Indoors before repeating as outdoor national champions, marking the program's seventh national title since 2010.
Senior jumper
KeAndre Bates and sophomore hurdler, jumper, and sprinter
Grant Holloway lead the men's returners, as both are among the 10
The Bowerman Men's Preseason Watch List members. The two combined for five national titles and 66 points at the two NCAA Championship meets last season.
This is the sixth consecutive top-10 preseason ranking for the women's team. Last season, the Gators struggled indoors before bouncing back to take fifth at NCAA Outdoors, missing the podium by a single point.
INSIDE THE RANKINGS
- Florida, Arkansas, Georgia, and Southern California have men's and women's teams ranked in the top six
- Florida's men lead the nation with three returning times/marks that rank No. 1 nationally—Bates (triple jump), Holloway (60-meter hurdles, long jump)
- Only two other teams (Georgia, Washington) boast more than one—both have two
- The Gators have the nation's top two returners in both the men's long jump (Holloway, Bates) and men's triple jump (Bates, Clayton Brown)
- Kunle Fasasi's third-ranked 400 meters time and Brown's fourth-ranked high jump mark give the Gators a nation-leading total of seven top-five returning times/marks
- No other men's team in the nation returns more than four such times/marks
- The Gators also see AJ McFarland (weight throw) return a top-10 mark, giving them a total of eight—no men's team in the country has more than five
- Florida's women boast a pair of top-three returners in Sharrika Barnett (400 meters) and Yanis David (triple jump)—both rank second
- The Gators also return a top-five mark from Darrielle McQueen (long jump), as well as top-10 marks from Lloydricia Cameron (shot put), David (long jump), and McQueen (triple jump)
- Florida's six top-10 returning times/marks rank fifth nationally, trailing Oregon (10), Arkansas (nine), Georgia (seven) and USC (seven)
The Gators
opened their 2018 season this past Saturday, and freshman quarter-miler
Benjamin Lobo Vedel earned USTFCCCA Division I Men's National Athlete of the Week honors for an impressive debut in the 300 meters.
For a detailed discipline-by-discipline look at UF's 2018 campaign, view the article below.
Below are the top stories from the 2017 season and listings of the 2018 USTFCCCA Preseason National Team Computer Rankings.
2017 SEASON REWIND
- Release: Holloway Receives Prestigious Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award
- BLOG / FEATURES: Good Morning From London – FloridaGators.com's On-Site World Championships Coverage
- FEATURE: Kyra Jefferson Blazing The Track on Collegiate Circuit as NCAA Champ [Detroit Free Press]
- Release: 15 Gators Qualify for World Championships Rosters
- FEATURE: Solinsky Rechanneling Competitive Fire Into Coaching
- Recap: Johnson Wins Gold, Poole Takes Bronze at U20 Pan American Championships
- Recap: David Wins Gold at European U23s, Eriksson Breaks School Record
- FEATURE: Gator Great Novlene Williams-Mills Featured in ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue
- Release: Bates, Holloway Tabbed as The Bowerman Semifinalists
- Release: Jefferson Tabbed as The Bowerman Semifinalist
- Release: Holloway Named USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year
- FEATURE: Jefferson Trusted Process En Route to History-Making Dash [Chris Harry, Senior Writer]
- FEATURE: Passion, Pride, Family: Gators Defend Title as One
- Recap: Jefferson Breaks Collegiate Record, Gators Finish Fifth
- Recap: Back-to-Back NCAA Champs: Gators Capture Seventh Team Title
- FEATURE: Gators' Team-Centric Culture Sparks Historic Long Jump Sweep
- FEATURE: Ready to Fight: Jefferson Outrunning Nightmarish Memory
- FEATURE: Success Amid Heartbreak: NCAA Indoor Championships Visual Recap
- FEATURE: Flying Free: KeAndre Bates Primed for NCAA Indoor Championships Breakout
- FEATURE: Country Music Relaxes SEC Leader Sharrika Barnett at Indoor Championships
2018 Men's Indoor Track & Field Preseason National Team Rankings
1. FLORIDA (161.95 points)
2. Georgia (94.66)
3. Arkansas (86.84)
4. Southern California (73.32)
5. Colorado (70.33)
6. Colorado State (66.24)
7. Oregon (66.01)
8. Virginia Tech (65.80)
9. Alabama (61.90)
10. Texas Tech (57.67)
Complete Release
Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason National Team Rankings
1. Oregon (169.15 points)
2. Arkansas (147.15)
3. Georgia (135.53)
4. Southern California (109.49)
5. Texas (97.50)
6. FLORIDA (87.49)
7. LSU (75.23)
8. Ole Miss (74.54)
9. Kentucky (68.46)
10. Texas A&M (57.51)
Complete Release
The Gators continue their 2018 season Friday and Saturday at the Commodore Invitational, hosted by Vanderbilt.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL:
Twitter |
Facebook |
YouTube |
Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators; #PushTheButton; #TheMissionContinues
