Holloway Repeats, Gators Finish 2nd at NCAA Outdoors


EUGENE, Ore. - Florida's men finished second at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Friday, and sophomore Grant Holloway successfully defended his 110-meter hurdles national title in a photo finish. 

Gators' Team Notables

·        Florida's runner-up performance marks their 21st top-2 finish in 32 NCAA Championship meets under head coach Mike Holloway, who took over the men's program in 2003

o   No other program has more than nine top-2 finishes in that time frame

·        The Gators now boast 11 top-2 finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships alone under Coach Holloway, while no other program has more than five such finishes since 2003

·        Florida posted its 10th consecutive top-3 finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, breaking a tie with Arkansas (1992-2000) for the third-longest streak in meet history

o   Only USC (1933-43, 1946-56) put together a longer streak

·        Florida has finished in the top three at 19 of the last 20 NCAA Championship meets, and 23 of the 32 NCAA Championship meets with Holloway as head coach

·        The Gators now boast 12 top-3 finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships since 2003, a figure that leads all Division I programs by four during that time frame

Holloway headlined Florida's scoring Friday, narrowly defending his 110-meter hurdles national title by one hundredth of a second. Paired with his consecutive indoor 60-meter hurdles national crowns, Holloway joins South Carolina's Terrence Trammell (1999-2000) as the only other man in Division I history to repeat as champion in both the indoor and outdoor high hurdles.

The Chesapeake, Va., native is the fourth man in history and first since Florida's Josh Walker (2004-05) to repeat as the 110 hurdles national champion.

Holloway also ran third for Florida's 4x100 relay, which took third place, marking the Gators' best finish in the event since winning consecutive titles in 2013 and 2014. Junior Michael Timpson Jr. led off and handed to freshman Chantz Sawyers, who gave way to Holloway, who passed to junior anchor Ryan Clark. 

Senior KeAndre Bates closed his collegiate career with a third-place finish in the triple jump. Bates, who took second in 2016 and won the title last year, joins Christian Taylor (2009-11) as the only other Gator in history to medal in the triple jump at three NCAA Outdoor Championships. 

Florida's 4x400 relay team of junior Kunle Fasasi, Sawyers, freshman Benjamin Lobo Vedel, and Holloway took fourth place for five points.

Sophomore Clayton Brown added another point in the triple jump with an eighth-place finish, while redshirt junior Jhonny Victor collected a point with an eighth-place finish in the high jump. Victor, David Furman (1997, 2000) and J. Lewis Hall (1951, 1953) are the only Gators in history to score at multiple NCAA Outdoors in the high jump.