Gators Open The Season With 10 Personal Best Times and Two Facility Records

Day 1 of the Clemson Invite saw five Gators win event titles

CLEMSON, SC. – The Florida Gators Track and Field teams began their 2023 indoor season Friday at the Clemson Invitational. The Gators started the season in style, running 10 personal best times and breaking two facility records.

Gabrielle Wilkinson, Adrian Bichara, Vanessa Watson, Talitha Diggs, and Claire Bryant all captured individual titles on the first day of the season. Both Diggs and Wilkinson set facility records with their performances while Diggs’s showing was also the fastest indoor 60m in the world this year

Tomorrow the Gators begin day 2 of the Clemson Invite at 10:30 a.m. ET with the Claire Bryant in the high jump. The track events start at 12 p.m. ET with the women’s 300m featuring Talitha Diggs, Ramiah Elliott, and Laila Owens.

Friday’s Finals Recap

1000m

Women- Gabrielle Wilkinson led off the day in the 1000m, finishing with the Gators first title of the season, crossing the line with a time of 2:44.39. This was a new facility record and Wilkinson bested the second-place runner by nearly four seconds.

Men- Four Gators ran in the second heat, with Caden Monk and Joe Wester pushing each other down the stretch, resulting in a second-place finish in the 1000m for Monk and a third-place finish for Wester.

Long Jump

Women- Claire Bryant was the fifth Gator to win their event on day 1. Her third jump of 6.59m clinched the title.

Men- Jalen Chance closed out the first day of the Clemson Invite for the Gators with a seventh-place finish.

600m

Women- Vanessa Watson won the Gators second title of the day, running a 1:30.52 and leading from wire to wire. Jess Edwards finished fourth, just 0.21 seconds behind the second-place finisher.

Men- In their Gator debut, Adrian Bichara and Ryan Maseman both finished on the podium. Bichara took first in the event, marking the Gators third title of the day. Maseman placed third while Deshay Fernandes finished seventh.

60mH

Women- Former Gator Anna Hall crossed the line first with Jayla Hollis and Imani Carothers finishing second and fourth respectively. Hollis and Carothers bested their qualifying times which were both top-10 times in school history.

Men- Kurt Powdar’s time of 7.85 and Osaji Skyers’s time of 7.91 gave them fourth and fifth place finishes in the men’s final.

60m

Women- Talitha Diggs improved upon her already impressive 60m qualifying time. She ran the fastest time in the world this year during prelims and improved upon it in the finals, running a 7.14. This is the second fastest time in school history and a Clemson facility record. Her title marked the Gators fourth of the day. Kynnedy Flannel crossed the line eighth with a time of 7.50.

Men- Pjai Austin finished third with a PR of 6.59, tying him for fifth fastest time in school history. Jacory Patterson crossed the line sixth, running the 60m in 6.72 seconds.

Friday’s Qualifying Recap

60mH Qualifying

Women- Imani Carothers and Jayla Hollis both ran top-10 times in school history in the prelims to secure their place in the finals.

Men- Both Kurt Powdar and Osaji Skyers ran a 7.90, finishing top 3 in qualifiers and automatically qualifying for the finals. Skyers time was a new PR, besting his previous by nearly 0.2 seconds.

60m Qualifying

Women- Both Talitha Diggs and Kynnedy Flannel automatically qualified for the women’s final. Diggs ran the fourth fastest time in school history and the fastest time in the world this year, until she improved upon the mark in her final performance today.

Men- Jacory Patterson and Pjai Austin ran strong, qualifying for the finals.

Friday, January 13 (Q denotes qualifying, All others are finals)

Event

Place, Gators (Time/Distance), Notes

1000m (W)

1. Gabrielle Wilkinson (2:44.39), Facility Record, PR

8. Emily Culley (2:57.75), PR

1000m (M)

2. Caden Monk (2:23.67), PR

3. Joe Wester (2:24.22)

7. Hugh Brittenham (2:26.46), PR

10. Michael Fiore (2:28.21)