UF T&F: Gators Split for Final Meets of Regular Season

Athletes will attend both the LSU Invitational and East Coast Relays over the course of the weekend.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Members of the Gators Track & Field program will participate in both the LSU Invitational and the East Coast Relays this weekend as they conclude the 2024 regular season. The LSU Invitational is set to take place on Saturday, April 27 while the East Coast Relays, hosted by University of North Florida, will span both Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27.

LAST TIME OUT
In the Gators most recent competition, the majority of student-athletes competed at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. while a subset of distance runners traveled to Azusa, Cal. to participate in the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Parker Valby began the weekend’s competition by capturing the second collegiate record of her career as she shattered the 10,000m record by 28 seconds while competing in California. The Tampa, Florida native recorded a time of 30:50.43 which makes her the 13th woman in American history to have broken 31 minutes in the 10,000m. Her time ranks No. 11 on the American all-time list and is No. 5 in the world in 2024. As customary with setting a collegiate record, Valby placed first in the event, holds the University of Florida school record and is No. 1 in the NCAA in 2024.

The Gators tallied three other school records over the course of the weekend, the first of which occurred on the same night as Valby’s collegiate record. Elise Throner broke a 12-year-old school record in the 3000m steeplechase. The previous record, held by Gator Great Genevieve LaCaze, was 9:37.90. Thorner shaved nine seconds off that time with a finish of 9:28.49.

Grace Stark and Alida van Daalen notched program record performances two days later during competition at the Tom Jones Memorial invitational. Stark rattled off a record-breaking run of 12.56 in the 100m hurdles, breaking her own school record which she set in 2022 at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational (12.58). In addition to setting a new top time in Florida history, the Michigan native holds the No. 1 time in the NCAA in 2024.

Van Daalen broke her discus record for the third consecutive week at Tom Jones as she, at the time, improved her personal record mark to 62.58m/205’4″ which stood until the Netherlands native kept the streak going at the Oklahoma Throw Series with a toss of 66.31m/217’6″. This gives van Daalen the 2024 Paris Olympic Standard and currently ranks her sixth in the world in the event.

For more on the Gators past performances click here<https://floridagators.com/sports/track-and-field/archives?search=&sport=trackfield&season=0>.

BREAKING INTO THE ALL-TIME TOP 10
Over the course of the 2023-2024 Track & Field season, the Gators have added 42 new marks to the University of Florida, Indoor and Outdoor, All-Time Top 10 Lists, ten of which stand as school records. A breakdown of the 2024 all-time marks for both the Indoor & Outdoor season lies below.

2024 Men’s Outdoor:
800m | No. 4 – Parvej Khan – 1:46.12 (Pepsi Florida Relays)
1500m | No. 2 – Parvej Khan – 3:38.76 (Bryan Clay Invitational)
4x400m | No. 9 – Hayles, McCoy, Powell, McKiver – 3:01.20 (Tom Jones Memorial Invitational)
Shot Put | No. 9 – Kai Chang – 18.64m/61’2″ (Pepsi Florida Relays)
Hammer Throw | No. 6 – Will Gross IV – 66.61m/218’6″ (FSU Relays)
Discus Throw | No. 1 – Kai Chang – 63.06m/206’11” (Oklahoma Throw Series)
Javelin Throw | No. 5 – Abraham Sargent – 73.76m/240’8″ (Tom Jones Memorial Invitational)

2024 Women’s Outdoor
100m H | No. 1 – Grace Stark – 12.56 (Tom Jones Memorial Invitational)
800m | No. 6 – Flomena Asekol – 2:02.83 (Pepsi Florida Relays)
1500m | No. 4 – Flomena Asekol – 4:11.55 (Bryan Clay Invitational)
1500m | No. 8 – Elise Thorner – 4:14.55 (Bryan Clay Invitational)
3000m S | No. 1 – Elise Thorner – 9:28.49 (Bryan Clay Invitational)
10000m | No. 1 – Parker Valby – 30:50.43 (Bryan Clay Invitational)
10000m | No. 5 – Allison Wilson – 33:34.95 (Bryan Clay Invitational)
Long Jump | No. 7 – Anthaya Charlton – 6.60m/21’8″ (Tom Jones Memorial Invitational)
Shot Put | No. 8 – Gracelyn Leiseth – 17.16m/56’3.75″ (Tom Jones Memorial Invitational)
Discus Throw | No. 1 – Alida van Daalen – 66.31m/217’6″ (Oklahoma Throw Series)
Heptathlon | No. 9 – Melanie Welsing – 5014 (Hurricane Alumni Invitational)

2024 Men’s Indoor:
60m | No. 6 – Wanya McCoy – 6.58 (SEC Championships)
60m H | No. 7 – Joshua Brockman – 7.75 (SEC Championships)
200m | No. 3 – Wanya McCoy – 20.29 (SEC Championships)
400m | No. 8 – Jevaughn Powell – 45.35 (SEC Championships)
800m | No. 10 – Miguel Pantojas – 1:48.04 (Tyson Invitational)
Mile | No. 1 – Parvej Khan – 3:55.41 (Terrier DMR Challenge)
4x400m | No. 4 – Powell, Gregory, McKiver, Hayles – 3:02.53 (NCAA Championships)
4x400m | No. 6 – Hayles, Schwartzman, McKiver, Powell – 3:02.78 (NCAA Championships)
Long Jump | No. 2 – Malcolm Clemons – 8.22m/26’11.75″ (SEC Championships)
Weight Throw | No. 7 – Will Gross IV – 20.25m/66’5.25″ (SEC Championships)
Shot Put | No. 5 – Kai Chang – 19.36m/63’6.25″ (SEC Championships)

2024 Women’s Indoor:
200m | No. 4 – Jasmine Montgomery – 23.00 (Razorback Invitational)
Mile | No. 1 – Flomena Asekol – 4:26.47 (David Hemery Valentine Invitational)
Mile | No. 5 – Elise Thorner – 4:35.72 (David Hemery Valentine Invitational)
3000m | No. 1 – Parker Valby – 8:41.50 (NCAA Championships)
3000m | No. 2 – Flomena Asekol – 8:52.57 (Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener)
5000m | No. 1 – Parker Valby – 14:52.79 (NCAA Championships)
5000m | No. 3 – Allison Wilson – 15:58.14 (Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener)
5000m | No. 5 – Amelia Mazza-Downie – 16:00.49 (SEC Championships)
DMR | No. 1 – Thorner, Owens, Edwards, Asekol – 10:52.06 (Razorback Invitational)
DMR | No. 2 – Thorner, Owens, Asekol, Valby – 10:53.29 (SEC Championships)
Long Jump | No. 6 – Anthaya Charlton – 6.39m/20’11.75″ (McFerrin-12 Degree Invitational)
High Jump | No. 4 – Claire Bryant – 1.84m/6’0.5″ (McFerrin-12 Degree Invitational)

GATORS TRACK & FIELD IN THE RANKS
The Men’s and Women’s teams currently stand at No. 4<https://www.ustfccca.org/2024/04/featured/2024-ncaa-di-mens-outdoor-track-field-rating-index-week-5> and No. 7<https://www.ustfccca.org/2024/04/featured/2024-ncaa-di-womens-outdoor-track-field-rating-index-week-5> in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll. The men’s program is one of eleven SEC teams to be ranked in the top-25 while the women are one of the nine ranked conference opponents.

SECs IN THE SWAMP
The LSU Invitational and East Coast Relays mark the final scheduled meet for the Florida Gators before the 2024 Outdoor Track & Field postseason. The SEC Outdoor Championships, which marks the beginning of the postseason, will be hosted by the University of Florida for the first time since 2009. The competition will take place from May 9 to May 11.

Tickets for the 2024 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships are now on sale and can be purchased by clicking here<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/24secoutdoor>. Single-day tickets are $15 and all-session passes for all three days are $40. All tickets are general admission and will also be available at the Ticket Office at James G. Pressly Stadium.

EAST COAST RELAYS MEET INFORMATION
Location /

Jacksonville, Florida / Jax Track at Hodges Stadium

Date/Times

Friday, April 26: 7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 27: 12:30 p.m. ET

Live Results

East Coast Relays Live Results<https://results.adkinstrak.com/meets/31536>

Updates & Info

@GatorsTF on X<https://twitter.com/GatorsTF>

LSU INVITATIONAL MEET INFORMATION
Location /

Baton Rouge, Louisiana / Bernie Moore Track Stadium

Date/Times

Saturday, April 27: 10:00 a.m. ET – 5:30 p.m. ET