Four athletes qualified in their respective events as the Gators gear up for a Saturday chock-full of event finals.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Florida Gators Track and Field completed day two of the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, ultimately seeing four additional athletes qualify for their respective event finals.
Tomorrow’s slate holds 22 event finals, 11 of which will now feature athletes donning Orange and Blue.
Highlights
Sprints/Hurdles
Anthaya Charlton qualified by time in the 60m sprint on Friday, and her stellar 7.24 time registered as the sixth-fastest performance in program history in the event. The multitalented junior is poised to score for the Gators yet again, after having already tallied 5 points with a fourth-place finish in the long jump on the first day of the meet.
Demaris Waters finished fourth in what would be the fastest 60mH heat of the evening, taking the eight and final spot in Saturday’s title race with a 7.75 qualifying time.
Florida’s representatives in the 400m all set either personal or season bests in the event, with Rios Prude Jr. and Nicholas Spikes each breaking into the 46-second range for the first times in their careers.
Mid-distance
Sam Austin, Florida’s indoor 800m program record holder, posted the top time of the 800m preliminary round, securing his spot in the final. Last season’s SEC indoor 800m bronze medalist finished in 1:48.92 and fought to an exceptional 27.71 second split over the final 200m, a full half-second faster than the rest of his heat for the final lap.
Tia Wilson, already a standout in the longer distance events, shined in the preliminary rounds for the Mile. The English native delivered a 4:40.99 time en route to a win of heat three, the second fastest time in the field. She already holds the eighth-fastest Mile time in program history (4:36.39), and another performance of that caliber could lead her to SEC Gold.
Throws
All three of the Gators’ weight throwers progressed to the final round of additional throws. Johnathan Witte tallied a point with his eighth-place, 21.37m performance.
Imani Washington set yet another personal best at 20.39m, which gave her a ninth-place finish. Washington’s toss continued a streak of five-consecutive meets with a personal-best effort in the Weight Throw, a stretch dating back to last season’s SEC Indoor Championships. She has incrementally progressed from 18.43m to today’s 20.39m over the course of her exceptional run.
Up Next
The Gators will compete in 11 of Saturday’s 22 event finals, starting with the men’s Shot Put at 3:30 p.m. ET.
SEC Indoor Championships Day Two Results – Florida Gators Entrants
Friday, February 28
Event
Participant – Time or mark//place in heat or flight (overall)
Notes
Weight Throw FINAL (M)
Johnathan Witte – 21.37m [70′ 1.25″]//8th
Jacob Lemmon – 21.31m [69′ 11″]//9th
1 team point
Weight Throw FINAL (W)
Imani Washington – 20.38m [66′ 10.5″]//9th
PR
1 Mile Prelims (M)
Graham Myers – 4:07.28//9th (22nd)
Gavin Nelson – 4:15.30//9th (36th)
Joe Wester – 4:21.96//10th (38th)
PR
1 Mile Prelims (W)
Caroline Wells – 4:54.54//7th (20th)
Tia Wilson – 4:40.99//1st (2nd)
Qualified by finish
60m Prelims (M)
Wanya McCoy – 6.64//3rd (11th)
Malique Smith-Band – 6.79//6th (26th)
Jaden Wiley – 6.84//7th (30th)
60m Prelims (W)
Anthaya Charlton – 7.24//2nd (4th)
Qualified by time, UF All-time No. 6
400m Prelims (M)
Rios Prude Jr. – 46.57//3rd (13th)
Ashton Schwartzman – 46.55//3rd (12th)
Nicholas Spikes – 46.93//2nd (19th)
PR
SB
PR
800m Prelims (M)
Sam Austin – 1:48.92//1st (1st)
Edward Kepran – 1:52.33//4th (26th)
Ryan Maseman – 1:50.29//3rd (14th)
Miguel Pantojas – 1:50.97//4th (17th)
Qualified by finish
60m H Prelims (M)
Vance Nilsson – 7.94//5th (15th)
Demaris Waters – 7.75//4th (8th)
Qualified by time
60m H Prelims (W)
Thalia Waters – 8.30//5th (13th)
PR
