Florida Gators Finish 3rd Behind Texas A&M And FSU at NCAA Outdoor Track And Field Championship

Christian Taylor and Will Claye got the Gators off to the exact start they needed to have any chance of winning the national championship. They finished with 1st and 2nd overall in the triple jump with distances of 17.80m and 17.62m respectively that picked up a combined 18 points.

However, probably the most crucial miss of the day and the one that ended up costing the Gators the team national championship was the 400m relay. They had the second fastest qualifying time, but in the final they received a DNF and will not be awarded any points.

Dumisane Hlaselo finished 5th overall in the 1500m with a time of 3:44.59 and picked up 4 points.

In the final event of the day, the 1600m relay, all the Gators had to do was finish 3rd to win the national championship. They finished 6th. At least Texas A&M who won the 1600m relay, passed FSU to win the championship.

Final standings look like this:

1. Texas A&M - 55 Points
2. Florida State - 54 Points
3. Florida - 53 Points
4. LSU - 46 Points
5. Virginia Tech - 36 Points

All in all though, still a great Track and Field season for the Florida Gators. Hats off to coach Holloway, the athletes and everyone else associated with the team.