Florida men's track and field earns one final award for 2012

For those of you who have joined Alligator Army since June, you'll soon find out that we take our track and field very seriously around here. Well, that's not entirely true. It's mostly me (from an editorial standpoint) and Andy has been kind enough to humor me and allow me to do my thing in that regard.

I guess that's what he gets for allowing an old(ish) track and field athlete to contribute here on the website. But it's much appreciated.

We cover every meet, every championship and every aspect of of Florida Gators track and field, both men's and women's, from the beginning of the indoor season in January to the outdoor championships in June. For those of who you have been with us for a while, nothing will change.

Anyway, enough of the rambling: you'll see what I'm talking about come January 12th.

As for the actual goings-on on the track, it's as if winning the 2012 NCAA Indoor National Championship and 2012 NCAA Outdoor National Championship wasn't enough. A quick reminder for those you have forgotten, it was the programs third straight Indoor National Championship and the programs first Outdoor National Championship.

It was a banner year for the Gators men on the track. Unfortunately, the only team success the women's team found was a conference championship. They did win the 2012 SEC Indoor Championship, so I guess their season wasn't all lost, but we're obviously not here to talk about that.

We're here to talk about the men's 4x400 relay team and their time of 3:00.02 seconds.

That relay team, which consisted of Dedric Dukes, Hugh Graham Jr., Leonardo Seymore and Tony McQuay, will be honored today by Accusplit at the U. S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Convention which is being held in Orlando, Florida.

Accusplit, one of the many companies that time athletes at their meets, will be honoring all the top collegiate relay teams and the Gators' 4 x 400 meters relay team was the top dog. If you thought winning the Southeastern Conference in football was tough, you haven't paid attention to track.

Six of the eight men's relay teams being honored today are from the SEC, and one would have to look no further than a couple of record books to point out that the Gators claimed those national championships without winning an SEC Championship in either the indoor or outdoor season. It's tough to win the SEC. Extremely tough. And yes, with the addition of Texas A&M, it's going to get tougher.

So again, congratulations to Dukes, Graham Jr., Seymore and McQuay for running the top 4x400 relay time in country last season. We'll see y'all again (minus McQuay, who has since gone pro and won a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics) this year, beginning with the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener on January 12th.