Florida Gators capture eight titles at 2013 Tom Jones Memorial Classic

The Florida Gators claimed eight victories at the 2013 Tom Jones Memorial Classic on Saturday, as they begin to get ready for the SEC Outdoor Championships which begin in short order. Five of the victories came from the field event side of the meet while three came from the track.

Taylor Burke got things rolling for the Gators with a victory in the women's high jump with a best height of 1.80m. Also in the women's high jump, Alex Muniz finished fourth with a final height of 1.61m. Ciarra Brewer and Gissell Warner dominated the women's triple jump by finishing 1-2 with distances of 13.28m and 12.49m respectively. Warner's jump was also a personal record.

Both the women's team and men's team saw victories in the hammer throw, with Jayla Bostic winning the women's competition with a distance of 56.91m and Jeremy Postin taking home the men's title with a distance of 65.21m. Kyle Strawn, David Triassi and David Levin also finished 2-4 in the men's hammer throw with Strawn and Triassi setting personal records in the process.

Luka Mustafic took home the men's shot put title with a best throw of 17.72m, while Hunter Joyer finished second in the same event with a best throw of 15.56m.

In the running events, Stephanie Strasser set a personal record with her victory in the women's 1,500m run with a time of 4:23.66s. In the men's 3,000m run the Gators swept the first four finishing positions with Jimmy Clark taking home the title with a final time of 8:10.21s.

The final victory for the Gators on Saturday came from Ugonna Ndu with her performance in the 100m hurdle finals. Her winning time of 13.34s was good enough even though everybody received a little wind-aided assistance.

Next weekend is a big weekend for the Gators on the track. Not only is it the final regular season weekend of the season, but the Gators will get a chance to compete against the Arkansas Razorbacks once more before the SEC Outdoor Championships.