GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The city of Gainesville has a new mayor. After a pair of home events in the early part of April, the Florida track and field teams are back on the road this weekend. In the penultimate weekend of regular season play, the Gators will compete in both the LSU Invitational and the North Florida Invitational before the SEC Outdoor Championships on May 12-14.
The majority of Florida’s sprinters and jumpers will travel to Baton Rouge on Friday and Saturday, while the throws and distance crews, as well as a few sprinters and jumpers, will travel to Jacksonville. At the LSU Invitational, the Gators will face a tough field that includes the Tigers, Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Texas.
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There will be a handful of fast times across the board, particularly in the relays and sprints. For the first time this outdoor season, Jacory Patterson, Champion Allison, and Taylor Manson are set to participate in the 400 metres. In February, Allison won the SEC Indoor Championships, while Patterson placed fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
In the men’s 100 and 200 metres, Florida will have a large contingent. Joseph Fahnbulleh, Cameron Mahorn, Tyler Davis, Kemuel Santana, and Dedrick Vanover are all expected to compete in both tournaments. For the first time since the Texas Relays, PJ Austin will compete again.
Vanover, Davis, Fahnbulleh, and Patterson are among the candidates for the 4×100 relay, and he will also race the 200 metres and compete in the Long Jump. Kurt Powder will compete in the 110-meter hurdles for the first time since the SEC Indoor Championships.
Grace Stark is anticipated to compete in the 100m and 100m hurdles, while Talitha Diggs (100m and 200m), Anna Hall (100m hurdles and Long Jump), and Sterling Lester (200m and 400m) are also expected to compete in several events. All of the action in Baton Rouge will take place on Saturday, with the Gators’ Men’s 4×100 relay set to begin at 12:35 p.m. CST.
Florida’s distance and throws teams have already established a number of personal bests this season, and they’ll seek to build on that success this weekend at the North Florida Invitational. Parker Valby will compete in her first competition since January when she competes in Jacksonville.
This weekend, the Gators will have a number of athletes in the 800 and 1500 metres. On Saturday afternoon, Imogen Barrett, Ashley Klingenberg, Vasileia Spyrou, and Gabrielle Wilkinson will all compete in the 800 metres.
Barrett presently has the NCAA’s fourth-best time this season, clocking in at 2:01.65 at the Tom Jones Memorial. In the 800 metres, Sam Austin and Joe Wester will lead a group of nine Florida men. On Friday afternoon, the Gators will compete in the 1500 meters with nine guys.
When Thea Jensen competes in the Shot Put on Friday and the Discus on Saturday, she will be competing in both events. In their respective competitions, Edward Shelikoff (Discus), Mark Porter (Javelin), and Zach Godbold (Javelin) will attempt to build on their strong beginnings in the season.
Markus Ballengee will compete in the Discus on Saturday morning, making his Florida debut. A number of Gators are set to compete in multiple events this weekend, including Nick Deal (1500 meters and 5000 meters) and Zak Sedaris (100 meters and 200 meters). Jensen will compete in the Shot Put and Adam Bouchard in the High Jump on Friday afternoon in North Florida.
We don’t know if there will be bad weather this weekend, so all of the events could change.
| Saturday, April 30th (all times CST): LSU Invitational | |
| Time | Gators: Event |
| 12:35 p.m. | Men’s 4×100 Relay: Florida |
| 1:05 p.m. | Women’s 100 Hurdles: Anna Hall, Grace Stark, Sasha Wells |
| 1:15 p.m. | Men’s 110 Hurdles: Caleb Foster, Kurt Powdar, Osaji Skyers |
| 1:15 p.m. | Women’s Long Jump: Claire Bryant, Anna Hall, Jasmine Moore |
| 1:15 p.m. | Men’s Long Jump: PJ Austin, Malcolm Clemons, Caleb Foster |
| 1:25 p.m. | Women’s 400 Meters: Doneisha Anderson, Sterling Lester, Taylor Manson, Cait Tate |
| 1:35 p.m. | Men’s 400 Meters: Champion Allison, Anthony Brodie, Jacory Patterson |
| 1:45 p.m. | Women’s 100 Meters: Talitha Diggs, Grace Stark |
| 1:55 p.m. | Men’s 100 Meters: Tyler Davis, Joseph Fahnbulleh, Cameron Mahorn, Kemuel Santana, Dedrick Vanover |
| 2:25 p.m. | Women’s 400 Hurdles: Vanessa Watson |
| 2:30 p.m. | Men’s 400 Hurdles: Collin Sieffert |
| 2:40 p.m. | Women’s 200 Meters: Talitha Diggs, Sterling Lester, Cait Tate |
| 2:55 p.m. | Men’s 200 Meters: PJ Austin, Tyler Davis, Joseph Fahnbulleh, Cameron Mahorn, Jacob Miley, Kemuel Santana, Dedrick Vanover, Ryan Willie |
| 3:00 p.m. | Women’s Triple Jump: Alissa Braxton, Natricia Hooper |
| 3:00 p.m. | Men’s Triple Jump: Michael Holloway II, Jonathan Miller |
| 3:50 p.m. | Men’s 4×400 Relay: Florida |
North Florida Invite (All times Eastern)
- Live Results / Start Lists
- Venue: Jax Track at Hodges Stadium
- Watch: No Stream
- Coverage: Follow the Gators on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for coverage and updates. And stay tuned to FloridaGators.com for a full recap of this weekend’s meet.
| Friday, April 29th (all times EST): North Florida Invitational | |
| Time | Gators – Event |
| 3:00 p.m. | Men’s High Jump: Adam Bouchard |
| 3:00 p.m. | Women’s Shot Put: Thea Jensen |
| 6:00 p.m. | Men’s Long Jump: Jalen Chance |
| 7:55 p.m. | Men’s 200 Meters: Zak Sedaros |
| 8:30 p.m. | Men’s 1500 Meters: Nick Deal, Deshay Fernandes, Ethan Geiger, Eoin McNally, Ryan Miller, Cade Monk, Matthew Mule, Angel Vicioso, Joe Wester |
| 8:45 p.m. | Women’s Steeplechase: Pamela O’Brien |
| 9:30 p.m. | Women’s 5000 Meters Invite*: Maria Fernandez, Parker Valby |
| 10:00 p.m. | Men’s 5000 Meters Invite*: Nick Deal, Josh Stern, Javi Vento, Cavan Wilson |
| Saturday, April 30th (all times EST): North Florida Invitational | |
| Time | Gators – Event |
| 11:00 a.m. | Men’s Discus: Markus Ballengee, Edward Shelikoff |
| 11:00 a.m. | Women’s Javelin: Marissa Rung |
| 1:10 p.m. | Women’s 800 Meters: Imogen Barrett, Ashley Klingenberg, Vasileia Spyrou, Gabrielle Wilkinson |
| 1:25 p.m. | Men’s 800 Meters: Sam Austin, Dalton Brown, Deshay Fernandes, Eoin McNally, Ryan Miller, Cade Monk, Matthew Mule, Chase Ruskin, Joe Wester |
| 2:30 p.m. | Women’s Discus: Thea Jensen |
| 2:30 p.m. | Men’s Javelin: Zach Godbold, Mark Porter |
| 2:40 p.m. | Women’s 100 Meters: Tymiah Montgomery |
| 3:00 p.m. | Men’s 100 Meters: Zak Sedaros, Jadon Maddux |
| 3:20 p.m. | Women’s 5000 Meters Open*: Maria Fernandez, Parker Valby |
| 3:35 p.m. | Men’s 5000 Meters Open*: Nick Deal, Josh Stern, Javi Vento, Cavan Wilson |
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