EUGENE, Ore. – For the third consecutive season and the seventh time in program history, the Florida Gators Men's Track & Field team is the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Champions.
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) June 8, 2024DID SOMEONE SAY 3️⃣-PEAT???
🏆 2024
🏆 2023
🏆 2022#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/pEghstHzJp
This marks the 12th National Champion earned by Florida's men's team and 15th overall for the Florida Gators. All 12 of the men's titles have come under Head Coach Mike Holloway.
The 2024 NCAA Champions had a similar route to the pinnacle of collegiate track & field as they did in 2023. Last year, the Gators entered the National Championships ranked No. 4 in the country following a sixth-place finish at conference and still overcame the odds. This year's team claimed the title despite entering the season finale ranked No. 3 in the nation and placing fourth at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
The Gators defeated the Auburn Tigers by one point to claim the championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Scoring started during Wednesday's competition as Malcolm Clemons earned a third-place finish in the Men's Long Jump. A year after placing fourth at the 2023 NCAA Championships, the redshirt junior found himself a spot higher on the podium in 2024. His best mark of the series, 8.05m/26'5", was a season-best for Clemons and secured six points for the Gators.
The 4x100m relay team of Jevaughn Powell, Wanya McCoy, Malique Smith-Band and Robert Gregory opened Saturday's action with a fourth-place finish, bringing it home in 38.34. The time stands as a season-best for the group. The finish added five points to the team's total.
McCoy, participating in the first of two individual events, earned a sixth-place finish in the 100m securing a time of 10.03. This performance contributed three more points towards the team title.
One event later, the duo of Powell and Reheem Hayles notched eight points in the 400m. Powell ran an exceptional race as he contributed six of those points, finishing third behind a time a huge personal record time of 44.54. The time stands as the No. 5 time in University of Florida history in the event. Hayles finished seventh in the event, earning the Gators two points, with a time of 45.78.
Competing in his first-ever NCAA Outdoor Championships, Kai Chang obtained crucial points for the Gators. His best throw of the Discus competition (60.61m/198'10") earned him fifth place (four points).
After falling short of the Long Jump finals on Wednesday night, Sean Dixon-Bodie snagged a point in the Men's Triple Jump. The senior obtained his best mark on his third jump, recording a distance of 16.28m/53'5" earning himself an eighth-place finish.
The penultimate running event for the Gators was the 200m. Florida had two entries in the event as Robert Gregory and McCoy set their blocks for the half-lap race. When the lights shined the brightest, Gregory stepped up in a huge way. The senior sprinter ran his second consecutive season-best time (20.08) awarding him with a second-place finish and eight points.
In the end, the team title came down to one event: the 4x400m relay. The Gators stood in second-place in the team standings, as they trailed the Auburn Tigers by five points (35 to 40). The quartet of Hayles, Powell, Rios Prude Jr. and Jenoah McKiver proceeded to finish third with a time of 2:58.98 securing the six points necessary to clinch the national titlte.
POINT BREAKDOWN
100m, Wanya McCoy | 3 Points
200m, Robert Gregory | 8 Points
400m, Jevaughn Powell | 6 Points
400m, Jevaughn Powell | 2 Points
4x100m, Powell, McCoy, Smith-Band, Gregory | 5 Points
4x400m, Hayles, Powell, Prude Jr., McKiver | 6 Points
Long Jump, Malcolm Clemons | 6 Points
Triple Jump, Sean Dixon-Bodie | 1 Points
Discus Throw, Kai Chang | 4 Points
TOTAL: 41 Points
TEAM SCOREBOARD
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Florida | 41 |
| 2 | Auburn | 40 |
| 3 | Southern California | 33 |
| 4 | Alabama | 32 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 31 |
HEAR FROM HOLLOWAY
On how you pieced this title together…
"It was a tough day, we had some things not go our way. We built this program with a lot of pride and and a lot of passion. When we talk about a standard that we fight to, that's what you saw today. Every time something went wrong, somebody stepped up and got it done. Very proud of everybody to put the uniform on today."
On what makes this championship unique…
"I think the unique thing about it is like I just talked about like we have some adversity throughout the year people get nicked up. I want to give a shout out to my strength and conditioning coach Matt DeLancey, Yolanda Lawrence in the training room and our wonderful staff. Them piecing people back together when they got a little dinged up and then my coaching staff has just been phenomenal. Again, we're a team, we're family. We talk about a standard and we fight to win every single day and that's what you saw this week."
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS NOTES
- The Florida Gators are the first team since Texas A&M to win three consecutive NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships (Texas A&M – 2010, 2011, 2012).
- This marks the first time the Gators have won three straight NCAA Outdoor Championships in program history, despite holding two separate back-to-back championship runs (2012 & 2013, 2016 & 2017).
- The only other instance where Gators Track & Field won three straight National Championships occurred in 2010, 2011 and 2012 when Florida claimed the NCAA Indoor Championship in each of the stated years.
- Men's Outdoor Track & Field is the third Gatorprogram to three-peat: Men's Indoor Track & Field (2010, 2011, 2012), Gymnastics (2013, 2014, 2015) and Men's Outdoor Track & Field (2022, 2023, 2024).
- Florida is the first to win the NCAA Outdoor men's team title without winning an individual title since Texas A&M in 2009.
- Florida is one of two programs to win at least one national team title in each fully contested season since 2008-2009. This stands as Florida's 27th national title in that span.
- Gator Men's Outdoor Track & Field claims Florida's 48th national team title.
- Men's Outdoor Track & Field is one of four Gator teams with five or more NCAA team titles – Women's Tennis (7), Men's Outdoor T&F (7), Men's Golf (5), Men's Indoor Track & Field (5)
- Sixteen Gator sports have won national team titles. That is the nation's fourth-highest array of sport titles for a program (and highest east of the Mississippi River). Florida's 16 leads Southeastern Conference programs (Georgia is second with national titles in 10 NCAA-sanctioned sports).
- Since the 2008-2009 season, Men's Track & Field has accumulated 12 of the University of Florida's 27 national titles during that span (44%).
- Florida's 27 national titles have come in 12 different sports. Stanford and UCLA also claim national titles in 12 different sports during that span.
- This is Florida's ninth program to finish in the top-5 this season:
- No. 1 Men's Outdoor Track & Field
- No. 2 Women's Indoor Track & Field
- No. 3 Men's Swimming & Diving
- No. 3 Women's Swimming & Diving
- No. 3 Men's Indoor Track & Field
- No. T3 Women's Lacrosse
- No. T3 Softball
- No. 4 Gymnastics
- No. 5 Women's Cross Country
ATHLETE ENTRIES
| Friday, June 7 – Track (Men) | |
| Events / Time (ET) | Place. Athlete – Time | Notes |
| 4x100m (Final) | 4. Powell, McCoy, Smith-Band, Gregory – 38.34 | Season Best, 5 Points |
| 100m (Final) | 6. Wanya McCoy – 10.03 | 3 Points |
| 400m (Final) | 3. Jevaughn Powell – 44.54 | PR, No. 5 in UF History, 6 Points 7. Reheem Hayles – 45.78 | 2 Points |
| 200m (Final) | 2. Robert Gregory – 20.08 | Season Best, 8 Points 9. Wanya McCoy – 20.98 |
| 4x400m (Final) | 3. Hayles, Powell, Prude Jr., McKiver – 2:58.98 | 6 Points |
| Friday, June 7 – Field (Men) | |
| Events / Time (ET) | Place. Athlete – Mark | Notes |
| Discus Throw (Final) | 5. Kai Chang – 60.61m/198'10" |
| Triple Jump (Final) | 8. Sean Dixon-Bodie – 16.28m/53'5" |
UP NEXT
The Florida Gators will conclude the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 8 with the women competing in the final day of the event.
NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
| Location / Venue | Eugene, Oregon / Hayward Field |
| Date / Time | Wednesday, June 5: 5:00 p.m. ET Thursday, June 6: 8:45 p.m. ET Friday, June 7: 8:35 p.m. ET Saturday, June 8: 5:00 p.m. ET |
| Meet Schedule | 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Schedule |
| Live Results | 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Live Results |
| Updates & Info | @GatorsTF on X |
BROADCAST INFORMATION
| Saturday, June 8 | WATCH | Time: 5:30 p.m. ET |
| *All broadcast times and networks are subject to change. | |
| Saturday, June 8 – Track (Women) | |
| Events / Time (ET) | Athlete Entries |
| 1500m (Final) / 5:41 p.m. | Flomena Asekol |
| 3000m Steeplechase (Final) / 5:54 p.m. | Elise Thorner |
| 100m Hurdles (Final) / 6:12 p.m. | Grace Stark |
| 5000m (Final) / 7:25 p.m. | Parker Valby |
| Saturday, June 8 – Field (Women) | |
| Events / Time (ET) | Athlete Entries |
| High Jump (Final) / 5:00 p.m. ET | Claire Bryant |
| Discus Throw (Final) / 5:05 p.m. ET | Alida van Daalen |
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