Florida Men’s Track & Field Wins Third Straight NCAA Outdoor Championship

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.
 

DID SOMEONE SAY 3️⃣-PEAT???

🏆 2024

🏆 2023

🏆 2022#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/pEghstHzJp

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) June 8, 2024

 
This marks the 12^th National Champion earned by Florida’s men’s team and 15^th 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…