Running Event Champions

David Oliver (Men’s 110mH)

“It was alright; the start was shaky. I probably should have been a bit more focused on that but I finished strong as usual, and won the race. This is my first race in about 7 months so it feels good to get out here and get on the winning track to start the 2013 season.�

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Francena McCorory (Women’s 400m)

“Today was a good day. It’s a bit windy out here so that always makes it a challenge for us in the 400 but overall I think I did okay. I think I am at a pretty good place; this is my third 400 of the year so, not bad.�

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Octavious Freeman (Women’s 100m)

“I didn’t expect to run that fast right now but I love coming to this meet. I’ve been coming to this meet since I was little so it’s like I am just home and in this meet I get a lot of support. We’re training hard right now because we have to peak towards the end of the season; it’s been a lot of strength work for me.�

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Chanelle Price (Women’s 800m)

“It was my opener for the 800; It wasn’t really about time, it was all about feel and execute each phase of the 800. It’s a very tough race so I just tried to feel it out and 2:02 is great for me right now.�

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Ellen Wortham (Women’s 400mH)

“It actually was kind of crazy today; I had some adrenaline going, took one less step to the first hurdle, went over with my opposite leg but I’ve been practicing switching so luckily it worked out in my favor. I was pretty tired over the last two hurdles but was able to hang on. I just kept pumping my arms and thanks god I got to the finish line first.�

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Dedric Dukes (Invite 200m)

“I felt pretty good; kind of tight but I just wanted to come back and do well in the 200. I was a little upset with myself with the 100, but I put it behind me and just focused on my 200 race. This is my best race and I just wanted to get a great opening and finish the season strong.�

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Carly Hamilton (Women’s 1500M)

“I’m just really excited to be able to get the win; it’s a big difference from coming here last year. This is my first race back from my broken foot last outdoor season, so I run a really rough 800 today, but I’m just glad to be healthy and hoping to get stronger and keep building up; it’s a good start. Just trying to get myself on the best shape and I’m happy with this as a starting point and looking to the future.�

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Colleen Quigley (Women’s 3000m steeplechase)

“Today was not high pressured; I just wanted to open safely; Ive had a lot of injury problems in the past and so just trying to be really safe, focus on my form a lot and get a good time to get ready for ACCs in a couple of weeks and get a good race.�

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Amanda Winslow (Women’s 5000)

“I’m definitely happy, it was a 21 second PR and I felt pretty relaxed and I was just going out there to get a good, strong opener; I’m focusing more on the 1500, so the 5K is just to get some base and some over distance training; I’m definitely pleased.�

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Nia Ali – Women’s 100M Hurdles

“I feel like it was good overall, I just wanted to execute my form. My coaches wanted me to go out and work on a few things, and I just went out and did that.�

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Bryshon Nellum – Men’s 400M

“I’m coming off a good season running in London. All I did was just take that, take some rest, come back train hard, and had a good opening. Right now I’m just trying to see where I’m at. I’ve been training real well; I’m healthy. I just went out there to see what I could do.�

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Aaron Brown – Men’s 100M

“It went pretty well. I got out good. When I’m even with the field, I feel like my second half of the race is pretty strong.�

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Sean Obinwa – Men’s 800M

“I haven’t ran outdoors in two years, so that was a nice little opener for me. Overall, I think the race went really well. I got out good. I’m just thankful that I got the win. I’m looking forward to going back and maybe fixing a few things in the race and getting ready for the season.�

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Johnny Dutch – Men’s 400M Hurdles

“There are always minor things you need to work on. A couple of hurdles I landed weird, so I lost a lot of momentum. This was my opener this year, so I’m just appreciative that I’m healthy. I’m ready to run this year. Today was all about execution, and whatever time I hit is what time I hit. I did a couple of flat 400s before the Florida Relays this year, so I think that really prepared me today.�

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Octavious Freeman – Women’s 200M

“This meet is not really about time, it’s about working on other things I need to work on during the race: my transition, my start, my finish. I’m always looking forward to improving and doing my best. We’re just working on strength right now.�

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Taylor Burke – Women’s High Jump

“It was really fun today just competing at home. It being Florida Relays, I think the Gators really get amped up for that. To host a lot of teams is special. There are a lot of good competitors in the high jump, so it was really fun to see everyone out here. It was really good to come out with a win. I’ve never actually been in a jump-off before, so that was really fun.�

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Jeremy Greenwald – Men’s 1500M

“It was my first win of the season, actually my first win in college. It feels good. A little windy right now, but it was a great race. We ran the Georgia Tech Invitational last weekend, and I ended up getting second in that race. I felt better for this week for sure. I feel fit. I think I’m strong enough, I just need to work on the last 300 and I’ll be right where I want to be.�

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Mark Parrish – Men’s Steeplechase

“This is a great opportunity for the rest of the season. I worked really hard, and this is one of those events where running 3000 flat, I knew I was in shape, but you never know how it’s going to translate to steeplechase. It was great to get out here and just go ahead and race. I felt good, so I just went for it, and I felt pretty strong the entire way. I still have a lot left to do, but I’m really, really happy where I am. I’m really excited bout the rest of the season.�

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Brandon Lord – Men’s 5000M

“I was hoping for better, and I guess I was a little bit tired. I ran a 10K last week, and I thought I felt fine coming into tonight. I felt good, but my legs were a little bit sluggish. I have another 5K in two weeks, so that’s what I’m really trying to focus on now. It’s a little bit breezy, nothing too crazy. I was a little disappointed I guess.�

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The History Of The Florida Relays (Gatorzone.com)

The Florida Relays first began 74 years ago in 1939, thanks to the vision and creativeness of the Gators' legendary head track and field coach Percy Beard. Since that first meet, the Pepsi Florida Relays have grown in epic proportions from the small regional competitions on April Fools’ Day that featured 209 competitors, to one of the nation's premier track and field meets.

Florida, Alabama, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, the University of Havana and Palm Beach Junior College composed the university division of the inaugural Florida Relays, while Daytona Beach, Lake City, Live Oak, Miami Senior, Ocala, Palm Beach, Riverside Military Academy, Jacksonville Lee and St. Petersburg competed in the nine-team high school division.

The Florida Relays were established after the Southern Relays, held at Georgia Tech, were discontinued in the 1930s. Coach Beard was forced to create a new meet or travel hundreds of miles north to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays. Beard's coaching peers throughout the southeast were receptive to the idea and the Florida Relays were born.

Since its inception, the Florida Relays has grown in both stature and size. Previously regarded nationally as the first major event of the collegiate outdoor track and field season, the Relays once swelled from a one-day inaugural event featuring slightly more than 200 athletes to a four-day extravaganza that attracted more than 3,000 athletes from the high school, collegiate and international ranks.

In 2007, a new era of the Florida Relays began as the meet was been shifted on the track and field calendar to the first weekend in April and the competition took place during the course of two days instead of four. With the 2013 Pepsi Florida Relays, the meet has been expanded to three days.

The Relays have been held every year since 1939 except during World War II (1942-46) and in 2006 when construction to facilities surrounding Percy Beard Track prevented the meet from being contested. The first 15 meets were held on the cinder track at Graham Field, south of Florida Field. In 1959, UF's track and field complex was moved to its present location.

The 1959 Florida Relays was a historical meet, as the University of Florida unveiled the first all-weather track surface in the world. The Asphalt grasstex surface was another of Coach Percy Beard's many track innovations. That surface remained in place until a nine-lane Chevron 400 rubberized surface was installed and a Rekortan surface was put in place during the summer of 1991.

Starting with the 2012 Florida Relays, athletes have the benefit running on a completely renovated track. More than $725,000 was poured into a new Mondo surface, which included renovating the additional 30 feet of track space at the southwest corner of the stadium, installed in 2007.

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