Story by UF Sports Information
Junior multi-event athlete Gray Horn, a two-time Southeastern Conference Outdoor Champion in the decathlon, will open his indoor season this weekend when he participates in the heptathlon at the Texas A&M Challenge, starting Friday at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
It marks the third year in a row that Horn will open up the heptathlon in College Station, Texas, after competing in the 60-meter hurdles and the high jump two weeks ago at the Nittany Lion Challenge.
“I felt like the first meet went really good, especially the 60 hurdles,” Horn said. “I had a really good time running that with my teammates, and overall, I was pleased with our first meet.”
Florida head coach Mike Holloway said he has been thrilled with Horn’s training throughout the fall and he is looking forward to seeing his pupil’s first heptathlon competition this weekend.
“I’m very excited about Gray,” Holloway said. “He’s been very focused this fall. He came back from Christmas break with kind of a renewed focus. The big thing with Gray and the multi-event is that you take it one event at a time. You can’t get too high or too low. We expect Gray to do great things, and he expects that of himself.”
Horn, who has struggled at the NCAA Championship meets over the past two seasons, including at the 2009 national indoor meet at Texas A&M, says added work in the field events has given him increased confidence entering the 2011 campaign.
“I’ve just been really confident lately when it comes to my field events,” Horn said. “I’ve spent a lot of time on the runway and throwing the shot and things like that. It’s just all kind of come together for me. That’s a real big confidence booster for me and I’m going to need that.”
Horn, who holds Florida’s first-day heptathlon record and ranks second all-time in school history in the heptathlon total score, says a single-minded focus on himself, and what he needs to improve on, will help him reach the next level.
“I feel like if I go in there and just be myself, then everything’s going to come together,” Horn said. “The personal battle for me is that I didn’t have a very good NCAA meet last year, both indoor or outdoor, so my dilemma is just getting in there, being myself and knowing that I can get it done.”
The competition at Texas A&M will prove beneficial for Horn, both because it takes place at the site of the 2011 NCAA Championships and also because of the competition he will face. Several of the same competitors he will face at this year’s SEC and NCAA Championships, including the 2010 SEC decathlon runner-up Cory Holman, of Georgia, will be participating at this weekend’s meet.
“A lot of those guys are my friends, but once we step on the track, we know how it’s going to be,” Horn said. “I think if our team shows up with the mental attitude of ‘We’re here – let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing all fall,’ we will be fine. I think we’ll be ready when it comes time for the SEC and NCAA Championships.”
HORN’S BEST HEPTATHLON MARKS
60m: 6.99, 2010 SEC Indoor Championships
Long Jump: 7.28m/23-10.75, 2009 NCAA Championships
Shot Put: 12.49m/40-11.75, 2009 NCAA Championships
High Jump: 2.02m/6-7.50, 2010 NCAA Championships
60m Hurdles: 8.06, 2010 NCAA Championships
Pole Vault: 4.60m/15-1, 2010 SEC Championships
1,000m: 2:43.40, 2010 SEC Championships
First-Day Score: 3,137, 2009 NCAA Championships
Total Score: 5,653, 2010 SEC Championships
FLORIDA ALL-TIME HEPTATHLON TOP-5
1. Mike Morrison – 5,792
2. Gray Horn – 5,653
3. Stefan Hommel – 5,507
4. Kayne Dakoski – 5,273
5. Kurt Lee – 5,123