FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Florida sophomore athlete Gray Horn stood third Friday after the first day of competition in the heptathlon event at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by the University of Arkansas at its Randal Tyson Track Center.
Horn is one point out of second place and 220 points off the lead of Cory Holman of Georgia (3,280) with three events remaining.
“Gray had a very solid day today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “With the exception of the long jump, he was strong in all of his events and it really sets him up for a good day (Saturday). The big thing for him is just to forget about the long jump and come out and perform well in the final three events. They’re all events that he is very adept in.
“I am also pleased with the performance of our freshmen Amani Bryant and Ugonna Ndu in their first pentathlon,” Holloway continued. “They both gave their best effort in all five events today and that’s what we ask of each of our athletes.”
Horn, the winner of the 2009 SEC Outdoor decathlon championship, opened the day by winning his heat in the 60-meter dash in a personal-record time of 6.99. That topped his previous personal-best of 7.06 recorded at the Texas A&M Challenge in January.
Horn struggled in the long jump with a seventh-place finish (22 feetm 1½ inches) before rebounding with a third-place showing in the shot put with a season-best toss of 40 feet. Horn capped off the night with a second-place finish in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 6¾ inches – just shy of his personal-best in the event.
Florida freshmen Amani Bryant and Ugonna Ndu each competed in their first career pentathlons. Bryant finished 12th with 3,398 points, while Ndu was 13th with 3,281 total points.
The duo was especially impressive in the 60-meter hurdles, the first event of the day. Each shattered her collegiate personal record in the event, as Ndu finished sixth in 8.69 (her previous PR was 8.82) and Bryant was eighth in 8.73 (her previous PR was 8.88).
The SEC Indoor Championships continue Saturday and conclude Sunday.