Clemons Crowned National Champion on Day One of NCAA Championship Meet
EUGENE, Ore. – The Florida Gators competed in the first day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday. Day one of Men’s competition saw the Gators climb to second place in the team standings with 18 team points, courtesy of a runner-up finish in the Javelin Throw and an individual championship-winning effort in the Long Jump.
Highlights
Jumps
For the first time in his career, and in his final collegiate competition, Malcolm Clemons is the national champion of the Men’s Long Jump. The redshirt senior concludes his illustrious Gator career as an Olympian, five-time All-American, and now a national champion.
Clemons took to the runway on Wednesday afternoon and immediately set the tone for the competition. His first jump of 8.04m [26′ 4.5″], a season best of over five inches, vaulted him into an early lead.
Throughout the next two hours of the nerve-wracking field series, not one of Clemons’ 23 opponents could match his mark. He watched on as Oklahoma State’s Blair Anderson came up short on his sixth attempt, securing his title, and stepped onto the runway for the final time as a collegian.
His final sprint toward the board, for the first time, was a victory lap.
He ran straight through the pit and stayed upright, continuing his run past the end of the sand. He raised his arms to acknowledge the crowd at Hayward Field, and ran to the embrace of Florida’s Associate Head Coach, Nic Petersen.
The outdoor Long Jump title is the first for Florida’s men since KeAndre Bates took the crown in 2017. It is the fourth such title in program history.
Throws
Leikel Cabrera Gay, in his first crack at an NCAA Championship meet, took second place in the Javelin Throw. The native of Havana, Cuba broke out for an exceptional 79.05m [259′ 4″] throw on his third attempt, setting a new personal best of nearly four feet.
His lifetime-best effort was enough to secure his runner-up finish, and remained his best mark through his final three throws. The Sophomore entered competition ranked eighth in the field, and ultimately finished second only to Miami’s Devoux Deysel, who entered the competition as the collegiate leader.
Cabrera Gay was the only underclassman to finish within the top-ten in the Javelin field.
The second-place finish makes Cabrera Gay just the third Gator in history to finish top-two in the Javelin at the NCAA Championships, and is the first such finisher in over 30 years, as he joins Derek Trafas’ (2nd, 1993 and 1994) and Scott Dykehouse (1st, 1977).
Relays
The Gators 4x400m Relay team qualified by time for the event final, taking third in their heat and eighth in the field with a 3:03.69 time.
Up Next
Florida’s women will open NCAA competition on Thursday, sporting eight total entries on day two.
Live Results from day two can be found here.
The meet will be available to stream on ESPN+ and the evening running events will be broadcast on ESPN. Individual streams of each field event will be available to stream on ESPN+. Links for the main ESPN broadcasts, as well as individual field broadcasts that feature Gator athletes, can be found below. All listed times are Eastern.
Thursday, June 12 (Women’s Day 1):
Primary broadcast, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Women’s Long Jump, 8:40 p.m. (ESPN+)
Women’s Shot Put, 9:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – Florida Gators Entrants
Wednesday, June 11
Highlights
Jumps
For the first time in his career, and in his final collegiate competition, Malcolm Clemons is the national champion of the Men’s Long Jump. The redshirt senior concludes his illustrious Gator career as an Olympian, five-time All-American, and now a national champion.
Clemons took to the runway on Wednesday afternoon and immediately set the tone for the competition. His first jump of 8.04m [26′ 4.5″], a season best of over five inches, vaulted him into an early lead.
Throughout the next two hours of the nerve-wracking field series, not one of Clemons’ 23 opponents could match his mark. He watched on as Oklahoma State’s Blair Anderson came up short on his sixth attempt, securing his title, and stepped onto the runway for the final time as a collegian.
His final sprint toward the board, for the first time, was a victory lap.
He ran straight through the pit and stayed upright, continuing his run past the end of the sand. He raised his arms to acknowledge the crowd at Hayward Field, and ran to the embrace of Florida’s Associate Head Coach, Nic Petersen.
The outdoor Long Jump title is the first for Florida’s men since KeAndre Bates took the crown in 2017. It is the fourth such title in program history.
Throws
Leikel Cabrera Gay, in his first crack at an NCAA Championship meet, took second place in the Javelin Throw. The native of Havana, Cuba broke out for an exceptional 79.05m [259′ 4″] throw on his third attempt, setting a new personal best of nearly four feet.
His lifetime-best effort was enough to secure his runner-up finish, and remained his best mark through his final three throws. The Sophomore entered competition ranked eighth in the field, and ultimately finished second only to Miami’s Devoux Deysel, who entered the competition as the collegiate leader.
Cabrera Gay was the only underclassman to finish within the top-ten in the Javelin field.
The second-place finish makes Cabrera Gay just the third Gator in history to finish top-two in the Javelin at the NCAA Championships, and is the first such finisher in over 30 years, as he joins Derek Trafas’ (2nd, 1993 and 1994) and Scott Dykehouse (1st, 1977).
Relays
The Gators 4x400m Relay team qualified by time for the event final, taking third in their heat and eighth in the field with a 3:03.69 time.
Up Next
Florida’s women will open NCAA competition on Thursday, sporting eight total entries on day two.
Live Results from day two can be found here.
The meet will be available to stream on ESPN+ and the evening running events will be broadcast on ESPN. Individual streams of each field event will be available to stream on ESPN+. Links for the main ESPN broadcasts, as well as individual field broadcasts that feature Gator athletes, can be found below. All listed times are Eastern.
Thursday, June 12 (Women’s Day 1):
Primary broadcast, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Women’s Long Jump, 8:40 p.m. (ESPN+)
Women’s Shot Put, 9:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – Florida Gators Entrants
Wednesday, June 11
| Event | Athletes – Time or Mark//Place in Heat (overall) | Notes |
| M 4x100m Relay Semifinal | Justin Braun, Jaden Wiley, Malique Smith-Band, Garrett Fox – 39.42//5th (21st) | |
| M 110m Hurdles Semifinal | Demaris Waters – FS | |
| M Javelin Throw FINAL | Leikel Cabrera Gay – 79.05m [259′ 4″]//2nd | NCAA RUNNER UP, 8 team points, UF all-time No. 3, PB |
| M Long Jump FINAL | Malcolm Clemons – 8.04 [26′ 4.5″]//1st | NCAA CHAMPION, 10 team points, SB |
| M 400m Semifinal | Jenoah McKiver – 46.92//8th (22nd) | |
| M 4x400m Relay Semifinal | Ashton Schwartzman, Rios Prude, Malique Smith-Band, Reheem Hayles – 3:03.69//3rd (8th) | qualified by time |
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