THE FLORIDA RELAYS have grown to become one of the premier relay meets in the country. One of the reasons why is because it is surprising not all about the relay events. Plenty of individual races are held at this meet to match the excitement that the relay events provide. I'll recap some of the best performances this past weekend.
5.) OCTAVIOUS FREEMAN at the FLORIDA RELAYS
At the University of Florida one of the best outdoor regular season meets took place, the Florida Relays. This three day meet combines high school, college and professional athletes into one meet. Not only is the meet full of great relay events but also full of great individual events as well.
One of those great individual events is the 100 meter dash. In the women's 100 meter dash super sophomore Octavious Freeman proved why she is capable of claiming the 100 meter NCAA title herself. Freeman won the race clocking in at 11.02 a personal best. Freeman was the only collegiate athlete in her heat defeating six professional sprinters. Freeman's time catapulted her to the number 1 time in the NCAA this year. Freeman had a clear lead from the start and that performance is hinting at a possible sub 11 second performance later this year.
4.) GEORGIA TECH wins the 4x800 RELAY
Georgia Tech has one thing in common with the host Florida, they both hate Georgia other than that these programs have developed some great 800 runners over the past few years. Florida was the heavy favorite entering this race with solid core of 800 runners led by All-American Sean Obinwa and they also had the home crowd to back them up. The race came down to the wire with Georgia Tech edging out Florida with a time of 7:22.37 to 7:22.41. Sophomore Brandon Laster out kicked Obinwa in the final meters to claim the win and shock Gators.
3.) FLORIDA WOMEN SET 4X400 RELAY RECORD
The 4x400 relay is always an exciting way to end every meet. It's even better when it consists of the best teams in the NCAA like at the Florida Relays. The University of Florida claimed the nations best time and set a school record by winning the 4x400 relay in a time of 3:27.43. Robin Reynolds, Lanie Whitaker, Destinee Gause and Ebony Eustey ran a phenomenal race from beginning to end to hold of the University of Texas who finished third with a time of 3:27.95. Although the Gators lost to a professional club, they have proven they are the team to beat for the rest of the season.
2.) MEN'S 400 METER RACE
This event was loaded. There is no need for a long drawn out preview. This event gathered, Hugh Graham, Najee Glass and Arman Hall of Florida along with David Verburg of George Mason and Bryshon Nellum of USC. All of these men have been ranked near the top in the event at one point or another. Nellum made Team USA in the 400 meter dash for the Olympic Team and has a silver medal from the men's 4x400 relay.
Nellum would arise victorious after seeing the stagger made up on him by true freshman Najee Glass of Florida. The race was one on the 60 meters were Nellum began to seize past Glass to claim the event in a time of 45.54, while Glass finished 2nd in 45.71. Nellum has had to deal with plenty of misfortune at the start of his career at USC, a hamstring injury and being shot in the leg. He just recently learned to compete without pain. This performance should stand to a warning to every 400 meter runner that Nellum's 2012 season was not just due to luck but to hard work and perseverance.
1.) AARON BROWN upsets MARVIN BRACY
Marvin Bracy is one of the most talk about sprinters in NCAA history. As a freshman he set the NCAA on fire early in the indoor season by running the top time in the 60 meter dash in his first race. He held the number one time in the country until the weekend of the regular season. Brown is also known for his phenomenal outdoor performances were he set multiple records and wowed many with his stellar times nearly breaking the 10 second barrier as a high school junior.
Aaron Brown an Olympian from Canada a standout performer as a junior from USC has had his share of success as well by winning the PAC-12 title in the 100 meter dash last season. Bracy was a huge favorite heading into the first heat of the men's 100. Brown of USC overtook Bracy from about 30 meter line and led the rest of the race. Brown's winning time of 10.15 rank him amongst the top 5 performers in the nation.
