FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Top-ranked Florida won its first SEC Indoor Track and Field title since 2004, outlasting No. 5 Arkansas on Sunday at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The Gators won the title for the first time since 2004 and ended a six-year winning streak by the Razorbacks at the SEC Indoors. Florida had 148 points while Arkansas had 136.50.
Florida entered with a two-point lead on the Razorbacks, but pulled away to finished with 148 points, thanks to first-, second- and third-place finishes in the triple jump and top finishes in the men's mile, 200 meters, 60 meters and 60 hurdles.
"You look at what happened today, it's a cumulation of when we sat down back in August and started working," Gators coach Mike Galloway said. "We've got an incredible amount of talent, but we could have lost if we don't keep our focus."
No. 2 LSU ran away with the women's title after strong performances in 200 meters and 60 hurdles on Sunday. The Lady Tigers scored 135 points while runner-up Arkansas had 118.
The win was the first for the LSU women at the SEC indoor meet since 2008.
Christian Taylor was the perhaps the biggest Florida star of the day.
Taylor set a new SEC indoor meet record with a triple jump mark of 56 feet, 11 inches, breaking the previous record of 56-2 feet, 2 set by LSU's Walter Davis at the 1992 meet.
Taylor also helped the Gators to a second-place finish in the 1600-meter relay, the final event Sunday which helped clinch the victory.
"Some people say this is a home-field advantage (for Arkansas)," Taylor said. "But we knew we had the talent and we just had to find a way to do it, and we did it."
Sophomore Jeff Demps, who also stars on the Gators' football team, won the 60 meters in an NCAA-qualifying time of 6.55, while junior Dumisane Hlaselo — the individual points leader for the weekend — scored 10 points Sunday with a narrow win in the mile.
"You talk about Christian, you can talk about Eddie (Lovett), you can talk about Tony McQuay," Galloway said. "I thought the biggest star might have been Dumisane Hlaselo."
LSU finished third in the men's standings with 98 points, followed by Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky and Ole Miss.
The Tigers won the women's title by holding off Arkansas and Tennesse, which was third with 78 points. They were followed by Auburn, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
"We had some great break-through performances, which is always great to have at a championship meet," LSU coach Dennis Shaver said. "It's good to win this but our goal, as always, is to see what we can to at the national championship meet. But certainly I think we helped ourselves a lot in Fayetteville this weekend."
