{"id":219216,"date":"2026-04-05T02:59:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/219216\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T02:59:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:59:14","slug":"womens-4x400m-captures-new-school-record-to-close-out-pepsi-florida-relays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/219216\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s 4x400m Captures New School Record to Close Out Pepsi Florida Relays"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>GAINESVILLE, Fla. &#8211; Florida closed out its first home meet of the season in an expected fashion, with eight new personal bests, seven additions to the program&#8217;s all-time list and one new school record.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>HIGHLIGHTS<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nThrows<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jarno-van-daalen\/18060\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18060\" target=\"_blank\">Jarno van Daalen<\/a> started the day off hot for the Orange and Blue, launching a 60.21m (197-6) discus for a third place finish in the event. The freshman&#8217;s first outdoor event as a Gator locked him in at No. 5 on Florida&#8217;s all-time list while also ranking him as the top NCAA freshman in the event this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/gracelyn-leiseth\/18009\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18009\" target=\"_blank\">Gracelyn Leiseth<\/a> finished the women&#8217;s shot put invitational with a third place 17.76m (58-3 \u00bc) mark, as <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/abigail-elmore\/18000\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18000\" target=\"_blank\">Abigail Elmore<\/a> completed her first showing in the event as a Gator with a 12.57m (41-3) on her second attempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sprints\/Hurdles<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nA new program No. 2 in the women&#8217;s 100m came in <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/gabrielle-matthews\/18012\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18012\" target=\"_blank\">Gabrielle Matthews<\/a>, who took the crown with an 11.11 finish in her first 100m race in the Orange and Blue. The senior came hot out of lane five, securing the win by 0.04 seconds in the second heat of the day. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jade-brown\/18036\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18036\" target=\"_blank\">Jade Brown<\/a> finished close behind, nabbing a top ten finish at 11.41.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/aleesa-samuel\/18047\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18047\" target=\"_blank\">Aleesa Samuel<\/a> shaved 0.46 seconds off from her debut performance in the 100mH last week, posting a personal best 13.90 this weekend. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/ja-neil-harris\/18053\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18053\" target=\"_blank\">Ja&#8217;Neil Harris<\/a> also improved on his previous mark, clocking 47.56 in the men&#8217;s 400m to cut 0.20 seconds off his time.<\/p>\n<p>After notching multiple personal bests in his season debut just a week ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/trenton-howard\/18005\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18005\" target=\"_blank\">Trenton Howard<\/a> followed up with a 10.17 finish in the men&#8217;s 100m, shaving nearly 0.15 seconds off his previous time. The sophomore also led off the Gators&#8217; 4x100m relay, helping power the team to a 39.14 finish alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jaden-wiley\/18032\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18032\" target=\"_blank\">Jaden Wiley<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/almond-small\/18062\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18062\" target=\"_blank\">Almond Small<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/wanya-mccoy\/18013\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18013\" target=\"_blank\">Wanya McCoy<\/a>. The group ultimately placed second in the final after posting the nation&#8217;s second fastest time of 38.67 in the prelims a day prior.<\/p>\n<p>Mid-Distance<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nFour of Florida&#8217;s eight personal best marks came from the 800m crew, including <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/layla-haynes\/18004\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18004\" target=\"_blank\">Layla Haynes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jonah-kirspel\/18008\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18008\" target=\"_blank\">Jonah Kirspel<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/gavin-nelson\/18016\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18016\" target=\"_blank\">Gavin Nelson<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/alejandro-de-bastos\/18052\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18052\" target=\"_blank\">Alejandro de Bastos<\/a>. Haynes finished in 2:02.51, shaving more than a full second off her previous time and moving into No. 6 in program history. Freshman <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/claire-stegall\/18048\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18048\" target=\"_blank\">Claire Stegall<\/a> finished just ahead of her, recording the third fastest time in program history in her outdoor debut for the Gators at 2:01.07.<\/p>\n<p>On the men&#8217;s side, Nelson and Kirspel each put up their best performance in heat one. Nelson cut 0.67 seconds to place second in 1:46.60, while Kirspel dropped 4.91 seconds from his previous mark to finish 11th in 1:47.69. De Bastos followed with a personal best of his own in heat five, shaving nearly two seconds off his time to clock 1:52.97.<\/p>\n<p>Relays<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nThe event of the evening came from the 4x400m relays. The women&#8217;s team of <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/quincy-penn\/18022\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18022\" target=\"_blank\">Quincy Penn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/tyra-cox\/18041\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18041\" target=\"_blank\">Tyra Cox<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/malia-campbell\/18037\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18037\" target=\"_blank\">Malia Campbell<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/sydney-sutton\/18042\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18042\" target=\"_blank\">Sydney Sutton<\/a> grabbed hold of a new program record in 3:36.02 to claim the fourth fastest time in the country this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Following the women&#8217;s performance, the men&#8217;s 4&#215;400 team surged to a commanding first place finish, winning by more than a second with a time of 3:02.25. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jayden-horton-mims\/18054\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18054\" target=\"_blank\">Jayden Horton-Mims<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/justin-braun\/17995\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"17995\" target=\"_blank\">Justin Braun<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/nicholas-spikes\/18027\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18027\" target=\"_blank\">Nicholas Spikes<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/daneil-wright\/18061\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18061\" target=\"_blank\">Daneil Wright<\/a> made up the quartet that currently holds the season&#8217;s fastest relay time in the country.<\/p>\n<p>UP NEXT<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nFlorida will host its second home meet of the season, as the Gators take on the Tom Jones Memorial from April 17-18 at James G. Pressly Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>RESULTS&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\tEvent&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\tAthlete Results&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\tDiscus (M)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t3. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jarno-van-daalen\/18060\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18060\" target=\"_blank\">Jarno van Daalen<\/a>: 60.21m \/ 197-6 ^&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t100mH (W)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t21. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/aleesa-samuel\/18047\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18047\" target=\"_blank\">Aleesa Samuel<\/a>: 13.90 (PB)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t4&#215;100 Final (M)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t2. Howard, Wiley, Small, McCoy: 39.14&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t4&#215;100 Olympic Development (W)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t1. Cox, Brown, Matthews, Sutton: 43.09 ^&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\tShot Put Invite (W)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t2. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/gracelyn-leiseth\/18009\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18009\" target=\"_blank\">Gracelyn Leiseth<\/a>: 17.76m \/ 58-3 \u00bc<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t12. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/abigail-elmore\/18000\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18000\" target=\"_blank\">Abigail Elmore<\/a>: 12.57m \/ 41-3&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\tTriple Jump (W)\u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t4. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/gabrielle-pierre\/18045\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18045\" target=\"_blank\">Gabrielle Pierre<\/a>: 12.70m \/ 41-8&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t800m (W)\u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t3. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/claire-stegall\/18048\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18048\" target=\"_blank\">Claire Stegall<\/a>: 2:01.07 ^<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t4. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/layla-haynes\/18004\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18004\" target=\"_blank\">Layla Haynes<\/a>: 2:02.51 (PB)^<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t56. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/isobelle-jones\/18043\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18043\" target=\"_blank\">Isobelle Jones<\/a>: 2:16.99&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t800m (M)\u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t2. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/gavin-nelson\/18016\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18016\" target=\"_blank\">Gavin Nelson<\/a>: 1:46.60 (PB)^<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t6. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/miguel-pantojas\/18021\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18021\" target=\"_blank\">Miguel Pantojas<\/a>: 1:47.01<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t11. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jonah-kirspel\/18008\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18008\" target=\"_blank\">Jonah Kirspel<\/a>: 1:47.69 (PB)<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t13. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/oussama-allaoui\/18051\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18051\" target=\"_blank\">Oussama Allaoui<\/a>: 1:47.83<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t33. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/riley-smith\/18025\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18025\" target=\"_blank\">Riley Smith<\/a>: 1:49.54<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t60. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/alejandro-de-bastos\/18052\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18052\" target=\"_blank\">Alejandro de Bastos<\/a>: 1:52.97 (PB)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t400m (W)\u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t6. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/quincy-penn\/18022\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18022\" target=\"_blank\">Quincy Penn<\/a>: 52.13<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t18. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/malia-campbell\/18037\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18037\" target=\"_blank\">Malia Campbell<\/a>: 53.26<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t37. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/marianna-wright\/18049\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18049\" target=\"_blank\">Marianna Wright<\/a>: 55.00&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t400m (M)\u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t40. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/ja-neil-harris\/18053\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18053\" target=\"_blank\">Ja&#8217;Neil Harris<\/a>: 47.56 (PB)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\tTriple Jump Invite (M)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t3. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jaden-lippett\/18011\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18011\" target=\"_blank\">Jaden Lippett<\/a>: 15.48 \/ 50-9 \u00bd&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\tTriple Jump Invite (W)\u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t2. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/asia-phillips\/18023\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18023\" target=\"_blank\">Asia Phillips<\/a>: 13.14 \/ 43-1 \u00bd&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t100m (W)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t1. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/gabrielle-matthews\/18012\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18012\" target=\"_blank\">Gabrielle Matthews<\/a>: 11.11 (PB)^<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t10. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jade-brown\/18036\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18036\" target=\"_blank\">Jade Brown<\/a>: 11.41&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t100m (M)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t4. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/trenton-howard\/18005\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18005\" target=\"_blank\">Trenton Howard<\/a>: 10.17 (PB)<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t36. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/jaden-wiley\/18032\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18032\" target=\"_blank\">Jaden Wiley<\/a>: 10.58<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t49. <a href=\"https:\/\/floridagators.com\/sports\/track-and-field\/roster\/wanya-mccoy\/18013\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"18013\" target=\"_blank\">Wanya McCoy<\/a>: 11.60&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t4x400m (W)&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t3. Penn, Cox, Campbell, Sutton: 3:26.02 (SR)^&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t4x400m (M)\u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t1. Horton-Mims, Braun, Spikes, Wright: 3:02.25&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<\/p>\n<p>\n(PB) indicates new personal best<br \/>\n(SR) indicates new school record<br \/>\n^ indicates new top ten mark on school record<\/p>\n<p>FOLLOW THE GATORS<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nInstagram: @GatorsTF<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nX: @GatorsTF<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n#GoGators &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GAINESVILLE, Fla. &#8211; Florida closed out its first home meet of the season in an expected fashion, with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-219216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}