UF Track & Field: Fahnbulleh Captures NCAA Title, Gators Finish Fourth in Eugene

Courtesy of University Athletic Association

BY RICK HURTADO

Jospeh Fahnbulleh logged the eighth-fastest time in collegiate history in the 200 to win his first NCAA title

Gators sprinter Joseph Fahnbulleh was crowned national champion Friday, as Florida’s men closed their outdoor season and placed fourth at this year’s NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships inside Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The Gators finished with a total of 34.5 team points.

Fahnbulleh started out by running the 100 meters, in which he placed seventh with a time of 10.26 [+0.4] seconds to give the Gators to first set of points for the day. However, it was the 200 meters–Fahnbulleh’s signature event–in which he took the NCAA title.

The Hopkins, Minnesota, native clocked a time of 19.91 [-0.4] seconds, equaling the eighth-best performer and the 10th-fastest time in collegiate history. A new personal record for Fahnbulleh, that time also ranks second in UF history and is the sixth-fastest time in the world this year.

Fahnbulleh’s crown was the second this week for the Gators, joining Thomas Mardal’s hammer throw title.

Jumper Clayton Brown also had a busy afternoon.

Brown competed in the high jump and the triple jump, placing fifth in both. The senior logged a mark of 2.20 meters (7 feet, 2.50 inches) in the high jump and a UF seventh-ranked leap of 16.56 meters (54 feet, 4 inches) [-0.4] in the triple jump.

Freshman Ryan Willie finished seventh in the 400 meters before returning to the track to lead off Florida’s 4×400-meter relays.

Chantz Sawyers, Jacob Miley, and Kunle Fasasi joined Willie in the relays, placing seventh with a time of 3:03.60.

The action continues Saturday from Eugene as the women will close out the week by competing in the final rounds.

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