No. 1 Florida Gators track and field captured their first national title in program history Saturday night, winning the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championship with 57 total team points. Their performance, coupled with a fourth-place finish for the women’s team, was one of the most successful national meets in program history.

Competing at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR, the Gators won by 13 points over the Oregon Ducks and Texas A&M Aggies, who tied for second-place with 44 team points. The national title victory is the 23rd in University of Florida athletics history.

Sophomore running back and freshman sprinter Jeff Demps captured the NCAA men’s 60-meter dash championship, the first in school history. His 6.57 time was one-hundreth of a second shy of his own 6.56 record-setting time that was accomplished during the preliminaries on Friday.

Senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili of Georgia took home the NCAA indoor shot put title. She is the second woman in NCAA history to win three-straight titles in this event. Kevkhishvili tossed a school-record 18.59m/61-0 for the win Saturday, shattering her previous personal record of 18.56/60-10.75. One of the most accomplished Florida track and field athletes of all time, she has now won 13 consecutive indoor competitions.

Also bringing home titles for the Gators over the weekend were junior distance runner Charlotte Browning (women’s mile) and men’s sophomore jumper Christian Taylor (men’s triple dump). In all, Florida took home 16 All-America honors at the NCAAs.

Though the indoor season is over for the Gators, the 2010 outdoor track and field season begins in just one week, on Sat., March 20.

Photo Credit: GatorZone.com

Tags: Charlotte Browning, Christian Taylor, field, Jeff Demps, Mariam Kevkhishvili, NCAA Championship, NCAA Indoor Championship, Randal Tyson Track Center, track

Bubble Watch » All four teams riding the 2010 NCAA Tournament bubble \in action Tuesday won their respective contests. South Florida (20-11) took down DePaul 58-49, Rhode Island (22-8) defeated Saint Joseph’s 87-76, Dayton (20-11) lit up George Washington 70-60 and Seton Hall (19-11) was victorious over Providence 109-106.

1 » In the first of what will be a 10-game homestand, No. 6/7 Florida Gators baseball (8-2) took down the Illinois State Redbirds (4-6) 8-2 Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Freshman starter Hudson Randall (2-0) tossed five innings of one-run ball along with five strikeouts as the Gators carried a 8-1 lead into the top of the eighth inning. Freshman first baseman Austin Maddox went 1-4 with a home run in the sixth, three RBI and two runs; sophomore outfielder Tyler Thompson supported him with a 2-4 performance with two RBI; and freshman OF Kamm Washington was 3-4 with an RBI and three stolen bases.

2 » A team filled with mostly freshman, Florida lacrosse has already had a remarkable inaugural season. Looking to put a feather in its cap Tuesday, the Gators (3-2) took the No. 5 Georgetown Hoyas (2-1) to the wire, falling 13-11 in just under two hours. Freshman goalkeeper Cara Carrington (3-2) got the loss as fellow freshman Caroline Chesterman contributed three goals and five shots in 65 minutes of field time. Each team accounted for 33 shots and 11 ground balls, but Georgetown cleared more shots than Florida – 17/17 to 12/16. The Hoyas outscored the Gators 10-5 in the first period, but UF came roaring back with a 6-3 total in the second period.

Two more BITS on awards given to the Florida Gators…after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Baseball wins, lacrosse falls to No. 5

Tags: Alex Pantelodis, Austin Maddox, baseball, Cara Carrington, Caroline Chesterman, Charlotte Browning, Christian Taylor, field, Georgetown Hoyas, Hudson Randall, Illinois State Redbirds, Kamm Washington, lacrosse, McKethan Stadium, Mike Holloway, NCAA Tournament, Todd Morgan, track, Tyler Thompson, USTFCCCA