The Gators geared up to leave campus early Friday and headed to South Carolina to kick off the 2021 track and field season.
Florida is scheduled to compete for the first time this season on Saturday, but unlike other season openers, this one is special. The
Carolina Challenge will be the first meet for Florida since the cancelation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Having participated in all the scheduled non-championship meets, and after competing in the SEC Indoor Championships last year, the Gators weren't able to cross the finish line. As a matter of fact, no college team competing in the Spring of 2020 was able to cross the finish line.
On March 11, 2020, the Gators traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., where the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were scheduled to take place. With 16 entries for that weekend, the Gators landed in New Mexico hoping to bring home their 11th combined national title.
As it is routine prior to meets, the Gators held a practice shortly after landing, while news about the virus made headlines worldwide. A few hours after the Gators arrived in New Mexico, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a Pandemic.
The championship meet was scheduled to begin two days later, but uncertainty and confusion grew among everyone involved while athletes and coaches tried to remain focused on the meet ahead.
Later that evening the NBA shocked the world of sports as it announced the cancelation of their season, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming track and field event.
The following morning, with the championship meet still on schedule, the Gators headed to the track for their last practice before competing in the championships the next day. It would be their last practice in 2020.
As different conferences began making decisions, teams started opting out of the championship. Athletes, coaches and support staff packed their gear and began making their way out of the Albuquerque Convention Center. For the Gators and the teams still in the race, the feeling of uncertainty grew and the fate of the 2020 NCAA Indoor Division I Track and Field Championships became evident.
No announcement had been made over the loud speakers, but in the age of social media news travel fast. As coaches, athletes and staff wrapped up practice for the day, the news began bursting through their phones. The meet was not going to happen.
An announcement was then made in the building and just like that the 2020 season came to an end.
"We were there, we were
at nationals," said distance runner
Abbie Harrelson. "Nobody really knew how to act. Some teams were in tears and some were just kind of shaking it off—there will always be
next year."
Although the decision to pause competition was sensible and with everyone's safety in mind, it felt devastating to those whose hard work throughout the season was aimed to earning the opportunity to compete in the championship meet.
"Every single practice that we do, every workout is geared toward championship season," said Harrelson.
It is now
next year and for those whose season came to an abrupt halt in New Mexico, it is time to shake off the sour feeling 2020 left them with.
Following months of quarantine, hard work, adaptation and the uncertainty of what the 2021 season might look like, the Gators are eager to return to the track.
"We are very excited to get started this weekend," said Gators head coach
Mike Holloway. "Everyone has been working hard on the track in preparation for this opportunity to compete, but more importantly, there has been an incredible effort off the track by the team and all the staff to help keep everyone safe."
This weekend, Harrelson and her fellow teammates will look forward to a fresh start in South Carolina.
Sprinter
Semira Killebrew, who was in New Mexico last year and whose freshman year was different than what she expected, will join Harrelson on Saturday.
"I'm blessed for the opportunity to finally be able to compete again," said Killebrew. "COVID canceling our season was really difficult, but it gave me a lot of times to fine-tune things and prepare for [this] season."
For athletes like Killebrew and Harrelson, getting back on the track will serve as an opportunity to set aside 2020 and come back stronger as a team.
"We've all been working really hard under these conditions," added Killebrew. "So, I'm very excited to see how everyone competes this season."
Killebrew, who won silver during the SEC Indoor Championships last year and led the nation among freshmen 60-meters sprinters, will headline the 60 meters for the Gators on Saturday. Meanwhile, Harrelson will compete in the 800 meters.
For a preview of this weekend's meet, including a complete list of Gators competing, click
here.
Florida's 2021
schedule includes visits to Arkansas for the Tyson Invitational, as well as the SEC Indoor Championships and the NCAA Division Indoor Track and Field Championships. Outdoors, Florida will travel to Bryan-College Station for the conference championships and Oregon for nationals.
COVID-19 is still among us and things will look different this season as protocols are in place to safeguard everyone's health, but the ability to compete will bring a feel of much-needed normalcy for the Gators.
