NCAA

It's Grace Stark Season. The Florida Gator Re-Sets NCAA Lead At SECs

It's Grace Stark Season. The Florida Gator Re-Sets NCAA Lead At SECs

Grace Stark inched closer to NCAA history on Saturday, winning an SEC title and helping the Gators to a third-place finish on the women's side.

May 12, 2024 by Cory Mull
It's Grace Stark Season. The Florida Gator Re-Sets NCAA Lead At SECs

Grace Stark is on a tear. 

The University of Florida hurdler, just two years removed from a broken leg sustained at the SEC Outdoor Championships in 2022, was better than ever on Saturday on her home track in Gainesville, cruising toward an SEC championship with the 12th-best performance ever recorded for the 100 meter hurdles. 

Stark ran a wind-legal 12.53 seconds in the final, re-setting her own NCAA lead by three-hundredths of a second and further reiterating just how back she's been since that injury two years ago. 

The Florida graduate student is undefeated over the outdoor season with times of 12.78, 12.70, 12.71, 12.56, 12.67 and now 12.53 at the discipline. She's ranked No. 9 in the world

The NCAA record of 12.36 was set last year by Kentucky's Masai Russell, part of two times in history under 12.40 in the collegiate ranks. But the way things are going, it might not stand for long. 

Stark's win at the SEC's was also historic for the Gators. With the win, she became the first Florida women's athlete sine 1993 to win an outdoor title in the 100mH. 

Stark was part of a third-place finish by the Florida women at SECs and was among five teammates to win events, including Flomena Asekol, Parker Valby and Alida van Daalen.

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