Wednesday, June 10
Eugene, OR.
Florida Gators
vs
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Kelvin Cheruiyot reset his own school record in the 10,000 meters on day one of the NCAA Outdoor Championships. // Photo by MJ Holloway
Cabrera Gay, Cheruiyot Earn First Team All-American Honors on Opening Day of NCAA Outdoor Championships
Thursday, June 11, 2026 | Track and Field
Kelvin Cheruiyot reset his own school record in the 10,000 meters while Cabrera Gay earned the second First Team All-American honor of his career.
EUGENE, Ore.– The Florida men's track & field team opened the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with four All-American honors Wednesday at Hayward Field, highlighted by a pair of First Team accolades.
The first points of the championships came out of the field, courtesy of Leikel Cabrera Gay. Cabrera Gay earned his second First Team All-American honor of his career, and gave UF its 13th All-American honor in the javelin, in dramatic fashion. The junior sat outside of the top-9 heading into the final toss of the opening round, but delivered a throw of 75.51m/247-9, his best of the series, to move to sixth and advance to finals. One throw later, he recorded his top mark of the day at 76.07m/249-7 for sixth place and three points. He wraps up a successful outdoor campaign that also saw him earn Third Team All-SEC honors with a season-best throw of 78.63m/257-11 at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Moments later, freshman Kelvin Cheruiyot became the first Florida All-American in the 10,000-meter run since Mike Mykytok in 1992. The freshman found himself in the lead pack of nine with 3600 meters remaining and pulled away from eighth place with just over 800 meters left to secure a seventh-place finish and First Team All-American status, UF's sixth outdoor All-American honor in the event. His time of 28:13.36 is a 12-second improvement of his own school record time of 28:25.28, set earlier this season at the Wake Forest Invitational. The 2026 outdoor season also saw Cheruiyot earn Third Team All-SEC honors at the SEC Outdoor Championships behind a third-place finish in the 10,000 meters.
Freshman Jarno van Daalen used steady improvement in the shot put to secure Second Team All-American honors for the Gators. After opening with a toss of 19.00m/62-4, he improved with throws of 19.11m/62-8.50 and 19.16m/62-10.50 to advance to the final round. His third toss would end as his best, giving him a ninth-place finish at his first outdoor championship. With the honor, Florida now boasts 12 All-American honors in the outdoor shot put and van Daalen is the first freshman to earn All-American status in the shot put since Matt Simson in 1991. The freshman ends his season with a personal-best toss of 19.71m/64-8, the No. 3 mark in school history, from the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships where he was a Third Team All-SEC honoree.
Temoso Masikane is also ending his freshman year as an outdoor All-American. As the sun began to set, the 2026 SEC outdoor long jump champion collected Second Team All-American honors by placing 11th in the event, ending with a jump of 7.73m/25-4.50 (+0.8). The South Africa native finishes his outdoor season as the SEC Outdoor Male Field Athlete of the Year and holds a personal-best jump of 8.05m/26-5 (+0.5), the eighth-best jump in UF outdoor history. He gives the Orange & Blue their 32nd All-America honor in the outdoor long jump and ensures the Gators have an All-American honor in the horizontal jumps in 17 of the last 18 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Finals Bound
The Gators will be represented in the 400-meter dash final on Friday, June 12, at 9:02 p.m. ET thanks to Justin Braun. Running out of heat two, Braun took an automatic qualifier slot by winning his section with a time of 44.97, the fifth-fastest time in the preliminary round. The junior is coming off his first sub-44 time in the event, running 43.99 at the NCAA East Preliminary which is the No. 2 time in program history and current world No. 3.
After matching his personal-best of 48.77 in the 400-meter hurdles to punch his ticket to Eugene, Vance Nilsson is finals-bound thanks to an automatic qualifier slot out of heat two where he placed second with a time of 49.39, the seventh-best overall time in the semifinals. He will take the track at 9:27 p.m. ET on Friday for the finals.
In the last event on the track, Florida's 4x400-meter relay squad battled for their spot in the final round. Composed of Jayden Horton-Mims, Nicholas Spikes, Malique Smith-Band and Braun, the team placed third in heat one, the fastest heat of the day that saw two teams under 3:01, with a time of 3:01.25 to earn the top time qualifier and post the fourth-fastest time of the semifinals. The 4x400-meter relay finale will conclude the men's championships at 10:21 p.m. ET on Friday.
Honorable Mentions
Basel Abosina concluded a strong freshman campaign in the hammer throw on a sunny afternoon outside of Hayward Field. The Giza, Egypt, native used his third throw of flight one to record his best mark of the day at 65.75m/215-8, placing 18th overall and earning Honorable Mention All-America honors. Abosina's first year as a Gator ends having recorded the No. 5 mark in UF hammer throw history, a toss of 68.64m/225-2 at the SEC Outdoor Championships, where he placed fourth.
Making his first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Oussama Allaoui is walking away with Honorable Mention All-America honors after placing 22nd in the semifinal of the 1500-meter run behind a time of 3:42.67. His freshman campaign saw him capture the 1500 meters school record, set at the Wake Forest Invitational with a time of 3:35.30. Allaoui also earned Second Team All-SEC honors at the indoor and outdoor conference championships, placing second in both the mile and 1500 meters.
Up Next
The Florida women are primed to take center stage on Thursday, June 11, beginning with Imani Washington in the hammer throw at 5:30 p.m. ET. Track events will begin at 8:21 p.m. ET for the Gators, with Claire Stegall and Tia Wilson in the 1500-meter run semifinal.
DAY ONE ALL-AMERICANS
Men's 10,000m
7. Kelvin Cheruiyot - 28:13.36, First Team All-American, School Record
Men's Javelin Throw
6. Leikel Cabrera Gay - 76.07m/249-7, First Team All-American
Men's Long Jump
11. Temoso Masikane - 7.73m/25-4.50 (+0.8), Second Team All-American
Men's Shot Put
9. Jarno van Daalen - 19.16m/62-10.50, Second Team All-American
DAY ONE SEMIFINALS
Men's 400m
5. Justin Braun - 44.97, Advancing to Final
Men's 400m Hurdles
7. Vance Nilsson - 49.39, Advancing to Final
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay
4. Jayden Horton-Mims, Nicholas Spikes, Malique Smith-Band, Justin Braun - 3:01.25, Advancing to Final
DAY ONE HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICA
Men's 1500m
22. Oussama Allaoui - 3:42.67
Men's Hammer Throw
18. Basel Abosina - 65.75m/215-8
The first points of the championships came out of the field, courtesy of Leikel Cabrera Gay. Cabrera Gay earned his second First Team All-American honor of his career, and gave UF its 13th All-American honor in the javelin, in dramatic fashion. The junior sat outside of the top-9 heading into the final toss of the opening round, but delivered a throw of 75.51m/247-9, his best of the series, to move to sixth and advance to finals. One throw later, he recorded his top mark of the day at 76.07m/249-7 for sixth place and three points. He wraps up a successful outdoor campaign that also saw him earn Third Team All-SEC honors with a season-best throw of 78.63m/257-11 at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Moments later, freshman Kelvin Cheruiyot became the first Florida All-American in the 10,000-meter run since Mike Mykytok in 1992. The freshman found himself in the lead pack of nine with 3600 meters remaining and pulled away from eighth place with just over 800 meters left to secure a seventh-place finish and First Team All-American status, UF's sixth outdoor All-American honor in the event. His time of 28:13.36 is a 12-second improvement of his own school record time of 28:25.28, set earlier this season at the Wake Forest Invitational. The 2026 outdoor season also saw Cheruiyot earn Third Team All-SEC honors at the SEC Outdoor Championships behind a third-place finish in the 10,000 meters.
Freshman Jarno van Daalen used steady improvement in the shot put to secure Second Team All-American honors for the Gators. After opening with a toss of 19.00m/62-4, he improved with throws of 19.11m/62-8.50 and 19.16m/62-10.50 to advance to the final round. His third toss would end as his best, giving him a ninth-place finish at his first outdoor championship. With the honor, Florida now boasts 12 All-American honors in the outdoor shot put and van Daalen is the first freshman to earn All-American status in the shot put since Matt Simson in 1991. The freshman ends his season with a personal-best toss of 19.71m/64-8, the No. 3 mark in school history, from the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships where he was a Third Team All-SEC honoree.
Temoso Masikane is also ending his freshman year as an outdoor All-American. As the sun began to set, the 2026 SEC outdoor long jump champion collected Second Team All-American honors by placing 11th in the event, ending with a jump of 7.73m/25-4.50 (+0.8). The South Africa native finishes his outdoor season as the SEC Outdoor Male Field Athlete of the Year and holds a personal-best jump of 8.05m/26-5 (+0.5), the eighth-best jump in UF outdoor history. He gives the Orange & Blue their 32nd All-America honor in the outdoor long jump and ensures the Gators have an All-American honor in the horizontal jumps in 17 of the last 18 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Finals Bound
The Gators will be represented in the 400-meter dash final on Friday, June 12, at 9:02 p.m. ET thanks to Justin Braun. Running out of heat two, Braun took an automatic qualifier slot by winning his section with a time of 44.97, the fifth-fastest time in the preliminary round. The junior is coming off his first sub-44 time in the event, running 43.99 at the NCAA East Preliminary which is the No. 2 time in program history and current world No. 3.
After matching his personal-best of 48.77 in the 400-meter hurdles to punch his ticket to Eugene, Vance Nilsson is finals-bound thanks to an automatic qualifier slot out of heat two where he placed second with a time of 49.39, the seventh-best overall time in the semifinals. He will take the track at 9:27 p.m. ET on Friday for the finals.
In the last event on the track, Florida's 4x400-meter relay squad battled for their spot in the final round. Composed of Jayden Horton-Mims, Nicholas Spikes, Malique Smith-Band and Braun, the team placed third in heat one, the fastest heat of the day that saw two teams under 3:01, with a time of 3:01.25 to earn the top time qualifier and post the fourth-fastest time of the semifinals. The 4x400-meter relay finale will conclude the men's championships at 10:21 p.m. ET on Friday.
Honorable Mentions
Basel Abosina concluded a strong freshman campaign in the hammer throw on a sunny afternoon outside of Hayward Field. The Giza, Egypt, native used his third throw of flight one to record his best mark of the day at 65.75m/215-8, placing 18th overall and earning Honorable Mention All-America honors. Abosina's first year as a Gator ends having recorded the No. 5 mark in UF hammer throw history, a toss of 68.64m/225-2 at the SEC Outdoor Championships, where he placed fourth.
Making his first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Oussama Allaoui is walking away with Honorable Mention All-America honors after placing 22nd in the semifinal of the 1500-meter run behind a time of 3:42.67. His freshman campaign saw him capture the 1500 meters school record, set at the Wake Forest Invitational with a time of 3:35.30. Allaoui also earned Second Team All-SEC honors at the indoor and outdoor conference championships, placing second in both the mile and 1500 meters.
Up Next
The Florida women are primed to take center stage on Thursday, June 11, beginning with Imani Washington in the hammer throw at 5:30 p.m. ET. Track events will begin at 8:21 p.m. ET for the Gators, with Claire Stegall and Tia Wilson in the 1500-meter run semifinal.
DAY ONE ALL-AMERICANS
Men's 10,000m
7. Kelvin Cheruiyot - 28:13.36, First Team All-American, School Record
Men's Javelin Throw
6. Leikel Cabrera Gay - 76.07m/249-7, First Team All-American
Men's Long Jump
11. Temoso Masikane - 7.73m/25-4.50 (+0.8), Second Team All-American
Men's Shot Put
9. Jarno van Daalen - 19.16m/62-10.50, Second Team All-American
DAY ONE SEMIFINALS
Men's 400m
5. Justin Braun - 44.97, Advancing to Final
Men's 400m Hurdles
7. Vance Nilsson - 49.39, Advancing to Final
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay
4. Jayden Horton-Mims, Nicholas Spikes, Malique Smith-Band, Justin Braun - 3:01.25, Advancing to Final
DAY ONE HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICA
Men's 1500m
22. Oussama Allaoui - 3:42.67
Men's Hammer Throw
18. Basel Abosina - 65.75m/215-8
Players Mentioned
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