Florida freshman Gray Horn (Wapakoneta, Ohio) recorded the finest opening day by a freshman heptathlete in school history Friday and currently sits in third place in the heptathlon event after the first day of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by the University of Kentucky at its E.J. Nutter Fieldhouse.

Horn, who broke his own freshman first-day heptathlon school record of 3,050 that he achieved at the SEC/Big 12 Showdown on Jan. 30, set personal-best marks in three of the four events in which he competed Friday, turning in a score of 3,104.

“I am very, very proud of Gray coming into his first SEC meet and competing at such a high level,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “He had PRs in three of four events today and has improved about 50 points from his last heptathlon. Gray got our team off to a good start and we’re looking forward to both Gray and the rest of our team performing well tomorrow.”

Horn opened the night by recording a collegiate personal-best in the 60-meter dash, finishing in a time of 7.06. That bested his previous collegiate PR of 7.19, recorded at the SEC/Big 12 Showdown on Jan. 30.

Horn then recorded a personal-best in the men’s long jump with a leap of 23-2.75/7.08m on his first attempt in that event to finish second. The mark eclipsed his previous collegiate-best mark of 23-0.50/7.02m achieved in the team’s last competition - the Tyson Invitational – on Feb. 13. That second-place finish increased his points total to 1,694 and moved him into second place overall in the heptathlon competition.

Horn finished ninth in the men’s shot put with a toss of 39-5/12.01m to put him into third place after three events with an overall score of 2,301 points.

Horn closed the night with a personal-best leap of 6-6.75/2.00m in the high jump, tying for first in that event, which eclipsed his previous best mark of 6-6.25/1.99m that he recorded at the SEC/Big 12 Showdown.

Florida’s Ryan Troy (Gainesville, Fla.), also competing in the heptathlon, currently is in 17^th place after the opening four events with a score of 2,396.

South Carolina’s Curt McGill currently leads the heptathlon competition with a score of 3,168, while Tennessee’s Michael Ayers is second with a tally of 3,128.

The second day of the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships resumes at 11 a.m. EST Saturday in E.J. Nutter Fieldhouse. Complete results and a recap will be available at www.GatorZone.com.

The University of Florida is home of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. For all of the latest information on Gator Track and Field, log on to www.GatorZone.com.

2009 SEC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS (Lexington, Ky.)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27

Men’s Heptathlon - 5:15 p.m. EST (AUTO: 5,650; PROV: 5,300)

Men’s Heptathlon 60m Dash – 5:15 p.m. EST (AUTO: 6.63; PROV: 6.74)

          4. Gray Horn – 7.06 (861 points)

          17. Ryan Troy – 7.74 (637 points)

Men’s Heptathlon Long Jump – 5:55 p.m. EST (AUTO: 7.85; PROV: 7.50)

2. Gray Horn – 23-2.75/7.08m (833 points)

15. Ryan Troy – 20-2.25/6.15m (619 points)

Men’s Heptathlon Shot Put – 7 p.m. EST (AUTO: 19.30; PROV: 17.75)

9. Gray Horn – 39-5/12.01m (607 points)

14. Ryan Troy – 37-5.25/11.41m (571 points)

Men’s Heptathlon High Jump – 8:05 p.m. EST (AUTO: 2.24; PROV: 2.14)

     T1 – Gray Horn – 6-6.75/2.00m (803 points)

     16. Ryan Troy – 5-8/1.73m (569 points)

Men’s Heptathlon Overall Scoring (Through Four Events)

1. Curt McGill – South Carolina – 3,168

2. Michael Ayers – Tennessee – 3,128

3. Gray Horn – Florida – 3,104

4. Scott Pierce – South Carolina – 2,956

5. Tommy Barrineau – Georgia – 2,888

6. Nate Durham – Arkansas – 2,884

7. Terry Prentice – Arkansas – 2,850

8. Eddie Stoudemire – South Carolina – 2,842

9. Matthew Best – Tennessee – 2,826

10. Cory Harris – Georgia – 2,785

11. Michael Hughes – Alabama – 2,749

12. Jager Livingston – Auburn – 2,650

13. David Silverstein – Georgia – 2,644

14. Kevin Carney – Kentucky – 2,573

15. Fuery Hocking – Georgia – 2,534

16. Justin Brady – Alabama – 2,484

17. Ryan Troy – Florida – 2,396

END OF REPORT