All seven former and current Gator track & field athletes advanced on the second day of the U.S. Olympic Trials. Friday was the first day of the 2012 trials held at historic Hayward Field.

Freshman Marquis Dendy (Middletown, Del.), NCAA All-American and 2012 SEC Indoor Champion in the men’s long jump, advanced to the finals of the men’s long jump on Friday. The Gator freshman finished seventh overall with his leap of 7.73m/25-4.50. Former Gator greats Will Claye and Christian Taylor competed on the runway next to Dendy, advancing to Sunday’s finals with their jumps of 7.98m/26-2.25 and 7.89m/25-10.75, respectively.

Junior and three-time NCAA Champion Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.) cruised to a spot in the semifinals of the men’s 400 meters, racing to a 45.41 finish in his heat on Friday afternoon. In the next heat, former Gator All-American Calvin Smith became the second-fastest non-automatic qualifier to advance to Saturday’s semifinals in 45.94. McQuay and Smith will compete at 8 p.m. ET tomorrow to kick off NBC Sports’ live primetime coverage on Saturday.

Sophomore sprinter Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.) advanced to the semifinals of the women’s 400 meters, finishing in 53.20. Eutsey nabbed the 16th and final qualifying spot on the afternoon and will compete at 8:15 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Friday’s competition began with the men’s decathlon, where NCAA All-American and five-time SEC Champion Gray Horn currently sits in fourth after the first five events. Horn finished with 4,084 points on the day, just shy of his first day personal best of 4,123 points (set at the 2011 NCAA Championships). He will continue competition in the men’s decathlon tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. ET with the men’s 110-meter hurdles.

Joining Eutsey, Horn, McQuay and Smith in tomorrow’s competition are current Gator All-Americans Dwight Barbiasz (Milford, N.H.), the 2012 SEC Champion in the men’s high jump, and Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.), a five-time NCAA Champion. Demps will race in the qualifying round of the men’s 100 meters on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Barbiasz will compete in the qualifying round of the men’s high jump at 7:20 p.m. ET.

The NBC Sports Group presents unprecedented coverage of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials as American athletes compete for a chance to take part in the London Games.

A total of 12 hours of live track and field coverage will be a part of a record 67.5 hours of total Olympic Team Trials coverage by NBC in 2012. Covered in prime time between NBC and the NBC Sports Network, the 12 hours of live coverage will span the course of eight days.

A full recap of each day’s events and results will be available on GatorZone.com. For news, schedules, events and the Facebook and Twitter feeds of the 2012 Olympic Trials, please log on to http://www.gotracktownusa.com/.

For all of the latest information on Florida track and field, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/trackfield or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow Florida track and field on Twitter at @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField. You can also find the Gators on Facebook.

U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS – TRACK & FIELD (JUNE 21-JULY 1, 2012 – EUGENE, OR)

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2012

MULTI-EVENTS

Men’s Decathlon (Through Five Events)

4.             Gray Horn, 4,084 points

Men’s Decathlon – 100 Meters

7.             Gray Horn, 10.93 (+0.4) (876 points)

Men’s Decathlon – Long Jump

2.             Gray Horn, 7.60m/24-11.25 (960 points)

Men’s Decathlon – Shot Put

10.          Gray Horn, 13.49m/44-3.25 (697 points)

Men’s Decathlon – High Jump

T5.          Gray Horn, 1.96m/6-5 (767 points)

Men’s Decathlon – 400 Meters

10.          Gray Horn, 50.66 (784 points)

FIELD EVENTS

Men’s Long Jump

1.             Will Claye, 7.98m/26-2.25q

3.             Christian Taylor, 7.89m/25-10.75q

7.             Marquis Dendy, 7.73m/25-4.50q

RUNNING EVENTS

Women’s 400 Meters – Qualifying

16.          Ebony Eutsey, 53.20q

Men’s 400 Meters – Qualifying

3.             Tony McQuay, 45.41Q

14.          Calvin Smith, 45.94q