Holloway vs. Roberts One Of The Week's Marquee Matchups

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Thanks to Southeastern Conference co-record holders Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts, the men’s 110-meter hurdles final this week stands as one of the marquee events on the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships schedule in Austin, Texas.

Holloway, of Florida, came out of the NCAA Indoor championships affirming his goal of becoming the first collegiate hurdler to run sub-13 seconds and break Renaldo Nehemiah’s 40-year-old collegiate record (13.00), calling it “my ultimate goal.”

“It’s not out the window, I mean it’s still in the back of my mind, but coming into this meet, it’s all about taking it one day at a time and one event at a time,” Holloway said. “When the record is available, it will happen. But if not, at the same time, it’s still my job to come out here and execute and lead my team to a national title.”

Holloway has become ubiquitous at NCAA Championships over three years, a man who can seemingly do everything – hurdles, long jump, anchoring 4x400s – at the highest level.

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He seeks to become the first male athlete in NCAA Championships history to win three 110-meter high hurdles finals. (USC’s Jack Davis won three 120-yard hurdles titles from 1951-53). No Florida athlete, male or female, has won three outdoor titles in any event.

And yet, Holloway must share the state with Roberts of Kentucky, a junior who won SEC final in 13.07 seconds. That matched Holloway’s SEC record from a day earlier in the prelims.

Now, if conditions allow, it may take a sub-13 second time to win the final. One of the oldest records in college track is hanging by a thread.

Roberts’ incredible season included a victory over one-time training partner and mentor Omar McLeod, the reigning Olympic and World champion, at the Drake Relays in April.

Even though McLeod left Lexington with former Kentucky coach Edrick Floreal last year, the time that Roberts spent with him was no doubt a value component to his development into an elite talent.

“It benefitted me a lot,” Roberts said after his win at Drake. “Being at practice every day and getting beat by this man daily and at every meet you ran against him. Talking to (McLeod), he’s such a great person. Even (before the race) he was helping me out.”

At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Holloway broke the American record with 7.35 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. Roberts was also under the old record, going 7.41 for second place.

“Daniel Roberts basically broke the collegiate record, and so did I,” Holloway said after the race. “Any other year, he’d be the national champion. We’ve been competing 5-6 years now. We’re used to the competition. We’re used to making each other better.

“In high school, Daniel used to give me the works, that’s just how it is.” 

If Roberts can win this week, he’ll become only the fifth men’s individual champion in Kentucky’s history, joining Tim Harden (100 meters, 1995), Rashaud Scott (discus, 2008), Rondel Sorrillo (200, 2010) and Tim Duckworth (decathlon, 2018).

“I think the kid is gifted and I think (Kentucky assistant coach Tim Hall) is doing a great job coaching him,” Floreal said. “I certainly don’t want to take credit for somebody else’s work, but it’s been a long time coming.”  

This week’s NCAA finals might be the first in a series of high-stakes races between Holloway and Roberts during the next four months. The world Nos. 1 and 2 could potentially square off again at the U.S. Championships in late July and the IAAF World Championships in Doha in October.

“I think it’s always good for the sport to have two guys duking it out,” Floreal said. “It can get kind of boring when you have Grant out there doing his thing, but now everybody is looking at the hurdles and that’s cool for Grant. It highlights his potential and his talent and I’m sure he welcomes the company.”