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Florida looks for 1st national outdoor title

Sports

June 5th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Florida men’s track and field team has seemingly accomplished everything but a national outdoor title. The star-crossed Gators have finished in second place four times since 2004, and last season they wound up third after losing in the final race of the meet. But Florida has three straight indoor national titles to its credit and is once again among the favorites to win this year’s meet, which starts Wednesday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Texas A&M’s men and women have won the last three national outdoor titles, but most expect that streak of pulling off double titles to end in 2012. The Aggie men appear to stack up equally with Florida State and Florida, which can’t afford to focus on their past inability to break through at the outdoor meet like they have indoors. Texas A&M’s women’s team is expected to finish behind Oregon, LSU and Kansas.