Mike Holloway reflects on 13th title — the first without his mother

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As Mike “Mouse” Holloway took the podium Tuesday after winning his 13th national championship as the Florida track and field coach, the men’s outdoor title trophy sat on a table to his right along with the women’s runner-up trophy.

Almost 20 years ago, Holloway learned to appreciate both. That lesson was taught to him by his mother, Nelvina Holloway, who passed away last November.

“All this is going on, you can blame my mom for motivating me that way,” Holloway said of the dynasty he’s built at UF. “She was an incredible part of my life and always there for me through the good and the bad.”

The date was June 14, 2005. Holloway and the team’s student trainer were driving back to the hotel following the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.

The Gators men’s team had just finished second, where they placed in the indoor championships earlier that season. It marked the second straight year of runner-up finishes in both events for Holloway, who was still chasing his first national championship in his third year as the men’s coach.

He called his mother on the way to his hotel.

“Immediately she goes, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I said, ‘We got second again.’ She goes, ‘OK, next time just be 10th.’ I’m like, ‘Mom, why would I want to be 10th?’ She goes, ‘Because there’s a lot of people that want to be second, so maybe you should be blessed and happy and understand that there’s a lot of people that would love to be in your position. So, stop complaining. And if you want to be first, you should work harder.’ She said, ‘I’ll talk to you later’ and got off the phone.”

That is Holloway’s favorite story about his mother when it comes to championships. Her peptalk that day still sticks with him as he continues to celebrate national titles as well as runner-up finishes.

“I never, ever questioned any trophy I got after that because I understood what she meant,” Holloway said. “I was at a conference once and one of the coaches there said that 97 percent of the coaches in the NCAA will never win a national championship. You think about that — how special it is.

“Then you come back and think about how special it is to be second or third or fourth because the team that was fifth would’ve loved to be fourth. And the team that was third would’ve loved to be second. Just like we would have loved to be first. So, that lesson she taught me will stay with me forever.”

The 4×400 team of Emmanuel Bamidele, Jacory Patterson, Jevaughn Powell and Ryan Willie set a collegiate record time of 2:57.74 to win the relay title and secure the national championship for the Gators.

“That’s a time that has placed in every Olympics and World Championships event for the last forever,” Holloway said. “And for that group of young men to do that, and we did it more than once, I think is very spectacular.”

Bamidele won the 400m title as well with a time of 44.24, the fastest time in the country this year, second fastest in school history and fourth fastest in the world this year. He edged Willie, who earned silver with the second fastest time in the country (44.25) and fifth fastest in the world this year.

The Gators earned their second consecutive silver medal in the 4×100 with a time of 38.26 from Ryan Willie, Jacory Patterson, Pjai Austin, and Robert Gregory. Austin also placed fifth in the 100M at 9.97 seconds after leading all qualifiers with a blazing 9.89.

“Most people don’t know this; Ryan Willie had a scooter accident the morning of the first day. He was a little banged up, which is why he wasn’t at his best,” Holloway said. “Nothing they did surprised me. The only surprise that happened at the meet was I thought Pjai was going to run like 9.94. So, when the clock stopped at 9.89, I was kind of like, ‘Wow!’ I actually was. Like, ‘Does that say .99 or .89?'”

Gregory placed fourth in the 200M with a personal best time of 19.89 seconds, Sean Dixon-Bodie placed fourth in the triple jump (16.61m/54’6″) and Malcolm Clemons finished fourth in the long jump (8.07m/26’5.75″).

“The most special thing about this one, there are a lot of newbies,” Holloway said of the 2023 title team. “It’s Pjai Austin’s first national final. Rob Gregory is a transfer but it’s the first time he’s been on the spot where he had to produce for a team. The 4×100, the 4×400. Ryan Willie was fifth last year, this year he’s challenging.

“Emmanuel Bamidele wasn’t even in the final last year, this year he’s the NCAA champ. We’ve got a lot of new guys. Sean Dixon-Bodie. Malcolm Clemons and he struggles he went through this year with injuries. Malcolm came off the bus after the conference meet and could barely walk. Four weeks later he’s fourth in the country in the long jump. That’s a testament to our training staff.”

This year is the sixth men’s outdoor title for Holloway and the third time his teams have won it back-to-back (2012-13, 2016-17). He also has five men’s indoor national championships, including a three-peat from 2010-12.

Could next season be the first three-peat for the men’s outdoor teams?

“I don’t talk about that. You’re like the third person that’s asked me that question. I don’t make predictions. I’m not Pat Riley. ‘We’re going to do it again next year.’ Not me,” Holloway quipped. “A lot of things can happen between now and next June. I will tell you like I always told everybody else, Gator Nation will be proud of the track program next June.”

If Holloway could call his mom now, he knows she would be proud of him — for both trophies.

“She would tell me she was proud of me. Then she would immediately tell me she wanted me to get some rest and to call her tomorrow,” Holloway said. “In the times that I was struggling with some stuff (this year) and couldn’t call her, that was hard.

“We went through some trials, especially on the women’s side this year with some injuries that we couldn’t figure out. But at the end of the day, I’m a prayerful man and my prayers are always that we get to where we need to be and do the best we can and let the chips fall where they may.”