Florida Gators

BOONE, N.C. – The Florida men's and women's cross country teams both collected season-opening victories Friday (Sep. 2) night at the Covered Bridge Open, hosted by Appalachian State.
 
On the women's side, all five of UF's counted scorers placed inside the top 10, including three top-five finishers.
 
Senior Taylor Tubbs led the way with a runner-up finish for the Gators, while sophomore transfer Noora Wallenius took fourth and sophomore Elisabeth Bergh crossed fifth. Hannah Brookover finished eighth and was the top freshman finisher by nearly 25 seconds. In her first cross country race in four years, redshirt sophomore Lauren Perry took ninth place to cap UF's counted scorers.
 
While the men's competition was closer, Florida's depth made the difference, as all five counted scores were inside the top 20.
 
Seniors Carlos Miranda and Mac Reynolds logged a 2-3 finish, and sophomore Jack Guyton crossed ninth. Redshirt sophomore Jack Beitter (13th) and sophomore Bryce Statham (19th) both posted top-20 finishes.
 
This is the 12th consecutive year UF's men opened the season with a victory. And of the seven men who ran at this meet a year ago, three of them—Reynolds, Statham, and sophomore Seamus Love—topped their 2015 times by at least 28 seconds.
 
Florida will compete again in three weeks, when it hosts the Mountain Dew Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville. Race day is scheduled for Saturday, Sep. 24.
 
COVERED BRIDGE OPEN MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern)

• Meet Results (PDF)
• Venue: State Farm Fields and Kennedy Trails (Appalachian State University)
• Competing Teams: Appalachian State, East Carolina, East Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Less-McRae, Mars Hill, Southern Wesleyan, VMI, West Florida

Gator Men – 6.4k
Place (Pts)	Runner	Time
2. (2)	Carlos Miranda	20:11.07
3. (3)	Mac Reynolds	20:12.51
9. (9)	Jack Guyton	20:34.11
13. (13)	Jack Beitter	20:40.07
19. (19)	Bryce Statham	20:49.06
27. (27)	Mac Macoy	20:58.49
31. (31)	Seamus Love	21:15.82
49.	Connor Vaughan	21:37.87

 

Men's Top Five Teams
Place	Team	Points
1.	Florida	46
2.	Florida State	52
3	Appalachian State	54
4.	East Tennessee State	92
5.	VMI	153

 

Gator Women – 5k
Place (Pts)	Runner	Time
2. (2)	Taylor Tubbs	18:12.22
4. (4)	Noora Wallenius	18:20.84
5. (5)	Elisabeth Bergh	18:29.50
8. (8)	Hannah Brookover	18:48.43
9. (9)	Lauren Perry	18:49.79
14. (14)	Maddox Patterson	19:03.09
19. (19)	Maggie Parrish	19:16.01

 

Women's Top Five Teams
Place	Team	Points
1.	Florida	28
2.	Appalachian State	49
3.	Florida State	86
4.	East Carolina	93
5.	East Tennessee State	137

 
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