Florida Gators
Disney Invitational
Women's Cross Country Dominates Disney Classic
Sunday, October 7, 2001 | Cross Country
The Gators finished with 37 points, 68 points in front of runner-up Central Florida. 29 teams and 250 athletes competed in the race. Senior Erin Merten ran a career-best 17:17.75 to finish first in the 5K race. Freshman Carling Cookerly continued her streak of top ten finishes with a sixth place time of 18:02.33. Merten and Cookerly have both finished in the top ten of every race they have ran this season. Kelly Walker, Jacqueline Mariani, Mallory Dunn, Norma Vega, Jessica Newton and Kay Lennon all finished in the top twenty.
Florida had several athletes record career-best times in addition to Merten. Everyone in the top twenty had new career bests, as did Kristina Bratton, Mason Cathey, Stephanie Swain, Jennifer Riley and Marie Vogler.Florida's volunteer coach, Beth Reed, also a former Florida athlete, finished third overall with a time of 17:54.99.
"The team ran their best run of the year so far," cross country coach J.J. Clark said. "We are looking forward to the championship part of the season."
Team Results 1. Florida - 39 2. Central Florida - 105 3. Dickinson College - 117 4. UNC-Greensboro - 170 5. Florida Southern - 186 Florida Finishers 1. (1) Erin Merten - 17:17.75* 6. (4) Carling Cookerly - 18:02.33* 11. (9) Kelly Walker - 18:16.27* 12. (10) Jacqueline Mariani - 18:17.81* 15. (13) Mallory Dunn - 18:24.22* 18. (15) Norma Vega - 18:32.92* 19. (16) Jessica Newton - 18:33.51* 20. Kay Lennon - 18:37.11* 25. Kristina Bratton - 18:43.70* 33. Mason Cathey - 19:00.99* 39. Stephanie Swain - 19:07* 69. Jennifer Riley - 19:45.72* 77. Alicia Weber - 19:56.86 78. Marie Vogler - 19:58.26* 83. Erica Feltz - 20:01.74 (#) - indicates place for team scoring purposes * - new career-best time
