Cross Country Championship Season Begins With SECs
Friday, October 31, 2003 | Cross Country
Location: Athens, Ga.; University of Georgia Golf Course
Distances: Women - 6K; Men - 8K
Schedule: Men - 9 a.m.; Women - 10 a.m.
Running for Florida: Men - Steve Zieminksi, Cory Presnick, Brent Schneider, Steven Hassen, Moise Joseph, Adam Sisler, Jose Garcia, Jeremy Miller and Ryder Leary Women - Diane Avigne, Kay Lennon, Carling Cookerly, Elly Kabboord, Jacqueline Mariani, Jennifer Riley, Mallory Dunn, Jessica Newton and Shea Cookerly
Weather Report: Expected high - 78 degrees; Expected low - 57 degrees; 20 percent chance of rain; slight winds from the southeast
Pigg Says: “I think our men's team is a good team. This is the time of the year that you look forward to. This is what we have been pointing too, this is what all the miles they put in are for. It is going to be an exciting time. Arkansas is always good, but it appears they are a little down. Georgia beat them and they are a good team. On paper we look good even without Daniel Parker. It is going to be a very competitive race. It is going to be fun. Our guys are looking good. They are excited to line up at the meet and compete.
How to Get Results: Log on to www.secsports.com or www.Georgiadogs.com
Satellite feed: A 15-minute satellite feed will play twice between 4 and 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 3. Coordinates are Telstar 5, Transponder 9, C- Band.
Television: Highlights from the Championship will be broadcast on the SEC Weekly TV Show on Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. The show airs on FOXSportsNet South, FOXSportsNet Southwest and the Sunshine Network
The Competition ...
The Southeastern Conference has 12 women's teams and 11 men's teams that compete in cross country. Arkansas' men and and women will be looking to defend their titles.
Women's teams competing: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi St., South Carolina a, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
SEC Championship History ...When it comes to cross country in the Southeastern Conference, one school stands out ... Arkansas. The Arkansas teams have dominated the conference for the last 11 years. Since 1991, only one team on the men's or women's side has defeated the Razorbacks. That team was Florida ... and the Gators did it twice. In 1996 and 1997, the Florida women's team came out on top.
Although the Arkansas men have kept the SEC title for the last 12 years, the Vols from Tennessee have won more titles with 25 under their belts.
Five men's teams have never won an SEC Cross Country title, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Even Mississippi State who just re-added a men's cross country team this season, won five championships before disbanding the sport. Breakdown of men's SEC titles
Tennessee - 25
Arkansas - 12
Auburn - 6
Mississippi State - 5
Kentucky - 4
Florida - 3
Alabama - 1
On the women's side, Arkansas has won as many titles as the rest of the schools combined. Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt have never earned an SEC Cross Country title.
Break down of women's titles:Arkansas - 10
Florida - 3
Kentucky - 3
Alabama - 2
Tennessee - 2
The women's championship began as a 5K in 1983 in Lexington, Ky. The Tennessee women won the first title and the Gators were runner up. The next year, Florida won the title in Clinton, La. The race was three miles long. After only two years running a three-mile race, the women went back to running a 5K championship. In 2000 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the women's distance was increased to 6K and Arkansas captured the title, their third consecutive.
Florida's SEC Championship History ...The Florida men have earned two SEC team titles and shared a third. The Gators tied with Auburn in 1955. The first outright title in men's cross country came in 1986. Current Florida head coach Jeff Pigg was on the team and it was the Gators' first step on the way to winning the Triple Crown. The Florida men took the cross country title again in 1987. The Florida men have not finished higher than third since winning the title in 1987.
Three Gator men have also won individual titles, Don Gagon in 1955, Frank Lagotic in 1967 and Keith Brantly in1983. Florida's highest finisher since Brantly's title were third place finishes by Mike Blaney and Mike Bilyeu in 1986 and 1987.
The Florida women have claimed three SEC team championship titles and four individual titles. The Gators claimed their first team title in 1984, the second year of the championship. Shelly Steely, who would go on to win All-America honors that year took the individual title. Tricia Clifford became Florida's second individual title winner two years later at the 1986 meet in Knoxville, Tenn. The Gator women won back-to-back team titles in 1996 and 1997. Becki Wells won back-to-back individual titles in 1995 and 1996. Twenty Florida women have earned 38 All-SEC honors since 1983. Florida's top finish since the 1997 title was second in 1998 and 1999. Florida's top individual finish since Wells 1996 title was a runner- up finish by Wells in 1997. Last Season at SECs ...
The University of Florida men finished third and the women finished sixth at the 2002 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships held today at the UF Golf Course. Two Gators, Steve Zieminksi (So./Sarasota, Fla.) and Daniel Parker (Fr./Orlando, Fla.) earned All-SEC honors with their top- 14 finishes.
The Florida women placed sixth with 152 points. Louise Moerch (Fr./Korsor, Denmark) was Florida's first finisher for the second time this season. She finished 15th overall with a time of 22:17.28 in the 6K race. Carling Cookerly (So./Sarasota, Fla.) was Florida's second finisher with a time of 22:53.67. Jessica Newton (Jr./Jacksonville, Fla.), Mallory Dunn (So./Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Jennifer Riley (So./Port Orange, Fla.) rounded out Florida's scoring five in 33rd, 39th and 41st. Kay Lennon (So./New Smyrna Beach, Fla.), Norma Vega (Jr./Haines City, Fla.) and Mason Cathey (Jr./Jacksonville, Fla.) were Florida's remaining SEC competitors.
"Today was a great day and we had some exciting races," Florida Head Coach Jeff Pigg said. "I wanted the women to finish in the top four, but it didn't work that way for us. We are a very young team though and I am very excited about their potential. The men ran a great race. They get better and better each time they line up on the course. I feel very confident that they have a good chance of getting to nationals this year."Arkansas swept the men's and women team titles. The Lady Backs took their fifth consecutive title with a team score of 39. The Arkansas men won their 12th straight title with 31 points. Christin Wurth of Arkansas was the individual champion in the women's race with a time of 21:04.87 the third best 6K time on the UF Golf Course. David Kimani from Alabama won his third consecutive SEC Cross Country Individual title. He finished the 8K race in 24:05.18, the best time on the UF Golf Course since its renovation.
Next Up ...The Gators head to the most important meet of the season in 12 days. They will run the 2003 South Region Championships November 15 in Auburn, Ala. This meet will determine whether the Gators will receive an automatic bid to NCAA Championships or if they will have to hold their breath until the 13 at-large teams are announced on Nov. 17.
Beating His Coach ...
Steve Zieminski's time in at the Pre-NCAA Invitational was the fifth best 8K time in school history. He beat out his coach, Jeff Pigg, for that fifth place spot by .6 seconds.
Freshman Steven Hassen had a big first race as a Gator. In his first collegiate 8K race, Hassen was the first Gator and, more importantly, the first athlete to cross the finish line in the Gator Invitational. Hassen, an Ocala native, led the race most of the way and finished with a time of 25:03.55. Hassen is the first Gator to finish first in a race under Head Coach Jeff Pigg. For his performance in the race, Hassen was named the SEC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Sept. 8.
Hassen has continued to improve in each following race. He was second for the Gators at the Bulldog Stampede. He was the top Gator finisher again at the Murray Keatinge Invitational with a sub-25:00 5-mile time.
What a Comeback!! ...Junior Cory Presnick had a terrific performance in the first meet of the 2003 season, especially when you consider less than six months ago he was told he may never walk again. Presnick suffered broken C6 and C7 vertebrae in a car accident in March. He has since made a full recovery and earned the second top-10 finish of his career at the Gator Invitational. Finishing third with a career-best time of 25:14.44.
Parker Out ...
2002 SEC Men's Cross Country Freshman of the Year Daniel Parker will not run the rest of the season. Parker has been dealing with a hip injury all season and is not yet ready to run. The cross country coaches and training staff were hopeful to have him back for the championship portion of the season, but he is not able to return at this time.
Florida women's cross country's junior class looks to be the strongest class this season. Four of Florida's top five finishers in the Gator Invitational were juniors, Carling Cookerly, Kay Lennon, Mallory Dunn and Jacqueline Mariani.
Cookerly has continued her success, finishing first for the Gators and as the only Gator in the top 10 at the Bulldog Stampede. Another junior, Lennon, took Florida's top spot at the Murray Keatinge Invitational for the first time in her career. Cookerly, Lennon and Dunn have scored for Florida in every race this year.
World Travelers ...Senior Jessica Newton will return from a 10-day trip to Belgium just before SEC CHampionships. Newton graduated last spring and was in Belgium as part of her master's degree program in finance.
Senior Philip Laird also spent time away from the U.S. this summer as he traveled to Haiti to serve in a mission hospital for three weeks.
A Family Affair ...There are many siblings that compete for University of Florida athletic teams, but the women's cross country team is the only one fortunate to have three siblings on the same team. The Cookerly sisters, junior Carling, sophomore Charlie and freshman Shea all ran together in high school and decided to continue the tradition in college.
Collegiate athletics are also a family affair for the Presnicks. Junior Cory Presnick runs cross country and his younger sister Amber is a freshman on the soccer team.
