Florida Gators
Notre Dame Invitational
Cross Country Defeats Ranked Teams at Notre Dame
Saturday, September 30, 2006 | Cross Country
The University of Florida men's and women's cross country teams ran well at the 2006 Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind. on Friday evening. The women's team improved to a 22nd-place finish in the same race last season to a seventh-place finish this year. The No. 26 men's team finished tied for fourth. The Notre Dame Invitational is one of the most competitive early season races. There were seven ranked teams in each the men's and the women's races with and additional three teams receiving votes in the women's race and four in the men's.
“Both teams were outstanding tonight,” head coach Jeff Pigg said. “I am very proud of them. We didn't taper for this meet. We kept pushing as hard this week in practice as we have since we began training this fall. Neither team is exactly where we want them to be yet, so it was great to see them run so well in such a competitive field. I am excited about the potential of these teams.”
The women's team finished seventh of 19 teams with 241 points. The Gators finished ahead of No. 27 Georgia, No. 25 North Carolina and Texas A&M and Notre Dame, who were both receiving votes. Each of Florida's top five finishers ran times under 18 minutes, and each of the top four ran career-best 5K times. Sophomore Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) was the first Gator finisher in 30th place with a time of 17:28. Junior Lindsay Sundell (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) finished in 37th overall with a time of 17:35, beating her previous career-best by just a second. Sophomore LeeAnn Nawrocki (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) improved her career-best time by nearly 40 second to 17:44 to finish third among the Gators and in 49th overall. Junior Kristen Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) ran 17:47 to finish 55th. Sophomore Kathryn Kramer (Tampa, Fla.) rounded out the scoring for Florida in 71st place with a time of 17:57.
“This women's team was not satisfied with how they ran last season,” Pigg said. “They really went to work this summer and that work started to pay off tonight. Their goal is to qualify for nationals and tonight was a good step toward that goal. The best thing is that we have about 12 athletes that could run in our top seven and still have these results. We have some depth now that we haven't had in a long time.”
The men's team finished tied for fourth with No. 16 Notre Dame with 160 points. The Gators finished ahead of No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 24 Florida State, No. 28 Eastern Michigan and Illinois, Weber State and Texas A&M, who were all receiving votes. Seven of the eight individuals in the race set new personal best times. Sophomore Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.) ran a school record 5-mile time of 23:48 to finish in fifth place overall. Junior Enoch Nadler (Keystone Heights, Fla.) ran a time of 24:22 to finish 24th. Freshman Justin Taylor (St. Augustine, Fla.) finished in 38th with a time of 24:44 in the first 5-mile race of his career. Junior Steven Hassen (Ocala, Fla.) ran 24:44 to finish 43rd. Junior Jose Garcia (Miami, Fla.) was the final Gator scorer in 51st place overall with a career-best time of 24:54.
“We expect Jeremy (Criscione) to run like this every meet, but his time this evening was special,” PIgg said. “Enoch Nadler was solid, as always. Justin Taylor competed very well for this being only his third career cross country meet. Steven Hassen ran very well, as he is still recovering from a surgery this summer. Jose Garcia was a great surprise for us tonight. He ran what was probably the best meet of his career.”
The Gators also had several athletes compete in the junior varsity race. All three of the men finished in the top 10. Senior Daniel Parker (Orlando, Fla.) finished third in 25:33. Freshmen Chris Mullaney (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) and Matt Hensley (Post St. Lucie, Fla.) finished fifth and 10th respectively with career-best times of 25:26 and 26:13, respectively. In the women's JV race, four of the six Gator finished in the top 10 and all six finished in the top 20. Freshman Julie Northrup (Vero Beach, Fla,) finished third with a career-best time of 18:16. Junior Galey Gravenstein was fourth of 62 athletes with a time of 18:18. Junior Lorain McKenzie (Clarendon, Jamaica) finished the 5K race in a career-best time of 18:43. Amanda Hintze (Longwood, Fla.) was the final Gator in the top 10 in 10th with a time of 18:43.
Selected Gators will compete next week at the Disney Cross Country Classic at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.
Women's Top 10 Team Scores
1. Michigan – 57
2. North Carolina State – 95
3. Providence – 120
4. Florida State – 124
5. Illinois – 126
6. Weber State – 225
7. FLORIDA – 241
8. Georgia – 243
9. North Carolina – 255
10. Missouri – 270
Florida Individual Finishers (5K)
30. Jacy Kruzel – 17:28*
37. Lindsay Sundell – 17:35*
49. LeeAnn Nawrocki – 17:44*
55. Kristen Johnson – 17:47*
71. Kathryn Kramer – 17:57
75. Jamie Geissler – 18:01
80. Sara Petrick – 18:07
97. Devin Gapstur – 18:22
114. Valeria Rodriguez – 18:37
Men's Top 10 Team Scores
1. North Carolina State – 86
2. Providence - 109
3. Michigan - 123
4. Notre Dame - 160
4. Florida – 160
6. Florida State – 165
7. Eastern Michigan – 183
8. Wisconsin – 188
9. Weber State – 207
10. Belmont – 289
Florida Individual Finishers (5-mile)
5. Jeremy Criscione – 23:48* school record
24. Enoch Nadler – 24:22*
38. Justin Taylor – 24:41*
43. Steven Hassen – 24:44
51. Jose Garcia – 24:54*
77. Brian Hoover – 25:08*
104. Aaron Kindt – 25:28*
116. Sean Blaney – 25:39*
Men's Junior Varsity Results (5-mile)
3. Daniel Parker – 25:33
5. Chris Mullaney – 25:38*
10. Matt Hensely – 26:13*
Women's Junior Varsity Results (5K)
3. Julie Northrup – 18:16*
4. Galey Gravenstein – 18:18
9. Lorain McKenzie – 18:43*
10. Amanda Hintze – 18:43
11. Ana Segura – 18:49
20. Allison Babb – 19:11
* - career-best time
