Florida Gators
NCAA Championship
Cross Country Women Earn Best NCAA Finish in School History
Monday, November 19, 2007 | Cross Country
The University of Florida women's cross country team earned the best NCAA Championship finish in school history, as they placed 11th at the 2007 NCAA Championships held Monday afternoon in Terre Haute, Ind. Four of the Gators top five finishers placed in the top 100 for team scoring individually to help earn the school record finish.
"This was undoubtedly our best race of the season," Head Coach Jeff Pigg said. "At the Southeastern Conference Championships, we did not run very well. We looked a little better at regionals last week, but still weren't where we wanted to be. We trained all season to do well at the end of the year, and today everything came together at the right time. I am so proud of this team. They believed in each other and believed in what we have been doing and their hard work paid off."
"This has just been a fun trip for us. We have been trying to not put too much emphasis on this being a big race. I told the team not to endure this race, but to get ready to enjoy it. That is exactly what they did. They were not uptight. They were very relaxed and just had fun and that showed in the way they performed and finished today."
Junior Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) led the Gators with a 60th place finish and a time of 21:15.8. Her finish was the best individual finish by a Gator in the NCAA Championship since Kris Jost finished 43rd in 1999. Freshman Rebecca Lowe (Vaucluse, Australia) continued her steady performance as Florida's No. 2 runner, finishing 107th with a 6K time of 21:35.1. Sophomore Alison Babb (Gainesville, Fla.) achieved yet another quality post-season performance as Florida's third finisher in 110th with her career-best time of 21:36.5. Senior Lindsay Sundell (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) finished 118th in 21:42.2. Freshman Ali Crabb (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was Florida's final scorer in 137th with a time of 21:48.3. Junior Sara Petrick (Apollo Beach, Fla.) ran the 6K race in 22:00.6 to finish 163rd and senior Kristen Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) was the final Gator finisher in 178th with a time of 22:11.4
"This team just has a great chemistry," Pigg said. "These women are not only good athletes, they are great people. Ali Crabb and Alison Babb are both walk ons and we would not be here today without them. Babb didn't run until SECs and she has just continued to get better. She is good because she wants to be. She has the best attitude and desire. Lindsay is so unselfish. She was disappointed with her individual performance until she saw how high we placed as a team. Her goal this year has simply been for the team to do well. Jacy is a strong Florida kid, who just keeps getting better. Rebecca Lowe came here and added depth and talent to this team. I just cannot say enough about these athletes, how hard they work and how proud of them I am.
The Gators were the top finishing SEC team at the national championship. Arkansas finished two spots behind them in 13th and Georgia was 22nd.
The Stanford women won their third consecutive team title with 145 points. Sally Kipyego from Texas Tech won her second individual title, finishing the 6K race in 19:30.9.
Junior Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.) was Florida's only competitor in the men's race. He finished in 99th overall with a time of 31:06.3. His place was his best finish in the NCAA Championship, as he finished 112th in 2005 and 109th in 2006.
"The experience of running by himself was challenging," Pigg said of Criscione. "It is more difficult for an individual when you have been training and running with your teammates every day for months. Jeremy still lined up and competed hard and ran well today."
Josh McDougal from Liberty won the 10K race in 29:22.4. Oregon took the men's team title.
Women's Top 11 Team Results
1. Stanford - 145
2. Oregon - 177
3. Florida State - 236
4. Arizona State - 251
5. Michigan State - 321
6. Illinois - 331
7. Northern Arizona - 357
8. Washington - 358
9. West Virginia - 375
10. Iowa - 387
11. Florida - 391
Florida Women's Finishers
(xx) indicates place for team scoring purposes
60. (42) Jacy Kruzel, 21:15.5
107. (78) Rebecca Lowe, 21:35.1
110. (81) Alison Babb, 21:36.6
118. (86) Lindsay Sundell, 21:42.2
137. (104) Ali Crabb, 21:48.4
163. (127) Sara Petrick, 22:00.6
178. (142) Kristen Johnson, 22:11.4
Florida Men's Finisher
99. Jeremy Criscione, 31:06.3
