Florida Gators
Notre Dame Invitational
Cross Country Women Take Fifth and Men Tie for Sixth at Notre Dame Invitational
Saturday, October 4, 2008 | Cross Country
The No. 14 women's cross country team placed fifth in the 5K race at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, while the men's team tied for sixth place in the 5-mile competition.
The women racked up 179 points as senior Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) was the first Gator to cross the finish line in 17:10 for 24th place. Kruzel managed to place in the top 30 even after losing one of her shoes toward the beginning of the race.
“Jacy [Kruzel] did not let losing her shoe affect her,” cross country coach Todd Morgan said. “Most people would get rattled, but Jacy kept her cool and finished the race. Not many people can do that.”
Sophomore Ali Crabb (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was the second Gator finisher, coming in 28th place and improving her personal-best time to 17:14. Freshman Genevieve LaCaze (Queensland, Australia) crossed the line in 31st place in a time of 17:15, eclipsing her pervious personal best by almost 10 seconds. Sophomore Charlotte Browning (West Sussex, England) finished 39th in a time of 17:20 and classmate Kaitlin Shiver (Satellite Beach, Fla.) finished 57th in 17:36. Both Browning and Shiver set personal-best times, along with sophomore Laura Garrow (Port Orange, Fla.), who finished 109th in a time of 18:12.
“The women's race was loaded with ranked teams,” Morgan said. “It was a strong field and our team was great. Both Ali [Crabb] and Genevieve [LaCaze] had terrific days. The top three finishers were solid for us. Charlotte Browning had a breakthrough day and her training really paid off.”
The men tallied 217 to tie with No. 27 Notre Dame for sixth. Senior Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.) finished third overall and set a new Florida record for the 5-mile race. His time of 23:34 surpassed his previous record, set at the 2006 Notre Dame Invitational, by 14 seconds.
“It was a huge day for Jeremy Criscione,” Morgan said. “The best men in the country run in this race and he was one of them. He is a great leader for us and he put us in a great spot. We just follow his lead.”
Junior Justin Taylor (St. Augustine, Fla.) was the second Gator to finish, coming in 15th and setting the sixth-best UF 5-mile time of 24:03. It was Taylor's first race of the 2008 season. He was followed by junior Sean Blaney (Kissimmee, Fla.), who clocked in at 24:34 for the 47th spot. Junior Aaron Kindt (Orlando, Fla.) crossed the finish line at 24:39, placing 57th and classmate Matt Hensley (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) finished in a time of 25:06 for the 96th spot. Blaney, Kindt and Hensley set new career personal-best times as well.
Florida State took the top spot in both the women's and the men's race. On the women's side, the third-ranked Seminoles were followed by No. 6 Princeton, No. 15 Michigan and No. 30 Stony Brook. The Gators finished ahead of No. 10 Illinois (T9th), No. 13 Providence (7th) No. 18 New Mexico (T9th), No. 19 Rice (8th), No. 21 Texas Tech (12th), No. 25 Boston College (19th) and No. 28 North Carolina (14th).
In the men's race, No. 26 FSU was followed by Tulsa, No. 28 Texas A&M, No. 19 Providence and Butler. The Gators finished in front of No. 8 Michigan (9th) and No. 29 New Mexico (8th).
Women's Top 10 Teams Results:
| Florida State | 88 |
| Princeton | 124 |
| Michigan | 136 |
| Stony Brook | 156 |
| Florida | 179 |
| Providence | 245 |
| Rice | 250 |
| Illinois | 257 |
| New Mexico | 257 |
| Notre Dame | 272 |
Women's Top 25 Agate and Additional Florida Finishers:
1. Brie Felnagle, North Carolina, 16:21; 2. Susan Kuijken, Florida State, 16:26; 3. Alex Becker, Tulsa, 16:36; 4. Lillian Badaru, Texas Tech, 16:39; 5. Nicole Edwards, Michigan, 16:40; 6. Silje Fjortoft, SMU, 16:42; 7. Lesley van Miert, Florida State, 16:44; 8. Katie Engel, Illinois, 16:54; 9. Danette Doetzel, Providence, 16:56; 10. Lennie Waite, Rice, 16:59; 11. Alyson Kohlmeier, Michigan, 17:00; 12. Irine Lagat, Arizona, 17:03; 13. Lydia Willemse, Florida State, 17:03; 14. Kim Lorentz, Akron, 17:03; 15. Lauren Holesh, North Carolina, 17:03; 16. Alex Banfich, Princeton, 17:03; 17. Lindsey Ferguson, Notre Dame, 17:04; 18. Nicole Mericle, Rice, 17:05; 19. Christina Munoz, Texas A&M, 17:06; 20. Holly van Dalen, Stony Brook, 17:08; 21. Christy Johnson, Princeton, 17:08; 22. Lucy van Dalen, Stony Brook, 17:08; 23. Jessica Hampson, Stony Brook, 17:09; 24. Jacy Kruzel, Florida, 17:10; 25. Sarah Cunnings, Princeton, 17:11; 28. Ali Crabb, Florida, 17:14; 31. Genevieve LaCaze, Florida, 17:15; 39. Charlotte Browning, Florida, 17:20; 57. Kaitlin Shiver, Florida, 17:36; 87. Sara Petrick, Florida, 17:52; 109. Laura Garrow, Florida, 18:12; 123. Julie Northrup, Florida, 18:17.
Men's Top 10 Teams Results:
| Florida State | 81 |
| Tulsa | 126 |
| Texas A&M | 136 |
| Providence | 148 |
| Butler | 208 |
| Florida | 217 |
| Notre Dame | 217 |
| New Mexico | 240 |
| Michigan | 276 |
| Eastern Michigan | 290 |
Men's Top 25 Agate and Additional Florida Finishers:
1. Samuel Kosgei, Lamar, 23:32; 2. Shadrack Songok, Texas A&M, 23:33; 3. Jeremy Criscione, Florida, 23:34; 4. Luke Gunn, Florida State, 23:35; 5. Patrick Smyth, Notre Dame, 23:36; 6. Paul Limpf, Eastern Washington, 23:42; 7. John Beattie, Tulsa, 23:43; 8. Michael Maag, Princeton, 23:45; 9. Francis Kasagule, Lamar, 23:51; 10. Josh Karanja, Eastern Michigan, 23:53; 11. Andy Baker, Butler, 23:57; 12. David McCarthy, Providence, 23:58; 13. Eddie Henshaw, Tulsa, 24:00; 14. Matt LEdder, Florida State, 24:01; 15. Justin Taylor, Florida, 24:03; 16. Lewish Timmins, Tulsa, 24:04; 17. Kevin McNab, Texas A&M, 24:05; 18. Daniel Roberts, Florida State, 24:07; 19. Alex Smyth, Eastern Washington, 24:08; 20. Matt Mroczynski, Illinois State, 24:08; 21. Steeve Gabart, Florida State, 24:10; 22. Brandon Fellows, Michigan, 24:12; 23. Hayden McLaren, Providence, 24:14; 24. Justin Harbor, Florida State, 24:15; 25. Lee Carey, Providence, 24:16; 47. Sean Blaney, Florida, 24:34; 57. Aaron Kindt, Florida, 24:39; 96. Matt Hensley, Florida, 25:06; 143. Geoffrey Anderson, Florida, 25:35; 146. Al Matheny, Florida, 25:38; 172. Josh Izewski, Florida, 26:08; 196. Chris Mullaney, 26:48.
