LaCaze Tabbed SEC Female Freshman Athlete of the Year; Six Gators Earn All-SEC Honors
Thursday, November 13, 2008 | Cross Country
University of Florida freshman Genevieve LaCaze (Queensland, Australia) was voted the 2008 Southeastern Conference Female Freshman Athlete of the Year, the league announced Thursday. Six UF runners, including LaCaze, were also named All-SEC for their performances at the SEC Championship on Nov. 3.
Senior Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.), sophomores Ali Crabb (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Charlotte Browning (West Sussex, England) and LaCaze earned All-SEC first-team honors, while senior Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) was named to the second team. LaCaze and freshman Michael Anderson (Williston, Fla.) earned All-Freshman team accolades as well.
LaCaze was the first female freshman to cross the finish line at the SEC Championship in Starkville, Miss., placing sixth in a 6K time of 20:49.73. This the second time a Gator has earned Freshman of the Year and the first since Hilary White earned the accolade in 2000.
The newcomer made an immediate impact on the Florida cross country program, placing first overall in her first collegiate meet, the Mountain Dew Invitational, on Sept. 20. She currently holds the third-best time in UF record books for her 5K time on the UF Golf Course (17:34.79) and the time she ran at the SECs ranks sixth overall for Gators' 6K times and SEC Championship times. LaCaze finished every race as one of Florida's top three runners, including the second spot at the Pre-National Meet (32nd overall) and the third spot at the Notre Dame Invitational (28th overall). She also earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Oct. 7 for her performance in South Bend, Ind., where she improved her 5K personal best to 17:15.
Three Gators earned All-SEC first-team honors for placing in the top seven of the men's or women's conference meet. Criscione was the seventh runner to cross the finish line and the first Gator to do so in a new UF record 8K time of 23:35.05. He now holds Florida records for the 5-mile (23:34), 8K and SEC Championship times. Criscione placed in the top 10 in every race he ran in 2008, finishing first for the Gators in all four. He increased his career top-10 finishes to 10, tying for 12th most all-time. This is the third consecutive year the senior earned All-SEC honors.
On the women's side, three Gators placed in the top seven with Crabb leading the way with a fifth-place finish. She was followed by LaCaze and Browning, who came in seventh. Crabb finished in the top three for the Gators all season, including a second-place finish at the Mountain Dew Invitational. She is fifth in Florida record books for the 6K time (20:42.57) and SEC Championship time and ranks sixth on the Gators' UF Golf Course 5K list (17:36.99). The All-SEC honor is the first for Crabb.
Browning's second top-10 finish came at the SEC Championships, as she finished in a time of 20:51.29, a personal best. It was also the first time the transfer from UNLV placed in the top three for the Gators. She scored in three of the four races she ran this season. The award marks the first for Browning.
Kruzel earned her third All-SEC honor, receiving second-team accolades for her ninth-place finish at the conference championship. Kruzel was the top Gator to cross the finish line in both the Notre Dame Invitational and the Pre-National meet in October and scored in every meet this season.
Anderson was the sixth male freshman to finish at the SEC meet, coming in 41st place in 25:23.82, a personal best. It was only the third race he ran in his UF career. He finished 10th at the Mountain Dew Invitational and fifth at the Walt Disney World Classic. This is the first SEC honor for Anderson.
The Gators return to action on Saturday, Nov. 15 for the NCAA South Regional in Knoxville, Tenn. The first and second-place teams earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championship on Nov. 24. There are also 13 national at-large bids available. The women will run the 6K race at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 10K race at 11 a.m.
2008 SEC Cross Country Honors:
| Female Athlete of the Year | Catherine White, Arkansas |
| Female Freshman Athlete of the Year | Genevieve LaCaze, Florida |
| Female Coach of the Year | Lance Harter, Arkansas |
| Male Athlete of the Year | Tyson David, Alabama |
| Male Freshman Athlete of the Year | Girma Mesecho, Auburn |
| Male Coach of the Year | Joe Walker, Alabama |
| Men's All-SEC First Team | Women's All-SEC First Team | Women's All-Freshman Team |
| Girma Mesecho, Auburn | Catherine White, Arkansas | Genevieve LaCaze, Florida |
| Tyson David, Alabama | Hollie Knight, Auburn | Sara Vaugh, Alabama |
| Elkanah Kibet, Auburn | Sarah Bowman, Tennessee | Kelsey Johnson, Alabama |
| Felix Kibioywo, Auburn | Denise Bargiachi, Arkansas | Kristabel Doebel-Hickok, Vanderbilt |
| Emmanuel Bor, Alabama | Ali Crabb, Florida | Samantha Learch, Arkansas |
| Augustus Maiyo, Alabama | Genevieve LaCaze, Florida | Beatrice Biwott, South Carolina |
| Jeremy Criscione, Florida | Charlotte Browning, Florida | Jennifer Barbi, Georgia |
| Men's All-SEC Second Team | Women's All-SEC Second Team | Men's All-Freshman Team |
| Scott MacPherson, Arkansas | Christine Kalmer, Arkansas | Girma Mesecho, Auburn |
| Abraham Kutingala, Alabama | Jacy Kruzel, Florida | Eric Fernandez, Arkansas |
| Andrew Kirwa, Alabama | Sara Vaugh, Alabama | Rick Elliott, Arkansas |
| Andy McClary, Arkansas | Kelsey Johnson, Alabama | Zac Edwards, Alabama |
| Kyle Lewis, Ole Miss | Brittany Sheffey, Tennessee | Julian Matthews, Auburn |
| Michael Spooner, Tennessee | Natatlie Picchetti, Georgia | Michael Anderson, Florida |
| Adam Henken, Kentucky | Kiah Vernon, Georgia | Chris Bodary, Tennessee |
