Women's Cross Country Runner-Up at South Regionals; Men Finish Fourth

Saturday, November 15

Knoxville, TN

10:00 AM

Florida Gators

NCAA South Regional Championship

Women's Cross Country Runner-Up at South Regionals; Men Finish Fourth

Saturday, November 15, 2008 | Cross Country

The University of Florida women's cross country team finished second at the NCAA South Regional Championship in Knoxville, Tenn., Saturday morning, earning an automatic bid to the National Championship. The men finished fourth and must await a decision from the NCAA for an at-large spot in the Championship.

Six Gators earned All-South Region honors with top-25 finishes. Senior Jeremy Criscoine (Interlachen, Fla.) also earned an automatic individual place at the NCAA Championship later in the month.

In the women's 6K race, No. 15 Florida had three runners finished in the top 10 and four in the top 13. All seven Gators finished in the top 40. Freshman Genevieve LaCaze (Queensland, Australia) led the way with a fifth-place finish in 21:06.89. Senior Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) was right behind her with a sixth-place finish in 21: 08.18. Sophomore Ali Crabb (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was the third Gator to cross the finish line in 21:13.24, placing 10^th overall. Sophomore Charlotte Browning (West Sussex, England) placed 13^th in 21:24.22 and senior Sara Petrick (Apollo Beach, Fla.) was the final UF scorer in 30^th place (22:08.05).

“We went in and got the job done,” Cross country coach Todd Morgan said. “We got an automatic bid, which was our goal. We ran tough and we had a good day. Genevieve, Ali, Jacy and Charlotte have been running solid all year and they finished strong today. It was good to see Sara Petrick pick herself up and respond well after what she felt was a disappointing individual finish at the SEC Championship. We look really good and we are excited heading into the NCAA Championship.”

LaCaze, Kruzel, Crabb and Browning were all named to the All-South Region team. It marked the first honor for LaCaze, Crabb and Browning and the second for Kruzel, who earned the honor in 2005.

The men scored 133 points with all Gators finishing in top third in the first 10K race of the season. Four Florida runners competed in the first 10K of their careers. Criscione finished seventh overall for his 11^th career top-10 finish. He has led the Gators all season as the top finisher in every race he has run. For the third straight year, Criscione earned All-South honors. Junior Sean Blaney (Kissimmee, Fla.) placed 16^th in 31:55.36 to earn his second All-South Region award.

“Jeremy and Sean both turned in great performances,” Morgan said. “Jeremy ran a great race with the mindset to score as low as possible for us. We knew it was going to be a tight race, as Auburn and Alabama have great individual runners.”

Junior Justin Taylor (St. Augustine, Fla.) finished 32^nd in a time of 32:43.55 as the third Gators' scorer. He was followed by sophomore Anthony Morales (Palm Coast, Fla.) in 39^th in 33:08.72 in his first career 10K race. Junior Matt Hensley (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) was the final scorer in 43^rd place in a time of 33:14.76, also running in his first 10K.

“We went for it,” Morgan said. “We wanted to improve our chances of getting into Nationals. We will see what happens, but we really helped our chances today and by our finishes at Notre Dame [tied for sixth] and Pre-Nationals [12^th].”

On the women's side, No. 3 Florida State placed first to also earn an automatic bid to the National stage. In men's action, No. 5 Alabama, No. 12 Auburn and No. 25 FSU finished one through three.

The National Championships will be held on Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind. The women will run the 6K at 1:08 p.m. (ET). The NCAA will announce the at-large bids on Sunday, Nov. 16 at approximately 7 p.m. (ET). The men's race will take place at 1:48 p.m. (ET).

Women's Team Top 10 Finishes

Florida State	41
*Florida*	64
Tennessee	116
Georgia	154
Auburn	156
UAB	198
Vanderbilt	200
Alabama	219
Belmont	309
Jacksonville	348

Florida Women's Individual Results

5. Genevieve LaCaze	21:06.89
6. Jacy Kruzel	21:08.18
10. Ali Crabb	21:13.24
13. Charlotte Browning	21:24.22
30. Sara Petrick	22:08.05
32. Kaitlin Shiver	22:08.96
40. Julie Northrup	22:20.91

Women's South Regional Champion

Hollie Knight, Auburn

20:29.67

Men's Team Top 10 Finishes

Alabama	49
Auburn	59
Florida State	66
*Florida*	*133*
Tennessee	156
Mississippi State	164
East Tennessee State	165
Georgia State	227
Belmont	236
Georgia Tech	263

Florida Men's Individual Results

7. Jeremy Criscione	31:15.35
16. Sean Blaney	31:55.36
32. Justin Taylor	32:43.55
39. Anthony Morales	33:08.72*
43. Matt Hensley	33:14.76*
50. James Uthemeier	33:28.74*
52. Michael Anderson	33:31.44*