Florida Gators
NCAA Pre-Nationals
Women's Cross Country Runner-Up at Pre-Nationals; Men Finish 15th
Saturday, October 17, 2009 | Cross Country
The No. 9 University of Florida women's cross country team placed second in the White Race of the Pre-NCAA Invitational on Saturday afternoon, topping nine nationally-ranked teams. Running in their first 6K race of the season, the Gators finished second only to No. 1 Washington, who tallied 59 points to UF's 89. The men's team placed 15th out of 31 teams in the 8K Blue Race.
The women's second-place finish was the highest at the Pre-National meet in program history. The Gators finished fifth in 2008, which was the women's previous best. UF placed ahead of two teams ranked higher than them, including No. 5 Princeton (third) and No. 8 Minnesota (eighth).
“It was a phenomenal run by the women,” Cross country coach Todd Morgan said. “They work well together and proved it down the stretch. We didn't get out to the early start that we wanted, but they stayed patient and worked through the crowd. By the end, our front five were running strong.”
For the first time in program history, the UF women tallied two top-10 finishes at the most competitive regular-season meet. Senior Stacey Johnson (Lichfield, England) finished eighth overall, recording the seventh-best time in UF history (20:50.3). Redshirt sophomore Rebecca Lowe (Vaucluse, Australia) placed right behind Johnson in ninth, tallying the ninth-best time in UF history and a new personal best (20:51.1). The two times were the two best recorded by Florida runners in the six years they have competed in the Pre-National meet since 2001.
All five Florida scorers tallied top-30 finishes to propel the Gators to their second-place finish. Junior Charlotte Browning (Pulborough, England) was the third Gator to cross the finish line, placing 18th overall in a time of 21:07.8, while sophomore Genevieve LaCaze (Daisy Hill, Australia) finished 24th in 21:15.8 to score. Senior Julie Northrup (Vero Beach, Fla.) had a breakthrough performance to be the final Florida soccer, finishing 30th in a personal-best time of 21:21.3.
“Stacey is a tremendous runner and competitor,” Morgan said. “Rebecca is improving run by run and gaining so much momentum. Charlotte and Genevieve had great runs again, as they have proved to be consistent forces for us. Julie had a great, breakthrough performance; finishing 30th overall in such a high-quality meet shows all her hard work.”
Other Southeastern Conference schools Georgia and Alabama finished 19th and 23rd, respectively, in the Women's White Race. Florida was the top South Region team to finish, as Jacksonville finished 33rd and Georgia Tech 36th to go along with Alabama and Georgia.
On the men's side, No. 7 Oregon won the Blue Race, scoring 79 points, while No. 3 Alabama placed second (114) and No. 2 Northern Arizona came in third (115). The Florida men recorded 402 points to place 15th.
“The men had a good run,” Morgan said. “It was a step in the right direction again. I saw fight in them; they were aggressive from the gun. They worked together throughout the race.”
Junior Anthony Morales (Palm Coast, Fla.) was the first Gator to score, coming in 57th in 24:45.2. Morales has been the top UF finisher in every race he has competed in this season. Senior Aaron Kindt (Orlando, Fla.) placed 67th (24:50.7), while sophomore Josh Izeswski (Doylestown, Pa.) recorded a personal-best time (24:53.7) to finish 74th.
“Anthony is really developing as a strong runner,” Morgan said. “He put in another strong performance. Josh had a breakout performance. The great things he has been practicing showed through in the meet.”
The Gator scoring was rounded out by senior Justin Taylor (St. Augustine, Fla.), finishing 101st (25:11.6) and junior James Uthmeier (Destin, Fla.) placing 103rd (25:13.6).
The Gators have a week off before they travel to Oxford, Miss., to race in the SEC Championships. The women were picked to win the conference, while the men were picked to finish fourth.
“Both teams are seeing what we can do when we focus and drive hard. As we head into the championship portion of the season we know we can accomplish the goals we set out.”
Women's White Race Top-10 Team Results
| Team | Points |
| 1. No. 1 Washington | 59 |
| 2. No. 9 FLORIDA | 89 |
| 3. No. 5 Princeton | 126 |
| 4. No. 15 Syracuse | 191 |
| 5. No. 18 Illinois | 206 |
| 6. No. 8 Minnesota | 214 |
| 7. No. 21 New Mexico | 260 |
| 8. North Carolina | 314 |
| 9. No. 30 Notre Dame | 323 |
| 10. No. 17 Arizona State | 325 |
Women's White Race Champion
| Angela Bizzarri | Illinois | 20:27.8 |
Florida Finishers
| 8. Stacey Johnson | 20:50.3* |
| 9. Rebecca Lowe | 20:51.1* |
| 18. Charlotte Browning | 21:07.8 |
| 24. Genevieve LaCaze | 21:15.8 |
| 30. Julie Northrup | 21:21.3* |
| 124. Kaitlin Shiver | 22:24.6 |
| 149. Laura Garrow | 22:40.0 |
| * - personal best |
Men's Blue Race Top-10 Team & Florida Results
| Team | Points |
| 1. No. 7 Oregon | 79 |
| 2. No. 3 Alabama | 114 |
| 3. No. 2 Northern Arizona | 115 |
| 4. No. 9 William & Mary | 128 |
| 5. No. 14 Washington | 183 |
| 6. Auburn | 263 |
| 7. Washington State | 274 |
| 8. No. 27 Tulsa | 281 |
| 9. No. 21 N.C. State | 294 |
| 10. No. 29 Cal Poly | 303 |
| 15. FLORIDA | 402 |
Men's Blue Race Champion
| Luke Puskedra | Oregon | 23:40.2 |
Florida Finishers
| 57. Anthony Morales | 24:45.2 |
| 67. Aaron Kindt | 24:50.7 |
| 74. Josh Izewski | 24:53.7* |
| 101. Justin Taylor | 25:11.6 |
| 103. James Uthmeier | 25:13.6 |
| 122. Derek Wehunt | 25:29.4 |
| 147. Matt Hensley | 25:47.8 |
| * - personal best |
