Cross Country Looks To Make Impact at SEC Championships
Friday, October 30, 2009 | Cross Country
The University of Florida men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete in the Southeastern Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31 in Oxford, Miss. The men will run the 8K race at 11 a.m. (ET) and the women will run the 6K race at noon (ET).
The No. 5 women will compete against 11 other SEC teams, with No. 29 Arkansas being the only other ranked team. Florida is ranked first in the South Region, while Tennessee (third), Georgia (fourth), Auburn (fifth), Alabama (sixth) and Vanderbilt (seventh) fill out the region. Arkansas is ranked second in the South Central, while Kentucky is sixth in the Southeast.
During the 2009 regular season, the women have competed against SEC opponents twice, at the Pre-National meet on Oct. 17 and at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 2. The Gators were the top conference finisher in the Pre-National White Race with a second-place finish, while Georgia (19th) and Alabama (23rd) finished behind. They were also the best finisher among all SEC teams as Auburn was 23rd, Vanderbilt 25th and Ole Miss 37th in the Blue Race. The women took third at the Notre Dame meet while Georgia, the only other SEC team to compete, came in 15th.
At the 2008 SEC Championships, Florida finished second only to Arkansas by seven points and set six new record times. Current junior Ali Crabb (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was the first Gator to finish and came in fifth overall. Her time ranks fifth in the UF record books for all-time 6K and SEC Championship times. Sophomore Genevieve LaCaze (Daisy Hill, Austrailia) crossed the finish line sixth overall and her time is still the sixth-fastest in UF history for all-time 6K and SEC Championship times. Junior Charlotte Browning (Pulborough, England) finished seventh overall and set the eighth-fastest time in both record books. All three of these women were awarded All-SEC honors, and LaCaze picked up All-SEC Freshman team honors as well as Freshman of the Year accolades.
Redshirt junior Rebecca Lowe (Vaucluse, Australia) finished 12th overall in 2007, as she sat out the 2008 season with an injury. She also earned All-SEC, All-SEC Freshman team and SEC Freshman of the Year accolades.
The 2009 women were picked to win the conference meet in a preseason coaches' poll. The Gators look to be the first team since 1997 to win the Championship. The team also won in 1996 and 1984. Three former Gators have won the SEC Individual crown: Shelly Steely (1984), Tricia Clifford (1986) and Becki Wells (1995, 96).
The men's team will take on 10 other SEC opponents, including three nationally-ranked teams, Alabama (sixth), Auburn (24th) and Arkansas (28th). In the South region, the Gators are ranked fourth, with Alabama and Auburn ahead of them at first and third, respectively. Tennessee (fifth), Georgia (seventh), and Mississippi State (ninth) are also ranked in the South. Arkansas is ranked first in the South Central and Kentucky takes ninth in the Southeast.
Like the women, the men also faced SEC opponents at the Pre-NCAA Nationals and the Notre Dame Invitational. While the men placed 15th at Pre Nationals, rivals Alabama took second and Auburn placed sixth. At Notre Dame, the men finished three places behind 14th-place Georgia.
At last year's SEC Championships the men placed fourth and had great performances by runners who return this year. Current junior Anthony Morales (Palm Coast, Fla.) came in third for the Gators and 24th overall while setting a then-personal-best 8K time. Senior Justin Taylor (St. Augustine, Fla.) came in 26th and classmate James Uthmeier (Destin, Fla.) finished 36th and also set a personal-best time.
In a preseason coach's poll, the men are predicted to finish fourth at the 2009 meet. The men look to win their first SEC Championship since back-to-back wins in 1986-87. Three Gators men have also claimed individual titles – Don Gagon (1955), Frank Lagotic (1967) and Keith Brantley (1983).
