Cross Country Announces 2009 Schedule
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 | Cross Country
Cross country coach Todd Morgan announced the 2009 schedule, which features four regular-season meets before the postseason kicks off with the Southeastern Conference Championship in Oxford, Miss.
The Gators start their season by hosting the Mountain Dew Invitational on the UF Golf Course on Sept. 18. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. EST with the junior varsity high school girls' 5,000m race. The intercollegiate women's 5K will begin at 6:30 p.m. while the intercollegiate men's 8K race will follow at 7 p.m.
Florida has taken first place in both races for the last four years. Returning sophomore Genevieve LaCaze (Queensland, Australia) finished first in her first-ever cross country meet in 2008 while senior Matt Hensley (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) is the top returning finisher on the men's side as he took second overall.
Florida will then compete in the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 2 in South Bend, Ind. Last year, the women earned fifth place while the men tied for sixth. The third meet of the season is the FSU Invitational on Oct. 10. It will be the first time since 2002 the Gators will compete in the Seminoles' meet.
On Nov. 17, UF will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Pre-NCAA Invitational, where the Gators will run the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, which is the same course the National Championship meet that will take place on in November. The women placed fifth in 2008, with help from LaCaze's 32nd-place finish and junior Ali Crabb's (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 35th-place finish. The Gator men placed 12th as senior Justin Taylor (St. Augustine, Fla.) was the second UF finisher in 44th place and classmate Sean Blaney (Kissimmee, Fla.) placed 50th.
The SEC Championships, hosted by Ole Miss, will take place on Oct. 31. The women finished second in 2008, missing the number one spot by only seven points. The team returns three of four All-SEC runners, including LaCaze, who earned Female Freshman of the Year accolades for her sixth-place finish. Crabb and junior Charlotte Browning (West Sussex, England) also tallied league honors with fifth and seventh-place finishes, respectively. On the men's side, the team placed fourth as returning sophomore Michael Anderson (Williston, Fla.) earned SEC All-Freshman honors with his 50th overall finish.
The NCAA South Regional Championships will take back in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Nov. 14. The women earned an automatic bid to the National Championship meet with their second-place finish last season. LaCaze, Browning and Crabb earned All-South Region honors with fifth, 10th and 15th respective places. The men tallied another fourth-place finish as Blaney captured his second regional honors with a 16th-place finish.
The NCAA Championship will take place on Nov. 23 in Indiana as the women look to improve their 17th-place finish from a year ago. LaCaze was the top finisher, coming in 75th overall. The men look to return to the national stage after missing the cut the last two seasons.
2009 Florida Cross Country Schedule
| DATE | MEET | LOCATION | TIME (EST) |
| Friday, Sept. 18 | Mountain Dew Invitational | Gainesville, Fla. | 6:30 p.m. (Women's 5K) 7 p.m. (Men's 8K) |
| Friday, Oct. 2 | Notre Dame Invitational | South Bend, Ind. | 2 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 10 | FSU Invitational | Tallahassee, Fla. | 7:50 a.m. (Men's 8K) 8:30 a.m. (Women's 5K) |
| Saturday, Oct. 17 | Pre-NCAA Invitational | Terre Haute, Ind. | 11 a.m. (Men's 8K) 12:20 p.m. (Women's 5K) |
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | SEC Championship | Oxford, Miss. | TBA |
| Saturday, Nov. 14 | NCAA South Regional | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | TBA |
| Monday, Nov. 23 | NCAA Championship | Terre Haute, Ind. | Noon |
