Florida XC Freshman Jimmy Clark Named SEC Freshman of the Year; Nine Gators Earn 10 All-SEC Honors
Friday, November 4, 2011 | Cross Country
Freshman runner Jimmy Clark (St. Johns, Fla.) became UF's second all-time SEC Male Freshman of the Year Friday by vote of the league's cross country coaches after crossing the finish line at the SEC Championships as the highest-placing freshman in the field. Clark tallied a personal-best 24:30.79 in the 8K to take seventh overall as UF's third top-10 finisher at the conference meet in Tennessee Monday.
“Jimmy has come in and adjusted great,” assistant track and field and cross country coach Todd Morgan said. “It's a big change from high school to college running, but because of his hard work and focus, he's been able to maximize on his talents.”
For his efforts, Clark picked up two All-SEC honors as a Men's First-Team All-SEC selection, while also gracing the SEC All-Freshman squad. Clark was UF's first male top-10 finisher at SECs since 2004 when Henok Lechebo finished eighth. The Creekside High School product now has three top-10 overall finishes for the Gators this season and has been one of UF's top three scorers at every meet he's participated in this fall. He won the Western Carolina Invitational Sept. 2, becoming UF's first male runner since 2003 to win his opening race donning Orange and Blue, earning SEC Men's Freshman of the Week for his performance.
Eight other Gators joined Clark as All-SEC honorees, including UF's top three women's finishers, senior Genevieve LaCaze (Daisy Hill, Australia), sophomore Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) and junior Florence N'Getich (Eldama Ravine, Kenya). LaCaze and McGee were All-SEC first team selections, finishing in the top seven, while N'Getich was named to the All-SEC second team with a 10th-place mark. Freshman Grace VanDeGrift (Durant, Fla.) picked up SEC All-Freshman honors on the women's side as one of the top seven women to cross the finish line in Maryville.
Four of Clark's men's squad counterparts earned All-SEC accolades, with sophomores Mark Parrish (Tampa, Fla.) and Matt Mizereck (Tallahassee, Fla.) joining him on the First-Team All-SEC after finishing third and fourth overall, respectively, and freshmen Eduardo Garcia (Jacksonville, Fla.) and JL Hines (Orlando, Fla.) as SEC All-Freshman Team members by finishing as three of the top seven freshman runners at SECs.
Of UF's nine All-SEC selections, seven: N'Getich and VanDeGrift on the women's side, and Parrish, Mizereck, Clark, Garcia and Hines on the men's, side all ran personal best times in their SEC races – a 6K for the women and 8K for the men.
Clark and the men's squad raced their way to a second-place overall team finish, the highest since the Gators' men also placed second in 2007. For UF, it was the 15th-straight top-five finish on the men's side, while the two-time defending women checked in third overall for their fourth-straight top-three finish and eighth-consecutive top-five finish.
For LaCaze, the All-SEC honor marked the fourth of her career, as the senior has placed in the top eight at the conference meet all four years donning a Gator uniform. McGee and Mizereck picked up their second All-SEC accolades after being All-Freshman Team members in 2010. Clark, Garcia, Hines, N'Getich, Parrish and VanDeGrift were first-time recipients after competing in their inaugural conference championship race this season.
Parrish and LaCaze both finished third at Lambert Acres Golf Club in Tennessee to clock UF's fastest races on both the men's and women's side, Parrish becoming UF's youngest men's runner to finish in the top three at SECs dating back to 1998. He was also the highest SEC individual finisher since 2007 when Jeremy Criscione took second. Parrish now has two top-10 overall finishes in 2011, one SEC Runner of the Week accolade, and has been UF's first or second scorer in all three meets he's participated in.
LaCaze recorded her fourth top-10 SEC individual finish at the 2011 conference championship, finishing third overall for the best finish of her four-year career at UF (placed sixth in '08, seventh in '09 and eighth in '10). Like Parrish, she has finished as Florida's first or second scorer in all four Florida meets she's competed in this fall, including three top-three overall finishes at the Western Carolina Invite, the Mountain Dew Invitational and SECs. LaCaze won UF's home meet, the Mountain Dew Invite, with a career-best 5K mark (17:05.09) to pick up SEC Women's Runner of the Week honors.
The Gators will next set their sights on the 2011 NCAA South Regional, this year in Tuscaloosa, Ala., at the Harry Pritchett Running Park. Both squads will be aiming for a top-two finish to secure an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. At-large individual and team bids, along with the complete selection list for the 2011 NCAA Championship field will be released on Nov. 13 following all Regional action around the country Nov. 12.
FLORIDA ALL-TIME COACH/ATHLETE/FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR HONORS
Male Honors
SEC Coach of the Year
John Webb, 1992
SEC Freshman of the Year
Daniel Parker, 2002
Jimmy Clark, 2011
Female Honors
SEC Coach of the Year
Lyle Knudson, 1984
J.J. Clark, 1996
J.J. Clark, 1997
Todd Morgan, 2009
Todd Morgan, 2010
SEC Athlete of the Year
Becki Wells, 1996
Rebecca Lowe, 2009
SEC Freshman of the Year
Hilary White, 2000
Genevieve LaCaze, 2008
2011 SEC Women's Coach of the Year
Steve Keith, Vanderbilt
2011 SEC Women's Runner of the Year
Kristen Gillespie, Arkansas
2011 SEC Women's Freshman of the Year
Kaitlin Flattman, Arkansas
Women's First-Team All-SEC
Kristen Gillespie, Arkansas
Alexa Rogers, Vanderbilt
Genevieve LaCaze, Florida
Liz Anderson, Vanderbilt
Cory McGee, Florida
Kristie Krueger, Georgia
Jordan White, Vanderbilt
Women's Second-Team All-SEC
Louise Hannallah, Vanderbilt
Kristen Smith, Vanderbilt
Florence N'Getich, Florida
Logan Waites, Ole Miss
Brittany Sheffey, Tennessee
Kaitlin Flattman, Arkansas
Jessica Jackson, Arkansas
Women's All-SEC Freshman Team
Kaitlin Flattmann, Arkansas
Jessica Jackson, Arkansas
Grace Orders, Vanderbilt
Amira Joseph, Vanderbilt
Anna Bowles, Georgia
Rebecca Chandler, Vanderbilt
Grace VanDeGrift, Florida
2011 SEC Men's Coach of the Year
Chris Bucknam, Arkansas
SEC Men's Runner of the Year
Eric Fernandez, Arkansas
SEC Men's Freshman of the Year
Jimmy Clark, Florida
Men's First-Team All-SEC
Eric Fernandez, Arkansas
Duncan Phillips, Arkansas
Mark Parrish, Florida
Matt Mizereck, Florida
Luis Orta, Kentucky
Rick Elliott, Arkansas
Jimmy Clark, Florida
Men's Second-Team All-SEC
Matt Cleaver, Georgia
Martin Kirui, Ole Miss
Brandon Lord, Georgia
Dey Tuach, Arkansas
Carrison Kemei, Alabama
Patrick Rono, Arkansas
Kane Grimster, Auburn
Men's All-SEC Freshman Team
Jimmy Clark, Florida
Patrick Rono, Arkansas
Kane Grimster, Auburn
Austin Whitelaw, Tennessee
Eduardo Garcia, Florida
Brendan Hoban, Georgia
John-Logan Hines, Florida
