Florida Gators
Wisconsin adidas Invitational
Men's XC 8K School Record Falls at Wisconsin adidas Invitational Saturday
Saturday, October 19, 2013 | Cross Country
MADISON, Wis. -- Mark Parrish highlighted the day for the Orange and Blue at the 2013 Wisconsin adidas Invitational Saturday as the Gator senior eclipsed the Florida men's 8K record at Wisconsin's Thomas Zimmer Championship Course. Parrish used a 23:34 for 11th overall in the field of 288 men's athletes, topping former Florida cross country All-American Jeremy Criscione's 23:35 8K school record set in 2008.
Both Florida's men's (542) and women's (522) cross country squads turned in 22nd-place showings at Saturday's competition in Madison, the Gators' last race before the championship portion of the 2013 season begins Nov 1 in Gainesville with SECs. In the women's team race, UF – receiving votes in the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll – finished ahead of No. 17 Duke, No. 26 BYU and No. 29 Texas at the adidas Invite. In men's action, the No. 26 Gators checked in ahead of No. 21 UCLA, No. 22 Minnesota and No. 24 Georgetown.
WORTH NOTING
· Senior Agata Strausa (26th) paced Florida's women with a record performance as the Riga, Latvia native cracked the top 10 in the Gator record almanac with the fifth-fastest 6K in school history (20:18)
· Parrish used a 23:34 race to shatter former Gator XC All-American Jeremy Criscione's 8K school record (23:35.05) set at the 2008 SEC Championship
· All five of Florida's men's scorers turned in personal-best 8K races: Parrish (23:34), junior Jimmy Clark (23:52), junior Eddie Garcia (24:12), freshman Carlos Miranda (24:59) and redshirt freshman Mac Reynolds (25:41)
· On the women's side, three Gators punched in lifetime bests: Strausa (20:18), freshman Taylor Tubbs (21:15) and sophomore Julie Macedo (21:16)
· Tubbs' mark was a PR by 45 seconds and topped her previous best – 22:01 – from the Mountain Dew Invite, while Macedo's run was a PR by over 30 seconds (previously 21:37) and nearly a minute faster than her best 6K as a freshman in 2012 (22:03)
· Redshirt junior Cory McGee ran her first cross country race for UF since 2011 Nationals after redshirting the 2012 season and competing at the World Championships for Team USA in August. McGee was just 14 seconds shy of a PR
· Clark notched a top-10 performance as well Saturday with the 10th-fastest 8K in men's history
· Parrish, Clark, Garcia & Miranda have now scored for Florida in each of the races they've competed for UF this season
· In women's action, Strausa, Macedo, Tubbs & Hayes have also scored for Florida in each of the races they've run for Florida in 2013
· Strausa has scored first for Florida in all three of her competitions
SPANGLER SPEAKS
On the men's race Saturday
“Mark Parrish had a great race today on the men's side, a school record and 11th in that field was impressive. Eddie Garcia did a really good job, as did Jimmy (Clark) having missed a couple weeks of training, and Carlos Miranda ran a 24:59 as a freshman, his first time under 25 minutes. We did not run JL today, but we made good steps towards getting the men's team back to nationals (last, 2011) – there were a lot of good things on the men's side today.”
On the women's performances at the adidas Invite
“On the women's side, Agata (Strausa) ran a great race, she's continuing to have a breakout season and Cory McGee was running her first cross country race in two years. For Cory, this race was more to dust the rust off and she'll continue to get better. With running Worlds in August, her training is a step behind everyone else, but come championship season, she'll be there when it counts. Julie Macedo and Taylor Tubbs both had big PRs. Just like on the men's side, our fifth runner was a little bit off. She's missed some time, but we have a couple weeks to get her where she needs to be and she'll be there when the time comes.”
On the team overall as the championship season approaches
“We potentially picked up some points today for the postseason and we made some good steps forward on both sides towards getting the women's team back to nationals and the men's team to nationals for the first time since 2011. For the women, we're a different team with Shelby (Hayes) fit and on the men's side, we're a different team with JL (Hines) in the lineup and we'll hope to have him back for the championship races in the next couple of weeks.”
NEXT UP
The Orange and Blue will have a two-week training period before the University of Florida plays host to the 2013 SEC Championships Nov. 1 at UF's Mark Bostick Golf Course. For all info about the Gator cross country squads, stay posted to www.GatorZone.com/crosscountry and visit 2013 SEC Championships Central in the coming weeks for all info related to SECs.
WISCONSIN ADIDAS INVITE (Florida Women's Results)
Women's 6K
26. Agata Strausa 20:18 * -- fifth fastest 6K in school history
66. Cory McGee 20:49
124. Taylor Tubbs 21:15 *
127. Julie Macedo 21:16 *
234. Shelby Hayes 22:26
244. Brittany Koziara 22:55
251. Macy Huskey 23:27
*PR
WISCONSIN ADIDAS INVITE (Women's Top 10 Team Results)
1. Arizona, 117
2. Arkansas, 136
3. Providence, 191
4. Michigan State, 200
5. Iowa State, 235
6. New Mexico, 240
7. Dartmouth, 246
8. Minnesota, 303
9. Washington, 308
10. San Francisco, 326
22. Florida, 577
WISCONSIN ADIDAS INVITE (Florida Men's Results)
Men's 8K
11. Mark Parrish 23:34 * -- SCHOOL RECORD
30. Jimmy Clark 23:52 * -- 10th fastest 8K in school history
74. Eddie Garcia 24:12 *
198. Carlos Miranda 24:59 *
229. Mac Reynolds 25:41 *
232. Elliot Clemente 25:45
243. Harsha Torke 27:20
*PR
WISCONSIN ADIDAS INVITE (Men's Top 10 Team Results)
1. Northern Arizona, 121
2. BYU, 174
3. Portland, 216
4. Wisconsin, 217
5. New Mexico, 252
6. Columbia, 261
7. Arkansas, 266
8. Syracuse, 307
9. Michigan, 324
10. Eastern Kentucky, 334
22. Florida, 542
