Florida Gators
Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational
Florida Men, Women Post 12th-Place Finishes at Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational
Friday, October 2, 2015 | Cross Country
*Men's Results | Women's Results*
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Florida men's and women's cross country teams both posted 12th-place finishes at the historic Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday (Oct. 2) afternoon.
While the men were led by a pair of redshirt seniors, two true freshmen made a bit of history for the Gators.
Maria Larsen crossed 21st overall, the highest finish by a Florida freshman in any of the team's six trips to the event since the turn of the century. Her time of 17:02.9 was also the fastest by any Gator freshman at the event during that span, topping Genevieve LaCaze's time of 17:15, which put her in 31st place as a freshman back in 2008.
Elisabeth Bergh was the second Florida runner across the finish line, notching a 32nd-place finish. The Haugesund, Norway native joined Larsen and LaCaze as the only other Gator freshmen to finish higher than 83rd at this event since at least 2000.
On the men's side, Jimmy Clark and Eddie Garcia tallied top-30 finishes, helping Florida score a victory over No. 18 Arizona State.
Clark paced the team, taking 19th place, which marked just the seventh top-20 finish by a Gator at the event since at least 2000. Garcia finished in 27th place, making it the fourth time in Florida's last six trips to South Bend, Ind. it had two runners crack the top 30.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
· Maria Larsen (21st), Elisabeth Bergh (32nd), and Maddox Patterson (103rd) are the first trio of Florida freshmen to finish inside the top 130 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational since at least 2000
· Jimmy Clark (24:10.6) and Eddie Garcia (24:20.4) clocked the fifth- and seventh-fastest 5-mile times, respectively, by a Gator at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational since at least 2000
RESULTS
| Gator Men – 5 Miles |
| |
| Place (Pts) | Runner | Time |
| 19. (19) | Jimmy Clark | 24:10.6 |
| 27. (27) | Eddie Garcia | 24:20.4 |
| 54. (54) | Carlos Miranda | 24:45.2 |
| 80. (78) | Charles Chambers | 24:54.6 |
| 103. (100) | Mac Reynolds | 25:09.0 |
| 109. (105) | Jack Beitter | 25:12.2 |
| 120. (113) | Magnus Pettersen | 25:20.1 |
| 126. | Jack Guyton | 25:26.5 |
| 143. | Seamus Love | 25:51.3 |
| Men's Top Five Division I Teams |
| |
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1. | UTEP | 89 |
| 2. | No. 27 N.C. State | 97 |
| 3. | No. 26 Colorado State | 126 |
| 4. | No. 23 Southern Utah | 134 |
| 5. | Purdue | 190 |
| 12. | Florida | 278 |
| Gator Women – 5k | ||
| Place (Pts) | Runner | Time |
| 21. (21) | Maria Larsen | 17:02.9* |
| 32. (32) | Elisabeth Bergh | 17:13.3* |
| 103. (96) | Maddox Patterson | 18:02.0* |
| 109. (102) | Becky Greene | 18:08.9 |
| 116. (107) | Taylor Tubbs | 18:12.1 |
| 123. (111) | Caitlin McQuilkin-Bell | 18:15.8* |
| 131. (118) | Delaney Tiernan | 18:19.8* |
| 145. | Meg Schloss | 18:33.1* |
| 155. | Lauren Brasure | 18:46.2 |
| Women's Division I Team Scores | ||
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1. | No. 1 New Mexico | 29 |
| 2. | No. 14 N.C. State | 74 |
| 3. | No. 20 Notre Dame | 143 |
| 4. | No. 22 Vanderbilt | 150 |
| 5. | Utah | 164 |
| 12. | Florida | 358 |
Note: All individual places indicate the runner's finish among Division I competitors; * - denotes collegiate personal best
COACH SPANGLER SPEAKS
Florida cross country assistant coach Paul Spangler on the women's performance: “Maria (Larsen) and Elisabeth (Bergh) did a great job up front, Maddox Patterson had a personal best in our three spot. But Taylor Tubbs is sick, and Becky Greene lost her shoe 1,000 meters into the race. We are a lot better when those two are running well. Unfortunately, we had some mishaps today.”
Spangler on the men's performance: “I thought the men, especially Jimmy (Clark) and Eddie (Garcia) up front, did a really good job. Not happy with the team place today, thought we would finish higher up than that, but we will get back to work and get ready for (Pre-Nationals).”
UP NEXT
Florida's next races are in two weeks. The Gators will send runners to the South Florida Invitational (Oct. 16) in Tampa, Fla. and Pre-Nationals (Oct. 17) in Louisville, Ky.
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