Florida Gators
NCAA South Regional Championship
Clark, Garcia Advance to NCAA Championship; Larsen, Miranda Collect All-Region Honors
Friday, November 13, 2015 | Cross Country
*Men's Results | Women's Results*
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – While the Florida men's and women's cross country teams saw their respective seasons end at Friday's (Nov. 13) NCAA South Regional Championship, redshirt seniors Jimmy Clark and Eddie Garcia each recorded top-five finishes to advance to the NCAA Championship as individuals.
Clark crossed fourth overall to earn his fourth United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-South Region accolade. By doing so, the St. Johns, Fla. native became first four-time All-South Region honoree in program history.
Garcia crossed a mere three seconds behind Clark, taking fifth place. In addition to clocking a personal-best 10k time, the Jacksonville, Fla. product nabbed his third USTFCCCA All-South Region honor. He is now the 11th Gator in program history with three All-South Region laurels.
Junior Carlos Miranda was the only other Gator on the men's side to secure an All-South Region spot, as he finished 21st overall and helped the team to a third-place finish.
For the women, who finished ninth as a team, freshman Maria Larsen was the first Gator to cross, placing 16th overall to nab an All-South Region plaudit. Junior Taylor Tubbs narrowly missed out on her second consecutive All-South Region honor, placing 26th.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
· Jimmy Clark joins Mark Parrish as the only other Gator since 1998 with multiple top-five finishes at the NCAA South Regional Championship.
· Clark is also the only Gator since 1998 with four top-15 finishes at the NCAA South Regional Championship.
· Clark collected the 14th top-10 finish of his career, moving him into a three-way tie for the sixth-most in UF history.
· Eddie Garcia is one of six Gators since 1998 with multiple top-10 finishes at the NCAA South Regional Championship; he's also the fifth UF runner with three top-15 finishes during that span.
· Maria Larsen tied Cory McGee (2010) for the third-highest finish by a true freshman at the NCAA South Regional Championship since 1998.
· Larsen's time of 20:42.13 was also the third-fastest 6k by a Gator freshman at the NCAA South Regional Championship since 1998, only ranking behind Cory McGee (20:35.65 – 2010) and Lauren Brasure (20:35.20 – 2014).
· Today marked the 12th time since 1998 the UF men's team placed three runners in the top 25 at the NCAA South Regional Championship.
RESULTS
| Gator Men – 10k |
| |
| Place (Pts) | Runner | Time |
| 4. (4) | Jimmy Clark | 30:42.29* |
| 5. (5) | Eddie Garcia | 30:45.75* |
| 21. (21) | Carlos Miranda | 31:28.80 |
| 36. (35) | Jack Guyton | 31:56.16 |
| 38. (37) | Mac Reynolds | 31:58.40 |
| 67. (65) | Magnus Pettersen | 32:41.23 |
| Men's Top Five Teams |
| |
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1. | Florida State | 58 |
| 2. | Ole Miss | 62 |
| 3. | Florida | 102 |
| 4. | Georgia | 127 |
| 5. | Auburn | 174 |
| Gator Women – 6k | ||
| Place (Pts) | Runner | Time |
| 16. (15) | Maria Larsen | 20:42.13 |
| 26. (25) | Taylor Tubbs | 21:04.84 |
| 44. (43) | Becky Greene | 21:31.01 |
| 86. (82) | Maddox Patterson | 22:14.23 |
| 96. (91) | Elisabeth Bergh | 22:27.03 |
| 118. (111) | Devin McDermott | 22:43.16 |
| 173. (163) | Caitlin McQuilkin-Bell | 23:43.22 |
| Women's Top Five Teams | ||
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1. | No. 27 Vanderbilt | 65 |
| 2. | No. 17 Mississippi State | 78 |
| 3. | Alabama | 135 |
| 4. | Florida State | 139 |
| 5. | Auburn | 186 |
| 9. | Florida | 256 |
* - denotes collegiate personal best; Note: Top-25 finishers in each race earned USTFCCCA All-South Region honors
USTFCCCA ALL-SOUTH REGION HONOREES
Jimmy Clark – Fourth All-Region honor
Eddie Garcia – Third All-Region honor
Carlos Miranda – First All-Region honor
Maria Larsen – First All-Region honor
COURSE QUOTES
Florida cross country assistant coach Paul Spangler on the women's performance: “I thought Maria (Larsen) did a good job up front. Taylor (Tubbs) did a decent job; Becky (Greene) had a much-improved race from (where she was) at the SEC Championship. We will have the whole team back next year, and we have to continue to move forward and get better.”
Spangler on the men's performance: “The men were also much improved from where they were at at the SEC Championship—one place out of making it to nationals. Eddie (Garcia) and Jimmy (Clark) getting through as individuals. I'm extremely proud of them. Carlos (Miranda) did a nice job to earn All-Region honors. Jack (Guyton) was much improved.
We weren't satisfied; obviously we wanted to qualify for nationals, but we had a much better race than we did at the SEC Championship. Overall, I was proud of the effort by the men today.”
UP NEXT
Jimmy Clark and Eddie Garcia now have one week to prepare for the NCAA Championship, which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
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