Clark, Garcia Prepare to Cap Five-Year Cross Country Careers at NCAA Championship
Thursday, November 19, 2015 | Cross Country
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Florida's top two runners all season long—redshirt seniors Jimmy Clark and Eddie Garcia—will cap their five-year cross country careers on Saturday (Nov. 21), when they run as individual competitors at the NCAA Championship in Louisville, Ky.
At last weekend's NCAA South Regional Championship, Clark finished fourth overall, while Garcia took fifth place, earning United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-South Region honors and becoming the 16th and 17th individuals in program history to qualify for nationals.
This will be Clark's fourth NCAA Championship appearance. In addition to an individual berth in 2012, the St. Johns, Fla. native ran on the UF teams that qualified in 2011 and 2013.
Garcia, a native of Jacksonville, Fla. also competed in Florida's last two NCAA Championship team berths.
MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern)
· Men's 10,000 Meters Race: 1:00 p.m.
· Venue: E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park (University of Louisville)
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
· This is just the second time in the program's 41-season history the Gators will have two individual runners at the same NCAA Championship. Mark Parrish and Jimmy Clark were the only other twosome to make it, doing so in 2012.
· Clark ran a 31:37.2 as an individual to finish 196th overall at the 2012 NCAA Championship, which was held in Louisville, Ky.
· Jeremy Criscione owns the highest individual finish by a Gator at the NCAA Championship, as he finished 20th overall in 2008
· Seven Gators have collected USTFCCA All-American honors, with Criscione's 2008 laurel being the most recent.
CHAMPIONSHIP CHATTER
Florida assistant cross country coach Paul Spangler on what it means for Eddie Garcia and Jimmy Clark to make it to nationals: “It's great to see two fifth-year seniors—who are from the same town, competed against each other in high school, with birthdays one day apart, are roommates—get through to nationals. I am really happy for those two guys.
“They are going to go into the race prepared and, with a good race, they certainly can be All-Americans. (An All-American honor), that's probably one of the only accolades they haven't won. They've just got to go in there, compete, and put themselves in position to have a chance to finish in the top 40.”
Jimmy Clark on the bittersweet feeling of qualifying as an individual: “It's a better experience with the team, and that was our goal this year: get the team there. It's unfortunate we weren't able to do that. To be going with Eddie … we are really looking forward to it. We're excited. This is what you work for all summer and all year. I won't be as nervous as I was as a freshman or sophomore.
Clark on his approach to the race: “There's really no difference between 41st and 200th, because you're not an All-American. Eddie and I feel confident in the shape we are in. It's All-American or bust for us. We are going to go for it. Being that it's the last time around, we are just really enjoying the road and the journey. It's going to be a lot of fun.”
Eddie Garcia on the feeling of knowing this will be his last collegiate cross country race: “Like (Head) Coach (Mike) Holloway always says, 'Last one, best one.' It's our last cross country national championship and we are going to put it all on the line. Obviously, we want to be All-Americans, so we are just going to go for it.”
OTHER NOTABLES
· Jimmy Clark is the only runner in program history to earn four USTFCCCA All-South Region honors.
· Clark is also one of seven conference runners to earn three first-team All-SEC accolades since the league began recognizing first-team and second-team awards in 2002.
· Clark enters the meet in a three-way tie for the sixth-most career individual top 10s (14) in UF history.
· Eddie Garcia is one of 11 Gators in school history with three USTFCCCA All-South Region laurels.
· Garcia, a two-time second-team All-SEC selection, won his only individual cross country title earlier this season at the Mountain Dew Invitational.
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