Leading the Pack: Greene, Tubbs Ready to Guide Mix of Young and Experienced Gators
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 | Cross Country
By Zach Dirlam
UAA Communications
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Plenty has been said about the youth of the Florida women's cross country team entering the 2015 season, but that chatter is a bit misleading.
Yes, the Gators will turn to several of the 12 newcomers for contributions this year. And, yes, the 19-runner roster does feature 16 underclassmen.
But with a pair of accomplished veterans—junior Taylor Tubbs and redshirt sophomore Becky Greene—leading this young, yet experienced group, UF assistant cross country coach Paul Spangler isn't stressing over the team's class breakdown.
“It's good to have older athletes up front,” said Spangler, entering his fourth season with the Gators. “Taylor and Becky are going to be the leaders of the group. Both are in good shape right now and I think they'll have very good seasons. Taylor has improved tremendously in her two years here. Becky was an NCAA Indoor Championships qualifier in the mile as a freshmen, and now she has the potential to make an impact at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
“They'll both continue to get better this year.”
Greene and Tubbs are hoping their grueling summer workouts overseas will enable them to build on their 2014 successes, as both finished in the top 25 at the NCAA South Regional Championship, collecting USTFCCCA All-South Region laurels.
While visiting her sister in the Middle East, Greene dashed through the deserts of Abu Dhabi, honing her craft in temperatures well over 100 degrees. All those miles logged on the piping-hot sands make the heat and humidity of Florida feel like a mild fall afternoon.
As she prepared her body for the upcoming season, Greene adapted a new mindset as well. Realizing she would be assuming a leadership role this year, the usually soft-spoken New Zealander had to find her voice, one she could motivate and embolden her teammates with.
“I'm used to just training by myself and being a quiet individual. It has been quite different,” Greene said. “(I) have more people to think about now. I'm trying to encourage people, if they have a tough session, to keep sticking together and not worry about it too much.
“It's less about me and more about the team. I've enjoyed it a lot more.”
A native of Sebring, Fla., Tubbs and junior Amber Johnson spent their summers studying abroad and training in Netherlands.
Known for her encouraging, positive leadership, Tubbs has even more confidence guiding her teammates now that she's an upperclassman, according to Greene.
For Tubbs, nothing feels different. The only changes in her mind were with her daily routine, which is just part of a collegiate athlete's maturation process.
“I'm getting stronger, getting smarter about how I train, how I eat,” Tubbs said. “It just comes with age, honestly. Just being older and being in the environment longer has made it easier.”
Behind Greene and Tubbs, four runners with meet experience return.
Sophomore Lauren Brasure, who ran the second-fastest 5-kilometer time in UF Golf Course history (16:45.93) to win the 2014 Mountain Dew Invitational, headlines the determined faction. Spangler also believes redshirt junior Devin McDermott, the 40th-place finisher at the NCAA South Regional Championship a year ago, has made considerable strides and is ready to shine.
“All the returners are really close,” Tubbs said. “We have a lot of memories from last season that bonded us together.”
Redshirt freshman Lauren Perry, along with international newcomers Maria Larsen, the Danish 3,000 meters indoor record holder and top European finisher at the 2015 IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships, and Caitlin McQuilkin-Bell, a product of Tamborine, Australia, will be three Gators to keep an eye on come mid-October.
Freshmen Julie Wollrath, a three-time FHSAA Class 1A Cross Country State Championships winner, and 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships 1,500 meters qualifier Elisabeth Bergh drew early praise from Spangler as well.
However, all the newcomers are pushing the veterans, ensuring every spot in Florida's lineup will have to be earned.
“We've got some freshmen with great experience,” Spangler said. “I don't expect them to act like freshmen. I anticipate they're going to come in here and compete like juniors and seniors right away.”
Although the freshmen are still getting acclimated to Florida's conditioning program, they can take solace in the fact the returners are adjusting, too.
Last season, the Gators started strong—a bit too strong, one could argue—with wins at the Western Carolina and Mountain Dew invitationals, but lost momentum once the postseason hit. Florida settled for seventh at the SEC Championships, and finished fifth at the NCAA South Region Championship.
With a revamped approach to offseason and in-season training, the Gators believe this new strategy sets them up to meet their coach's high expectations.
“(Last year) was tough. Our goal is not to be seventh in the conference and fifth in the region. Year in and year out, our goal is to contend for an SEC title and qualify for the NCAA Championships,” Spangler said. “It certainly motivated us to get better. It motivated them to work their tails off this summer so we can come back and prove that we belong atop the SEC, belong at the NCAA Championships.
“With this group of girls, now that they're older, they're more experienced, they're excited because they know they're a lot better.”
Florida, tied for third in the SEC Cross Country Coaches Preseason Poll and ranked fifth in the South Region by the USTFCCCA, opens the season in the mountains, racing at the Appalachian State Invitational on Sept. 4.
After hosting the Mountain Dew Invitational on Sept. 19, trips to the Notre Dame Invitational (Oct. 2) and Pre-Nationals (Oct. 17) provide opportunities to score at-large points for postseason. Then, of course, it will be time for the SEC Championship (Oct. 30) and NCAA South Region Championship (Nov. 13).
“We race every two weeks, which fits well into our training program,” Spangler said. “After the first two meets, it's down to business.”
Don't worry, Tubbs and Greene will have the Gators ready.
“Winning (the) SEC Championship is not out of the question,” Tubbs said. “And I think we definitely have a team that can qualify for nationals this year.”
