Garcia Collects SEC Men’s Runner of the Week Honor Following Mountain Dew Invitational Win
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 | Cross Country
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Three days after winning the first individual cross country title of his five-year career with the Gators, redshirt senior Eddie Garcia was named the Southeastern Conference Men's Runner of the Week, the league announced Tuesday morning.
Garcia clocked the sixth-fastest 8,000-meter time (24:48.98) by an SEC runner this season, taking first place at last Saturday's (Sept. 19) Mountain Dew Invitational, hosted by Florida. He became the seventh male Gator to earn top individual honors at the Mountain Dew Invitational since the meet was renamed in 2005.
The Jacksonville, Fla. native's time was also the fastest by an SEC athlete last week.
The reigning SEC outdoor track and field 10,000 meters champion, Garcia helped the Gator men's cross country team finish second, just one point behind North Florida, at their lone home event of the season.
This is the third consecutive season a Gator has earned SEC Men's Runner of the Week honors following a strong performance at the Mountain Dew Invitational.
UP NEXT
Garcia and the Gators will spend the next two weeks gearing up for the Notre Dame Invitational (Oct. 2) in South Bend, Ind., an event in which they can score at-large points for the postseason, and the Florida State Invitational (Oct. 2) in Tallahassee, Fla. Both the men's and women's teams will send runners to each of the two events slated for next Friday.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
PERFORMANCE LISTS: Women | Men
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
