Gators Enter SEC Championship as Underdogs

Friday, October 28

Fayetteville, AR

11AM

Florida Gators

SEC Championship

The Gators are looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance at last year's SEC Championship.

Gators Enter SEC Championship as Underdogs

Thursday, October 27, 2016 | Cross Country

Florida was picked to finish fourth on the women's side and tie for fifth on the men's side in the preseason poll

By: Zach Dirlam

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Florida cross country program begins postseason competition Friday (Oct. 28) morning at the SEC Championship, hosted by the University of Arkansas.

In the SEC Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released in August, Florida's women were picked to finish fourth, and its men were slotted to tie for fifth place.

Senior Taylor Tubbs is UF's top returning finisher on the women's side from a year ago, as she crossed 18th overall. The Sebring, Fla. native also finished 24th at the conference meet as a sophomore in 2014.

Sophomore Elisabeth Bergh finished 21st overall and nabbed an SEC All-Freshman Team plaudit last year, while classmate Maddox Patterson made her conference championship debut with a 55th-place finish.

Newcomers Noora Wallenius and Jessica Pascoe figure to make an immediate impact in their first SEC Championship. Wallenius won last year's Sun Belt Championship as a freshman at Arkansas-Little Rock, and Pascoe, the 2016 Australian Junior Cross Country Championships winner, has come across no later than third for the Gators this year.

For the men, senior Carlos Miranda enters as UF's top runner, having crossed first for the Gators in all four races this year. The Naples, Fla. product is eyeing his first top-25 finish in what will be his fourth career SEC Championship race.

Sophomore Jack Guyton clocked an 8k personal record and earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors last year, finishing 52nd overall and fifth among freshmen runners. Fellow sophomore Magnus Pettersen, along with redshirt sophomores Jack Beitter and Mac Macoy, and redshirt senior Mac Reynolds all return to the SEC Championship, though Reynolds was the only one to finish inside the top 50 last season, placing 49th.

Start times, team listings, and UF's expected competitors for the SEC Championship are listed below.

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP MEET INFORMATION (all times Eastern)

Live Results (Flash Results)
Meet Website
Women's 6.0 kilometers Race: 11:00 a.m.
Men's 8.0 kilometers Race: 12:00 p.m.
Venue: Agri Park (University of Arkansas)
UF Men Competing: Jack Beitter, Jack Guyton, Mac Macoy, Carlos Miranda, Magnus Pettersen, Mac Reynolds, Colin Schaefer, Connor Vaughan
UF Women Competing: Elisabeth Bergh, Hannah Brookover, Maggie Parrish, Jessica Pascoe, Maddox Patterson, Taylor Tubbs, Noora Wallenius

2016 SEC CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL

WOMEN
Rank	Team	Points
1	Arkansas	13
2	Vanderbilt	35
3	Mississippi State	46
4	*Florida*	51
5	Ole Miss	64
6	Missouri	66
7	Alabama	91
8	Texas A&M	100
9	Auburn	101
10	Kentucky	110
11	Georgia	134
12	Tennessee	143
13	South Carolina	151
14	LSU	169

MEN
Rank	Team	Points
1	Arkansas	14
2	Ole Miss	21
3	Texas A&M	36
4	Kentucky	49
*t-5*	*Florida*	67
	Missouri	67
7	Alabama	79
t-8	Auburn	86
	Georgia	86
10	Mississippi State	115
11	Tennessee	118
12	LSU	134
13	Vanderbilt	142