Florida Gators

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Gators made their presence well known in enemy territory on Friday morning, as the Florida men's and women's cross country team swept first-place team finishes at the Florida State Invitational, hosted at the Apalachee Regional Park. Senior Jessica Pascoe continued her dominant performance this season, collecting her third individual title in three meets this season, while the men's Matt Clark, Colin Schaefer and Jack Guyton tallied 3-4-5 finishes to lead the Florida men to victory. The women additionally saw three top-10 finishes on the day, with personal-best efforts from Payton Capes-Davis, Imogen Barrett and Pamela O'Brien, to guide Florida to victory.
 
The Florida men (34 points) narrowly edged North Florida (37 points) for the first-place finish, while Stetson would finish third in the men's 8k race with 111 points. Florida dominated the women's field, accounting for 29 points, while host No. 11 Florida State (63 points) and Division II Tampa (127 points) followed in second and third-place respectively in the women's 5k.
 
In total, the Gators enjoyed 11 personal records on the day, with eight coming from the women's 5k race and three in the men's 8k.
 
Redshirt sophomore Matt Clark continues to up his performance, notching his first career top-five finish in third place with a collegiate-best 8k time of 24:43. Colin Schaefer (24:47.4) and Jack Guyton (24:48.5) followed shortly after, rounding out the race's top-five to secure the 3-4-5 finish for the Gators. With four of UNF's top five runners finishing within the top-12, Trevor Foley (25:19) and Blake Lowery (25:24.4) saved the day for the Gators, hustling to cross the finish line 15^th and 16^th respectively, edging UNF's Sem Sultanov in 17^th-place to secure the victory for Florida. The Gators would then see top-25 finishes from Marshall Dillon (25:37.8) and Matt Bomkamp (25:43.1), finishing 21^st and 24^th respectively in their best performances of the season.
 
Additionally, several Gators featured in the top-50, as Nick Deal placed 28^th, while freshman Hugh Brittenham (34^th) continues to improve in recording a collegiate-best time of 26:09.6 in the men's 8k. Dominic Williams (26:10.6) crossed the line in 35^th, while freshman Cavan Wilson notched a collegiate-best performance of 26:18.7 to finish 44^th.
 
The women's 5k race in Tallahassee seemed to be destined for the Gators, as 10 of Florida's 12 runners finished within the top-40, with Florida's top five finishers included in the top-15 and three within the top-25.
 
Jessica Pascoe brought another determined approach to Friday morning's 5k race, as the senior notched her third consecutive individual title this season with a time of 17:20.1. Payton Capes-Davis would follow up in fourth to notch a top-five finish for the Gators, while achieving a personal-best time 17:48.1 in the race. Shortly after, Imogen Barrett (7^th) and Pamela O'Brien (8^th) rounded out the Gators in the top-10, finishing with collegiate-best times of 17:57.7 and 18:00.4 respectively, as Elisabeth Bergh (18:11.2) would finish 15^th to cap the Gators' top five finishers in the women's 5k race.
 
Freshman Maria Fernandez would finish 21^st with a collegiate-best time of 18:21.1, followed by another pair of collegiate-best efforts in Madison Morse (18:24.7) and Emily Culley (18:25.1), who finished 23^rd and 24^th respectively. Freshman Jackie Addy recorded a personal-best time of 18:43.1 in finishing 35^th, while Grace Blair (39^th) and Gianna Forte followed, with Forte recording a personal-best time of 19:10 in 52^nd place.
 
Gators Men – 8k

FINISH	RUNNER	TIME
3	Matt Clark	24:43.0 (PR)
4	Colin Schaefer	24:47.4
5	Jack Guyton	24:48.5
15	Trevor Foley	25:19.0
16	Blake Lowery	25:24.4
21	Marshall Dillon	25:37.8
24	Matt Bomkamp	25:43.1
28	Nick Deal	25:50.7
34	Hugh Brittenham	26:09.6 (PR)
35	Dominic Williams	26:10.6
44	Cavan Wilson	26:18.7 (PR)
58	Carson Lyttle	26:27.8
64	Caden Monk	26:35.6
81	Jesse Millson	26:59.5

 
Gators Women – 5k

FINISH	RUNNER	TIME
1	Jessica Pascoe	17:20.1
4	Payton Capes-Davis	17:48.1 (PR)
7	Imogen Barrett	17:57.7 (PR)
8	Pamela O'Brien	18:00.4 (PR)
15	Elisabeth Bergh	18:11.2
21	Maria Fernandez	18:21.1 (PR)
23	Madison Morse	18:24.7 (PR)
24	Emily Culley	18:25.1 (PR)
35	Jackie Addy	18:43.1 (PR)
39	Grace Blair	18:48.5
52	Gianna Forte	19:10.0 (PR)
56	Sophie Piniella	19:16.1

 
THOUGHTS FROM ASSISTANT COACH CHRIS SOLINSKY:

• "The men and women came to compete today. They were aggressive and ran tough today. We recently finished a tough training block and now we turn to racing and keep building momentum"
• "The men were aggressive and ran tough as a team. They did a good job of finding each other and pushing one another the whole race. The best is yet to come."
• "The women got the job done. We accomplished what we came here to do and that was to compete and build confidence."

 
FSU INVITATIONAL MEET INFORMATION:

• Venue: Apalachee Regional Park
• Men's 8k: 211 runners, 26 teams
  • 1. Florida; 2. North Florida; 3. Stetson
• Women's 5k: 228 runner, 32 teams
  • 1. Florida; 2. No. 11 Florida State; 3. Tampa

 
UP NEXT:

• The Gators take the course again next weekend, gearing up for the Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station, Texas on Saturday, Oct. 19.