COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Florida women's cross country standout
Jessica Pascoe became the first Florida women's cross country runner to earn four consecutive individual titles in their first four meets on Saturday, winning the women's 6k race at the Arturo Barrios Invitational to lead the Florida women to a third-place team finish. Her performance today tops Jennifer McGranahan's, who previously held the record for achieving three consecutive titles in her first three meets of the 1998 season. Additionally,
Colin Schaefer would record a top-15 finish in the men's 8k race to pace the Florida men to a fourth-place team finish among the highly competitive field of teams at the meet.
After leading the pack at the 4.1k split in the women's 6k race, Pascoe was determined to bring home her fourth consecutive individual title. With Texas A&M's Kelsie Warren and Middle Tennessee's Eusila Chepkemei briefly on her heels, it was all she wrote as Pascoe put on the afterburners to blaze through the rest of the way in claiming the title 15 seconds faster than the next competitor (20:15.5), with a time of 20:00.4. Pascoe's performance would pave the way for the rest of Florida's top five in seeing one top-25 finish and the rest place among the top-40.
Given the competition that was present at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, the Gators look to be in a good position, seeing nine personal records on the day, heading into postseason competition after today's performances.
On the men's side, Florida (193 points) pulled out an impressive fourth-place finish, being without one of their top runners in redshirt senior
Jack Guyton. No. 11 Middle Tennessee (41 points) took the men's crown, while host Texas A&M (165 points) and Cal Baptist (172 points) followed in second and third respectively.
The Florida women continued their steady performance on the year, accounting for 117 points in third place, being without one of their top runners in redshirt senior
Elisabeth Bergh. Cal Baptist (75 points) would take the women's crown, while Middle Tennessee (81 points) followed in second place in front of the Gators.
The men's 8k race kicked off the day's competition, as
Colin Schaefer ran hard throughout the race to emerge as Florida's top finisher in 15
th place with a time of 24:07.9. Redshirt sophomore
Matt Clark was the next to cross the line for the Gators, breaking yet another personal record for the fourth consecutive meet with a time of 24:27.4.
Nick Deal (39
th) and
Trevor Foley (46
th) would follow next, as Deal's time of 24:43.3 proved to be a collegiate-best for the sophomore, while
Blake Lowery eventually went on to conclude the Gators' top-five finishers in 71
st place to grant the fourth-place team finish for the blue and orange.
In addition, freshman
Hugh Brittenham (74
th) also set a new personal record for his fourth consecutive meet, with a time of 25:13.5, to finish shortly behind Lowery.
Upon Pascoe crossing the finish line in first, junior
Payton Capes-Davis would be the second Gators to cross the finish line as usual, notching a new collegiate-best time of 21:06.7 to finish 22
nd. Shortly after, a trio of Gators in
Pamela O'Brien,
Imogen Barrett and
Maria Fernandez would pack together to round out Florida's top-five in the women's 5k race. O'Brien finished first out of the three, breaking away to finish 31
st with a new personal record of 21:23.0. A few competitors later, Barrett (36
th) and Fernandez (37
th) would finish back-to-back, as Fernandez also notched a collegiate-best performance with a time of 21:33.7 to complete the Gators' top-five finishers.
The Gators would continue to receive career efforts from freshmen
Emily Culley (21:51.6) and
Jackie Addy (21:55.2), as the two would achieve collegiate-best times to finish 53
rd and 61
st respectively. Redshirt senior
Madison Morse then rounded out all of Florida runners in the women's 5k race, finishing 81
st with a new personal record of 22:11.5.
THOUGHTS FROM ASSISTANT COACH CHRIS SOLINSKY:
- "Today was a good day for the program as a whole. The guys competed today and ran much closer to what their training has been. We add back a missing Jack Guyton, who had to take a trip for grad school, and we are competing for the top spots. This is the best this group has run since I've been here."
- "The women ran well today. They showed good progress and we are close to putting a complete team effort together. Similar to the men, we were without Elisabeth [Bergh] for the same trip and I'm eager to see how we do with a full squad. Jess [Pascoe] executed really well today and stayed controlled and strong despite feeling a little under the weather. She is setting herself up well for a strong end of the year."
- "I'm quite happy with where we are heading into the SEC meet and beyond, knowing the progress we can make in the postseason."
Gators Men – 8k
Gators Women – 6k
Arturo Barrios Invitational Meet Information:
- Venue: Watts Cross Country Course
- Men's 8k Race: 26 teams, 226 runners
- 1. No. 17 Middle Tennessee; 2. Texas A&M; 3. Cal Baptist; 4. Florida
- Women's 6k Race: 26 teams, 238 runners
- 1. Cal Baptist; 2. Middle Tennessee; 3. Florida
UP NEXT:
The Gators prepare for the 2019 SEC Championships in Lexington, Ky., hosted by the University of Kentucky, on Friday, Nov. 1
st.
