Pascoe Finishes Runner-Up, Gators Finish Eighth at NCAA South Regionals

Friday, November 15

Tallahassee, FL

Florida Gators

NCAA South Regional Championships

Pascoe Finishes Runner-Up, Gators Finish Eighth at NCAA South Regionals

Friday, November 15, 2019 | Cross Country

Men's 10k Results Women's 6k Results

By: Carroll Rich

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Senior Jessica Pascoe punched her ticket to the 2019 NCAA Championships after collecting All-South Region honors with a runner-up finish to pace the Gators to an eighth-place finish in the women's 6k race. On the men's side, Colin Schaefer would lead the way for the Florida men with a top-25 finish to also nab All-South Region recognition, while the men would see four top-50 finishes to conclude the season with an eighth-place finish in the men's 10k race at the Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee on Friday morning.

Pascoe will be the lone Gator competing for the blue and orange next Saturday, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Ind., as the senior will look to finish out the 2019 season with consecutive All-American honors.

The Florida women accounted for 189 points to finish eighth, as host No. 12 Florida State (42 points) claimed the 2019 South Regional Championships title, while No. 27 Ole Miss (100 points) and Tennessee (144 points) finished second and third respectively. On the men's side, the Gators finished with 220 points, as No. 11 Ole Miss (69 points) took the crown, followed by No. 15 Middle Tennessee State and No. 28 Alabama.

The women's 6k race started the morning off at the Apalachee Regional Park, seeing three of the Gators' top five finish within the top-35, while the other two finished in the top-70.

Jessica Pascoe came out the gates establishing her position within the race's top five before she would subtly move through the pack to secure her second-place position from the 4.6k split on. No. 27 Ole Miss' Joyce Kimeli would blaze through the course to take the women's 6k crown in 19:59.5, as Pascoe (20:14.2) would cross the line shortly after to add a fifth-straight top-10 finish to her resume on the 2019 season. Imogen Barrett and Elisabeth Bergh ran hard throughout the race to finish next for the Gators, as Barrett (21:04.1) and Bergh (21:05.0) crossed the line in 31^st and 33^rd respectively. Pamela O'Brien (21:30.1) went on to place 57^th before Payton Capes-Davis (21:45.6) would go on to complete the Gators' top five runners in 70^th-place.

Freshmen Maria Fernandez (22:17.4) and Emily Culley rounded out Florida's runners in the women's 6k, finishing in 97^th and 104^th respectively to conclude the season for the Florida women.

The Florida men ran tough, as all seven runners notched personal records in the men's 10k race to conclude the season.

Redshirt-junior Colin Schaefer repeated as Florida's top-finisher at the South Regionals, emerging through the Florida pack throughout the race to finish in a collegiate-best time of 31:00.3. Redshirt-senior Jack Guyton followed Schaefer, running a personal-best time of 31:31.4 to finish 41^st, while Nick Deal (31:36.0) and Matt Clark (31:37.1) each trailed Guyton to finish 45^th and 46^th respectively in collegiate-best times. Blake Lowery then rounded out the Florida men's top five, crossing the line in 71^st-place in a personal-best time of 32:12.4.

Freshman Hugh Brittenham ran 32:50.8 to finish 99^th in his first collegiate 10k of his career, while sophomore Trevor Foley (132^nd) would complete the Gators competing in Friday's South Regionals with a collegiate-best time of 33:46.8.

Gators Women – 6k

Place	Runner	Time
2	Jessica Pascoe	20:14.2
31	Imogen Barrett	21:04.1
33	Elisabeth Bergh	21:05.0
57	Pamela O'Brien	21:30.1
70	Payton Capes-Davis	21:45.6
97	Maria Fernandez	22:17.4
104	Emily Culley	22:21.9

Gators Men – 10k

Place	Runner	Time
22	Colin Schaefer	31:00.3 (PR)
41	Jack Guyton	31:31.4 (PR)
45	Nick Deal	31:36.0 (PR)
46	Matt Clark	31:37.1 (PR)
71	Blake Lowery	32:12.4 (PR)
99	Hugh Brittenham	32:50.8 (PR)
132	Trevor Foley	33:46.8 (PR)

THOUGHTS FROM ASSISTANT COACH CHRIS SOLINSKY:

"Today was the culmination of a tough year of growth for our men's and women's team. We had a lot of good things happen this year that show great things in the future. Jess [Pascoe] got the job done today. She did a great job of running what she needed for the team and herself without leaving it all on the course. She will be ready to really compete for another All-American spot and high finish next weekend."
"The women had a solid day. It was good to see Imogen [Barrett] and Elisabeth [Bergh] look more like themselves after having a rough season with sickness. We had a young and inexperienced team that really learned a lot this year which makes me excited for track and next season."
"The men did a good job today. Colin [Schaefer] is growing with experience and confidence. He ran a great race and he is just getting started with what he is capable of. I thought Jack [Guyton], Nick [Deal], and Matt [Clark] did a great job of running as a pack. This year was a deep year at the region and we are going to continue to keep developing and keep moving up the leader board."

NCAA SOUTH REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Venue: Apalachee Regional Park
Men's 10k Race: 24 teams, 169 runners
- 1. No. 11 Ole Miss; 2. No. 15 Middle Tennessee State; 3. No. 28 Alabama
Women's 6k Race: 27 teams, 200 runners
- 1. No. 12 Florida State; 2. No. 27 Ole Miss; 3. Tennessee