Valby Places Fourth at SEC Championships; Receives First Team All-SEC Honors

Friday, October 29

Columbia, Mo. / Gans Creek Cross Country Course

M: 8K @ 11:08 AM / W: 6K @ 11:50 AM

Florida Gators

SEC Championships

Valby Places Fourth at SEC Championships; Receives First Team All-SEC Honors

Friday, October 29, 2021 | Cross Country

Results (PDF)

By: Casey Montalvo

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Parker Valby ran the best race of her Florida career thus far to place fourth individually at the SEC Championships hosted by Missouri on Friday, Oct. 29. Valby and the rest of the women posted a sixth-place finish, while the men finished in seventh place.

Valby, the freshman out of Tampa, Fla., has been the top Gator finisher in every race she's competed in so far. Today she collected yet another personal record mark after running a 6k time of 20:11.8 to place fourth for Florida. Not only did she lead the race through the first 4,000 meters, but she claimed First Team All-SEC honors. She now ranks sixth all-time in Florida's SEC 6k history and 10^th all-time in Florida's 6k record book among all courses.

As a team, the women finished sixth out of 14 – up two spots from the eighth-place mark where they were selected to finish in the preseason. Five placed in the top-50 as Valby was fourth, Vasileia Spyrou was 31^st with a time of 21:25.5, Stephanie Ormsby finished 41^st with a mark of 21:37.1, Maria Fernandez was 46^th with a time of 21:44.1 and Jordan Shapiro placed 50^th with a personal-record 6k time of 21:46.6. Ormsby was also added to the SEC All-Freshman Team for her performance.

"The women had another near miss as far as a team performance," assistant coach Chris Solinsky said. "We know they are better than sixth, but still haven't put all the pieces together. Parker is gaining confidence with every race and today she mixed it up with NCAA Champions and didn't flinch. We will tweak her execution a little bit for the next two meets."

Ethan Geiger crossed the finish line first for the men's team for the third meet this season after finishing 40^th with an 8k time of 24:49.8. Cavan Wilson was right behind Geiger at the finish line as he placed 42^nd with a new personal-best mark of 24:50.9.

Freshmen Joe Wester and Michael Fiore ran strong races as well after claiming the 44^th and 47^th spots, respectively, to round out the top-50 for the Gators. Wester posted a time of 24:55.3, while Fiore collected a personal-record time of 25:00.7 as both Gators were named to the All-Freshman Team for their performances. Freshman Matt Mule' was also close to making the SEC All-Freshman Team, missing the list by two spots, after posting a 58^th-place finish with a time of 25:11.2.

"The men had an average day out there today," Solinsky said. "There were good things to take away and use as momentum. We are a team primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores, and they learned a lot. We continue to gain valuable experience. I challenged the guys to remove their self-imposed limitations. Once they do that, it will be a whole new team."

MEN'S RESULTS
Team Finish
Florida – 7^th of 12 (215 points)

Individual Finishes
Ethan Geiger – 40^th, 24:49.8
Cavan Wilson – 42^nd, 24:50.9
Joe Wester – 44^th, 24:55.3
Michael Fiore – 47^th, 25:00.7
Matt Mule' – 58^th, 25:11.2
Angel Vicioso – 64^th, 25:17.4
Reed Legg – 68^th, 25:26.8
Nick Deal – 71^st, 25:31.6
Javi Vento – 78^th, 25:42.5
Josh Stern – 96^th, 26:27.7

WOMEN'S RESULTS
Team Finish
Florida – 6^th of 14 (170 points)

Individual Finishes
Parker Valby – 4^th, 20:11.8
Vasileia Spyrou – 31^st, 21:25.5
Stephanie Ormsby – 41^st, 21:37.1
Maria Fernandez – 46^th, 21:44.1
Jordan Shapiro – 50^th, 21:46.6
Pamela O'Brien – 57^th, 21:52.2
Gianna Forte – 73^rd, 22:10.0
Imogen Barrett – 78^th, 22:14.2
Emily Culley – 80^th, 22:15.0
Liina Winborn – 90^th, 22:35.7

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