After winning the Southeastern Conference Championship two weeks ago, the No. 3 women’s team is focused on something else: the NCAA Championship.
The team will need to finish in the top two at the NCAA South Regionals on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to earn an automatic bid. If it cannot place first or second, it is possible to obtain an at-large bid to advance to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23.
According to coach Todd Morgan, getting an automatic bid will be the easiest and least stressful way to continue the season.
“We are going to go out there and try to finish in the top two and get that automatic bid,” he said. “We don’t want to be waiting around until Sunday to find out if we move on.”
The women’s team has attended nationals for the past three years after finishing second in the regional race in 2006 and 2008. The team earned an at-large bid in 2007 after finishing third at regionals.
Graduate student Stacey Johnson, who is in her first season as a Gator, hopes for an individual top-10 finish but said it is more important for the team to run well.
“It’s really good to come into a team that is doing so great,” she said. “Cross country isn’t an individual sport, and if everyone is running their best in the race, then the team will do well.”
Morgan said even if the women’s team does not place first or second, he believes it will have a strong chance at moving on with an at-large bid due to its dominance at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 2 and the Pre-NCAA Invitational on Oct. 17. The women finished third and second at those two races, respectively.
While the women have a decent shot at advancing, the men’s team realizes it could be running its last race of the season.
“For some of us, this is our last chance to go to nationals,” senior Justin Taylor said. “We are going into this race where we realize this could be it. We control our own destiny.”
Last season, the men’s team finished fourth at the regional meet and was one of the first teams eliminated from earning an at-large bid.
“Realistically, the men need to finish third to have a shot at moving on,” Morgan said. “If we can get third, we can hope that we get pushed in with an at-large bid. I think finishing in third is very possible.”
Although the men’s team has seen individual success with a runner finishing in the top 10 for the last six years, the team has not been to the NCAA Championships since 2006.
The top two teams in each region will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. For teams not finishing in the top two, at-large bids will be announced Sunday. It is possible for individuals to advance to the NCAA Championship meet if their team does not.
