The Florida women’s cross country team achieved its preseason goal Monday but left the NCAA Championships less than satisfied.
The No. 5 Gators finished a school-record seventh out of 31 teams in Terre Haute, Ind. It was UF’s first top-10 finish at the national race in the program’s 30-year history, but the team’s 260 points were less than 10 shy of a top-five finish. Sixth-place finisher West Virginia had 259 points and fifth-place Princeton had 251.
Coach Todd Morgan said being so close to a top-five finish was bittersweet.
“The girls left the course today a little irritated,” Morgan said. “We plan on coming back here next year and doing even better.”
Redshirt sophomore Rebecca Lowe (14th, 20:19) and junior Charlotte Browning (19th, 20:26) led the way, earning Florida’s first All-America honors since Becki Wells in 1995. Lowe and Browning’s times rank first and second in the school record books for the NCAA 6K meet.
All five of UF’s scoring runners finished in the top 90 of the 250-woman race.
“It’s phenomenal for these girls who have worked so hard all year,” Morgan said. “They’ll look back on it, and it’s something they’ll be really proud of.”
Villanova, who was ranked No. 2 going into the meet, took home the national title while Florida State came in second. Washington, the 2008 NCAA Champion, came in third.
Despite a slightly disappointing finish, Monday capped off a record-breaking season for the Gators.
The team won the Southeastern Conference title as well as the NCAA South Regional meet.
The SEC title was the first since 1997, and it was 1998 when the Gators last won the South Region.
The team never finished worse than seventh this year and won three times.
Looking ahead to next season, the Gators anticipate finishing with better results than this year.
As of right now, the women’s team will only lose one senior, Julie Northrup.
Graduate student Stacey Johnson has to get approval to complete her second year of eligibility in order to compete next season.
Morgan said he is looking to add three impact runners for the fall.
“Florida is a great place to go to school,” Morgan said. “You always have a shot at getting really good athletes here.
“Now they know how great of a team we have so I doubt it will be hard for me to fill the team.”
