In what will prove to be the shortest race of the season for Florida's cross country teams, two newcomers didn't wait long to make an impact for the Gators.
Fueled by a pair of wins by first year Kenyan runner Florence N'Getich and freshman Jimmy Clark, the No. 22 UF women's squad and No. 26 men swept the top five individual finishes in each of their races to claim the Western Carolina Invitational on Friday.
"We went in maybe a little more fatigued than we would in another meet later in the year," Morgan said. "But it was still a competition, and so it was good to see them focused and competing hard."
Both teams received a perfect low score of 15 points in Cullowhee, N.C., with N'Getich running the women's two mile race in 11:02.70 and Clark taking on the longer 5k men's race in 15:39.11.
With senior Genevieve LaCaze (11:10.29) finishing in a close second behind the talented junior from Eldama Ravine, Kenya, the Gators were able to place six other women in the top 10 overall. Host Western Carolina was the only other team to place individual runners in single-digit scoring, but ended in a distant second place with 54 points.
"[Florence] is a phenomenal athlete, just how quick she's adjusted to Gainesville and to Florida and the team has been great," Morgan said. "It's like she's been here for three years."
The men's race proved to be even closer near the top for the Gators, as sophomores Tyler Davidson and Matt Mizereck finished less than a second behind Clark in runner-up and third place overall.
Again the Catamounts were the only other group in the opposing field of four unranked teams - UNC-Asheville, North Greenville and Warren Wilson - to place runners in high scoring position but still finished 35 points behind UF.
"The plan was to just get to the front and run with a tight back," Morgan said. "[Jimmy] is adjusting really fast to everything and it was nice to see his collegiate career starting out on a great note."
Even with a brace of early season victories, Morgan thought his runners looked somewhat out of form due to their heavy training schedule over the last week. The Gators will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Tampa, Fla., for the South Florida Invitational on Sept. 9 to take on the host Bulls.
"We're not really race-ready yet, as far as the way where we'll be two months down the road," Morgan said. "Which is what we expect, but I thought for where we are in the year everything's heading down the right path."
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
