To the Gators, brotherly love looks sweeter in orange and blue.
Florida’s Josh and Alex Izewski and Derek and Daniel Wehunt give a different twist to team unity, looking to use their sibling rivalries to propel Florida’s cross country team to the top of the ranks.
The Izewski brothers have quickly given their coach, Todd Morgan, a reason to smile. Josh, the team’s lone senior, leads by example with a top-five and top-15 finish this year. While Josh beginning his last year with success, freshman Alex is just starting to bloom, as he has a top-10 finish as well.
To Morgan, building a championship-caliber team requires more than providing better times; it’s also about better leadership.
At the start of the season, Morgan called on both Josh and Derek, a junior, to act as mentors. Each having younger siblings, the two knew the influence their experience could have and are trying to share that with others.
“I can teach [Alex] from all the mistakes I made my freshman year so he doesn’t make the same mistakes,” Josh said about his younger brother.
As his time at UF concludes, Josh wants to pass on his knowledge and wisdom to Alex.
Although Derek and Daniel haven’t gotten off to a quick start like the Izewski brothers, they still exemplify the mentor-and-pupil aspect of the team.
Morgan’s desire for experienced runners to take charge has made Josh and Derek the leaders while molding the younger ones, like Alex and Daniel, into more knowledgeable and well-rounded individuals.
On Friday, the Gators will need the leaders and the younger runners to step up when they compete in the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, one of the biggest meets of the season with 39 men’s teams and 42 women’s teams participating.
In a meet that large, Morgan said some of the younger runners have a tendency to get “lost in the crowd.”
But he hopes the Gators will show some brotherly love to help each other if the situation arises this weekend.
Florida senior Josh Izewski, and younger brother Alex Izewski, are one of two sets of brothers helping motivate the men’s team.
