As the 2013 cross country season began, the Gators looked to start off with their best foot forward.
With both the men and women winning their respective races, Florida looks like it’s heading in the right direction.
“Both teams came out tonight and really did a good job,” coach Paul Spangler said. “With the Western Carolina (Invitational) being our first meet of the season, we’ll need to continue to build on this and keep working hard. We have a lot of important racing on the horizon and we’ll continue to improve as the season progresses.”
The women swept the competition, finishing 1-2-3-4-5 and securing a perfect 15 points in their two-mile race.
"I thought the women came out and did a great job tonight, especially working together as a team throughout the duration of the race,” Spangler said. “Agata (Strausa), Shelby (Hayes), Julie (Macedo), Taylor (Tubbs) and [Stephanie Strasser] all finished as a pack claiming the top five spots."
Florida’s men turned in a 28-point performance in their 5K. Senior Mark Parrish led the way, notching his ninth career victory as a Gator. Junior Eduardo Garcia also earned praise from Spangler by setting a collegiate-best mark in the 5K along with Jimmy Clark, JL Hines, and Harsha Torke.
"Mark Parrish looked very impressive tonight and I was also impressed with Eddie Garcia,” Spangler said. “We had a very solid effort on the men's side, placing our first four scorers in the top six in the field."
With the opener in the books, Florida turns its attention to its next meet: UF’s Mountain Dew Invitational on Sept. 14 in Gainesville. A key contributor looking to make her season debut will be junior Cory McGee.
“This race was a great gauge for where we are at to begin the season and now we have two weeks before our next race to train,” Spangler said. “We're looking forward to being on our home course in front of all our Gator fans for the first of two home races this season, the second being SECs in November."
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand.
Junior runner Agata Strausa, runs in the Mountain Dew Invitational on Sept. 15 at the Mark Bostick golf course.
