Though she hasn’t been on campus more than a month, freshman Lauren Brasure is leaving her mark on Florida’s cross country program early.
She made a good start by winning the Mountain Dew Invitational on Saturday, breaking several records along the way to the first win of her young career.
Brasure led the UF women’s cross country team take home the team title, eclipsing runner-up Georgia Tech by 32 points.
Brasure shattered the Gators’ 5k Golf Course record with a time of 16:45.93. She was less than a second away from claiming the course record, held by Tennessee’s Patty Wiegand who finished with a time of 16:45.01 in 1990.
Redshirt freshman Becky Greene also impressed in just her second race since arriving in Gainesville following a heralded running career in New Zealand. The 2014 Southeastern Conference Indoor Women’s Freshman Runner of the Year spent much time with coach Paul Spangler on improving her endurance heading into the first 5k she had raced in the states.
"She’s known more as a miler, so for her to come out and run that time is tremendous," Spangler said. "Especially in just her second race."
The team has relied on running together, which in turn pushes the Gators to run their hardest.
"It comforts me to know that I have teammates so close who are working hard with me," Brasure said. "We all work together and that definitely helps with the competitiveness."
Taylor Tubbs, hoping to replicate the success she saw at the Western Carolina Invitational, finished behind her younger counterparts as she came in third. While not the win she had been hoping for, Tubbs was still able to best her 5k personal record by nearly 31 seconds, finishing with a time of 17:07.57.
While the women finished on top, the men were left wondering what might have been. Their top three runners of last year were in attendance, but did not contribute to the Gators’ scoring. Georgia Tech took home the team title, just the second time in 11 years that the UF men couldn’t win the singular home meet of their season.
Mark Parrish, who ran unattached after exhausting his eligibility, claimed the men’s individual title in the 8k with a time of 24:04.78.
Senior Eddie Garcia, also running unattached, finished third while fellow senior Jimmy Clark was held out with a sore back.
While both seniors can still potentially compete for the Gators this year, Spangler is considering holding them out for the season to preserve their eligibility for next year.
It’s a situation the team will continue to monitor leading up to the critical Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Oct. 17 in Madison.
Behind the veterans, freshman Thomas Howell turned in a second-straight top-five finish, coming in fifth with a time of 24:45.76.
Finishing in the same ballpark as the heralded former leaders of the team has given Howell the courage he needs if he hopes to compete as the third or fourth runner moving forward.
"I didn’t really have any goals and expectations, I just wanted to run," Howell said. "It’s an honor, and it gives me a lot of confidence going into the next races."
Joining him in the top-15 were redshirt sophomore Mac Reynolds, who finished 11th, and redshirt junior David Kilgore who rounded out the group in 15th. It was the first race for the Florida native, who transferred back to his home state after a roller coaster career at Colorado.
Although Spangler was impressed with the performances of multiple members of the team, he knows the success of the team is reliant on their depth.
"We had some guys who just didn’t step up today," Spangler said. "Thomas coming in as a freshman, to run that fast in his first 8k that’s huge for him, but we have some guys that should have run better."
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
The Florida women's cross country team accepts its first-place trophy at the 2014 Mountain Dew Invitational
