For the first time in 17 years the Florida mens cross country team failed to finish as one of the top five finishers at the Southeastern Conference Championship.
The Gators wrapped up the 2014 SEC Championship in 10th place.
Like many had predicted, the Arkansas Razorbacks topped the field, defeating second place Ole Miss by six points.
UF had some glimmers of success Friday morning as freshman Thomas Howell was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team with an 8K time of 25:41.16, good for a 47th place finish
Carlos Miranda was on the All-SEC Freshman Team just one year ago. Miranda continued his success at the event, finishing as the top Gator and 35th overall.
time of 20:49.68. Tubbs was pleased with the way she ran in Tuscaloosa.
“It was great to be able to perform my best for the Gators,” Tubbs said in a release. “It wasn’t a [personal best] for me, but it was a close and it was faster than what I ran last year – it was progress.”
Freshman phenom Lauren Brasure struggled in her first SEC Championship appearance, finishing 49th overall. The team finished 7th overall with 201 points. The Arkansas women matched their male counterparts with a 1st place race, completing the Razorback SEC sweep. Florida head coach Paul Spangler talks about the race.
“For the women, it was a much better job than the Wisconsin adidas Invitational,” Spangler said in a release. “It is certainly not where we want to be. Becky Greene had her best 6K if the year and Devin McDermott had a great race and really stepped it up today. It’s not where we want to be, but it is certainly better than Wisconsin.”
Three women all set personal bests Friday; Devin McDermott, Amber Johnson, and Gabrielle Yatauro.
Coach Spangler and the Gators adjusted their training regimen coming into the event. After the disappointing finish we may see adjustments again with only one set meet left on the schedule. Florida will need their best race of the year if they want to have any shot of advancing to the 2014 NCAA championships. The event will be held two weeks from now on Nov. 14 in Tallahassee.
Follow Ben Murphy on Twitter @B_Murph
