Entering Friday’s Southeastern Conference Championships, Florida’s men’s and women’s cross country teams held a sense of optimism.
Fielding a 17-runner roster that featured a combined eight true freshmen, the squad hoped to unseat the heavy-hitters in the SEC’s cross country circuit.
When the dust settled on the Dale Watts Cross Country Course in College Station, however, both teams found themselves in the middle of the pack, finishing seventh in their respective divisions.
While the women managed to replicate their finish from the 2014 meet, seventh place represents a three-spot jump in the standings for the men.
And taking into account that only two of the 10 men had prior SEC championship experience, UF hopes this result helps it in future competitions.
Although both teams fell short of their ultimate goal, five athletes received accolades for their individual performances.
On the men’s side, the duo of fifth-year seniors Jimmy Clark and Eddie Garcia nabbed All-SEC honors, clocking career-best 8k splits of 23:42.6 and 23:49.5, respectively. Clark, turning in the fourth-fastest 8k in program history, clinched first-team All-SEC recognition, with Garcia earning a spot on the second-team.
Those results were expected: Clark and Garcia have consistently led the men’s contingent all season.
It was the freshmen that had the most to show, and, at the end of the day, impressed the most in their races.
Jack Guyton also ran his way onto the award sheet, with a personal-best 24:54.7, meriting a place on the SEC All-Freshman Team, the sixth consecutive time a Gator has made the list.
For the women, Maria Larsen and Elisabeth Bergh, crossing the finish line in 15th and 21st place respectively, were also named to the All-Freshman team, marking the second time in school history where a freshman pair earned the distinction in the same year.
“Jimmy (Clark) and Eddie (Garcia) did a solid job up front. I was proud of those guys,” Spangler said in a release. “For us to be successful as a team, we needed production from our No. 3, 4 and 5 spots. We just didn’t have that today.”
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Jimmy Clark races during the 2013 Mountain Dew Invitational.
