It may not have been ideal, but in Florida cross country coach Paul Spangler’s eyes, there was a silver lining surrounding the Gators’ performance on the terrain this weekend.
“We accomplished some good things on the men’s side that we can take into the (Southeastern Conference) Championship,” Spangler noted in a release. “I saw a lot of good things, in terms of the team progressing and getting to where we need to be heading into the SEC Championship and regionals…a lot of positives to be taken away today.”
Speaking about his team’s showing at Saturday’s NCAA Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, Spangler commended his runners for turning in a solid outing, one that the men can use as a springboard into the SEC Championships.
Pacing the men, redshirt seniors Jimmy Clark and Eddie Garcia both broke the top 80. Posting collegiate bests, junior Carlos Miranda, freshman Jack Guyton and redshirt senior Charles Chambers logged solid runs, with each breaking 25:00 on their 8ks. The men’s team would go on to finish 27th overall.
As for the women, Spangler lamented an inconsistent effort that resulted in a 30th place finish, but didn’t overlook strong individual performances from freshmen Maria Larsen (21st overall) and Maddox Patterson (200th overall).
“I thought Maria did a phenomenal job. She’s up there with some really elite competition…After that, Maddox ran really well, but, as a whole, we didn’t really have the race we wanted to,” Spangler said. “We definitely have some work to do over the next couple weeks.”
On the flip side, the men’s B-team recorded its second consecutive top-two finish with a victory at the University of South Florida Invitational.
Blocking off the third, fourth and fifth overall positions, the Gators controlled the field, with all seven runners placing in the top-30 en route to a 12 point win over Florida Gulf Coast. Senior Elliot Clemente, redshirt freshman Mac Macoy and redshirt junior Mark Mutz controlled the pack, leading a quartet of true freshmen in Connor Vaughan (15th), Jack Rogers (18th), Trey LaNasa (28th) and Bryce Statham (30th) across the line.
Paced by redshirt junior Devin McDermott’s time of 23:03.70, the women’s lineup managed to finish eighth of 10 Division I schools, trumping ninth-placed Bethune Cookman and Florida International.
Following McDermott’s team-high 22nd overall finish, the women’s team closed the event with a freshman foursome of their own—Autumn Bartlett (32nd), Meg Schloss (36th), Madison Morse (52nd) and Jenny Coleman (76th) rounded out Florida’s lineup in the squad’s first 6k of the season.
With another pair of races in the books, the team must set its gaze on the fast-approaching SEC Championship, slated for an Oct. 30th start in College Station, Texas.
Follow Alejandro Lopez on Twitter @ajlb95
Jimmy Clark races during the 2013 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships at the Mark Bostick Golf Course
