Junior Jessica Pascoe has accomplished a lot this season.
The New South Wales, Australia, native had already won two individual titles before Friday, along with being named SEC Women's Runner of the Week twice. Now she can add SEC champion to that list.
"Jess was great today," coach Chris Solinsky said in a release. "She raced with poise and patience and when she decided to move, she did it with confidence. Being an SEC champion is something special."
It was a special day not only for Pascoe, but for her team as well. The Florida women had four top-20 finishers, closing out the meet in second place behind Arkansas. It’s an impressive feat for a team projected to finish eighth at the beginning of the season.
Behind Pascoe's first-place time of 18:54, junior Elisabeth Bergh finished the race in eighth with a 19:37 time. Seniors Morgan Hull and Caitlin McQuilkin-Bell rounded out the top 20 for the Gators, coming in 11th (19:46), and 17th (19:58), respectively.
"I'm super proud of the team and how far we have come," Pascoe said. "Happy to have ticked off one of the goals this season, but it's time to get back to work and get ready for the next one."
The men didn't see the same success the women did. The team finished in eighth place with four Gators placing in the top 50. Redshirt sophomore Colin Schaefer was first to finish for Florida, placing 21st with a personal-best time of 23:36. Junior Jack Guyton (23:45) finished 27th, freshman Trevor Foley (23:54) was 32nd and junior Justin Pacifico (24:08) came in 47th place.
"The men took a conservative approach to the race and moved through the field well," Solinsky said. "Our top four really ran tough today."
Follow Evan Lepak on Twitter @evanmplepak or contact him at elepak@alligator.org.
Junior Jessica Pascoe (middle) led the Gator women to a second-place finish at the NCAA South Regional in Tallahassee, Florida, with the second-fastest overall time in the women's 6k.
