Florida Gators
NCAA South Regional
Cross Country Finishes Third, Fifth at South Regional
Saturday, November 12, 2005 | Cross Country
The University of Florida men's team finished third at the 2005 NCAA South Region meet Saturday morning at the University of Florida Golf Course. The Gator women finished fifth overall. The men will now await word on whether or not they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Henok Lechebo (Toronto, Canada) was Florida first finisher in ninth overall. Lechebo's time of 30:34.07 was fastest time by a Florida athlete on the University of Florida Golf Course and the 10th fastest time on the course overall. Junior Daniel Parker (Orlando, Fla.) moved up from Florida's fourth or fifth finisher most of the season, to the Gators second finisher in 15th place overall with a career-best time of 30:53.36. Sophomore Steven Hassen (Ocala, Fla.) was third for the Gators in 17th overall with a career-best time of 31:06.45. Freshman Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.) ran a time of 31:13.67 in his first career 10K race to finish 21st overall and fourth for the Gators. Sophomore Enoch Nadler (Keystone Heights, Fla.) rounded out the Gators scorers with a time of 31:27.29 to finish 25th overall. Each of Florida's top five finishers earned All-Region honors for placing in the top 25. Juniors Jeremy Miller (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Shane Stroup (Highland, Md.) were Florida's sixth and seventh finishers in 33rd and 43rd places, respectively.
“On the men's side we have a good team and we had an excellent meet,” said Head Coach Jeff Pigg. “It was a beautiful day. It's disappointing to not win on your home course. The purpose of this meet was to make nationals, and we did that. I hate to lose in Gainesville, in anything, but the beauty of this is that it doesn't close out the season. We will have another chance to line up and run nine days from now. I am looking forward to that.”
On the women's side, sophomore Lindsay Sundell (Northport, N.Y.) set the record for the best time by a Florida athlete in a 6K race on the UF Golf Course with her time of 21:33.95. it was also the second fastest time by a Florida athlete on any 6K course. She finished 16th overall to earn All-Region honors. Freshman Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) was Florida's second finisher in 26th overall with a time of 21:49.44. Sophomore Valeria Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) had a great race, improving from being Florida's six or seventh finisher during the regular season to third in the regional meet. She was 36th overall with a time of 22:12.86. Freshman Kathryn Kramer (Tampa, Fla.) was the fourth Gator finisher in 44th overall with a time of 22:27.07. Freshman Sara Petrick rounded out the Florida scoring in 57th place with a time of 22:43.70. Sophomore Kristen Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) and freshman LeeAnn Nawrocki (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) finished sixth and seventh for Florida in 99th and 130th places respectively.
“When you lose your number one and three returners from last year before the season even starts and graduate three experienced seniors, it can hurt,” Pigg said. “But we had some younger runners step up. We hit a low at the Notre Dame meet, but kept getting better from there. Last year we were eighth in this meet and moved up three spots this year with a very young team.”
Alabama won the men's race with 40 points, just seven points ahead of second place Florida State. Those two teams earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. Alabama was led by Augustus Maiyo who finished fourth overall with a time of 30:01.11. Florida State's top runner was Andrew Lemoncello, the ACC individual champion, who finished second with a time of 29:42.22.
Each of the top nine runners in the event made the top 10 list of best 10K times at the Florida Golf Course. Saturday marked the first time since 1978 a 10K race has been ran in Gainesville.
Tonny Okello from South Alabama took the men's individual title with a time of 29:31.70, the second fastest 10K time ever run on the University of Florida Golf Course. The course record was set on October 8, 1977 by Ken Misner of Athletic Attic. The other three individuals earning automatic bids to the NCAA Championships were Zach Sabatino of Tennessee in third place with a time of 29:53.18, Vincent Rono of South Alabama in fifth with a time of 30:07.98, and Ian Burrell of Georgia in eighth with a time of 30:31.12.
The Tennessee women won their fourth straight South Region title with 76 points to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. They were led by Felicia Guliford who finished fifth overall with a time of 20:43.47. Georgia also automatically qualified for NCAA Championships with a second-place finish with 98 points. They were led by Lauren Burks who finished sixth overall with a time of 20:45.09.
The top five individuals in the women's race now have the top five fastest times ever ran in a 6K race at the University of Florida Golf Course. The sixth through eighth finishers hold the last three places on the top 10 list for a 6K race at the UF Golf Course. The top four finishers in the race automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships. Southern Conference champion, Shannon Womack of Tennessee-Chattanooga won the South Regional race with a time of 19:50.16, the only person in the race to finish in under 20 minutes. Southeastern Conference individual champion Angela Homan finished second with a time of 20:14.83. Ohio Valley Conference titlest Lauren Blankenship finished third with a time of 20:16.39. The final individual automatic NCAA qualifier in the South Region was Melanie Schultz of Miami in fourth place overall with a time of 20:32.41.
The 13 team at-large selections and two individual at-large selections will be announced on ncaasports.com by 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13. The Florida men are expected to receive an at-large bid. The NCAA Championships will be held Monday, Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Men's Team Results (10K)
- Alabama, 40
- Florida State, 47
- Florida, 77
- Tennessee, 100
- Georgia, 147
- Auburn, 175
- Georgia State, 235
- Tennessee-Chattanooga, 247
- Mississippi State, 269
- Miami, 302
- Belmont, 305
- East Tennessee State, 314
- South Florida, 335
- Georgia Tech, 390
- UCF, 413
- Mississippi, 419
- Samford, 434
- Austin Peay, 479
- Birmingham-Southern, 514
- Vanderbilt, 519
Top 25 Agate and Florida Men's Finishers (10K)
1. Tonny Okello, South Alabama, 29:31.70; 2. Andrew Lemoncello, Florida State, 29:42.22; 3. Zach Sabatino, Tennessee, 29:53.18; 4. Augustus Maiyo, Alabama, 30:01.11; 5. Vincent Rono, South Alabama, 30:07.98; 6. Abraham Kutingala, Alabama, 30:18.90; 7. Tom Lancashire, Florida State, 30:24.06; 8. Ian Burrell, Georgia, 30:31.12; 9. Henok Lechebo, Florida, 30:34.07; 10. Ian Mayne, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 30:35.18; 11. Titus Koeh, Alabama, 30:37.90; 12. Alex Korir, Alabama, 30:38.83; 13. Sean Burris, Florida State, 30:40.15; 14. Phil Nichols, Florida State, 30:46.88; 15. Daniel Parker, Florida, 30:53.36; 16. Peter Etoot, Alabama, 30:55.58; 17. Steven Hassen, Florida, 31:06.45; 18. Andy Baska, Tennessee, 31:08.46; 19. Jordan Davis, Auburn, 31:11.62; 20. Kevin Cook, Florida State, 31:13.26; 21. Jeremy Criscione, Florida, 31:13.67; 22. Ben Lukowski, Tennessee, 31:14.09; 23. Jeff Taylor, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 31:18.84; 24. Wade Martin, Mississippi State, 31:20.44; 25. Enoch Nadler, Florida, 31:27.29; 33. Jeremy Miller, Florida, 31:49.28; 43. Shane Stroup, Florida, 32:10.26.
Women's Team Results (6K)
- Tennessee, 76
- Georgia, 98
- Florida State, 118
- Alabama-Birmingham, 162
- Florida, 178
- Tennessee-Chattanooga, 198
- Samford, 199
- Vanderbilt, 210
- Georgia Tech, 250
- Mississippi State, 279
- Memphis, 316
- Alabama, 318
- South Florida, 319
- Southern Mississippi, 366
- Belmont, 385
- Auburn, 446
- Florida International, 466
- Georgia State, 482
- Jacksonville, 492
- Miami, 502
- UCF, 552
- Mississippi, 579
- Birmingham-Southern, 648
- Troy, 648
Top 25 Agate and Florida Women's Finishers (6K)
1. Shannon Womack, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 19:50.16; 2. Angela Homan, Auburn, 20:14.83; 3. Lauren Blankenship, Samford, 20:16.39; 4. Melanie Schultz, Miami, 20:32.41; 5. Felicia Guliford, Tennessee, 20:43.47; 6. Lauren Burks, Georgia, 20:45.09; 7. Laura Bowerman, Florida State, 20:52.59; 8. Elizabeth Ambrus, Alabama-Birmingham, 20:53.12; 9. Leah Soro, Tennessee, 21:01.54; 10. Jill Steffens, Georgia, 21:05.44; 11. Julia Hicks, Alabama, 21:09.90; 12. Katie Flaute, Tennessee, 21:13.78; 13. Zita Maglorie, Mississippi State, 21:20.95; 14. Abi Wilshire, Florida State, 21:29.50; 15. Carly Matthews, Tennessee, 21:30.55; 16. Lindsay Sundell, Florida, 21:33.95; 17. Jessica Hellender, South Florida, 21:34.40; 18. Amy Huss, Vanderbilt, 21:34.86; 19. Julie Eckerly, Vanderbilt, 21:35.33; 20. Naomi Kiprotich, Southern Mississippi, 21:35.89; 21. Daniele Riendeau, Memphis, 21:36.53; 22. Kiah Vernon, Georgia, 21:42.71; 23. Sarah Madebach, Georgia, 21:45.82; 24. Benta General, South Florida, 21:46.56; 25. Elizabeth Hilligross, Alabama-Birmingham, 21:47.55; 26. Jacy Kruzel, Florida, 21:49.44; 36. Valeria Rodriguez, Florida, 22:12.86; 44. Kathryn Kramer, Florida, 22:27.07; 57. Sara Petrick, Florida, 22:43.70; 99. Kristen Johnson, 23:33.63; 130. LeeAnn Nawrocki, Florida, 24:04.69.
