Florida Gators
SEC Championship
XC Finishes Second and Fourth At SEC Championships
Saturday, October 27, 2007 | Cross Country
The University of Florida men's and women's cross country teams put in solid performances at the 2007 Southeastern Conference Championship. The men finished second, while the women were fourth. Each team had two athletes earn All-SEC honors.
“Both teams ran extremely well,” Head Coach Jeff Pigg said. “This was the best race of the season as a whole for both the men and the women. We would have liked to place higher, but both teams are still pushing for the goal of performing at their best two weeks from now, and then being a little better than that at nationals.”
The Gator men finished second behind only Arkansas, who won its 17th straight conference title. The women finished fourth behind Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia.
The men were led in their second-place finish by a second-place individual finish by junior Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla.). Criscione's second-place finish is the best by a Gator since Keith Brantly won the event in 1983. Criscione finished the 8K race in 23:56.28. Sophomore Sean Blaney (Kissimmee, Fla.) stepped up to finish second for the Gators in 24:39.70 in 12th place overall. Senior Enoch Nadler (Keystone Heights, Fla.) finished in 15th place overall with a time of 24:44.55. Senior Steven Hassen (Ocala, Fla.) was Florida's fourth finisher in 21st overall with a time of 25:02.20. Senior Scott Hans (Middleburg, Fla.) rounded out the scoring five for the Gators, finishing the 8K race in 25:07.14 in 24th place overall. Each of Florida's 10 competitors finished in the top 40 overall.
Junior Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) finished first for the Gators for the third consecutive race. She ran the 6K race in 20:54.1 to finish eighth. Freshman Rebecca Lowe (Vaucluse, Australia) finished 12th overall in 21:21.08. Senior Lindsay Sundell (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) finished third for the Gators and 20th overall in 21:33.98. In her first race of the season, sophomore Alison Babb (Gainesville, Fla.) ran her way into the scoring five, finishing fourth among Gators and 27th overall with her time of 21:45.28, a career best. Junior Sara Petrick (Apollo Beach, Fla.) rounded out the scoring five in 29th, running a 21:48.56 6K.
Criscione and Blaney each earned All-SEC honors with their top-14 finishes in the men's race. It is the second All-SEC honor for Criscione and the first for Blaney. Kruzel and Lowe each earned All-SEC honors for the Gator women. It is the second honor for Kruzel and first for Lowe.
The Gators will now prepare for the 2007 NCAA South Regional. Florida will host the meet on November 10 at the University of Florida Golf Course. The top two finishers in the South Regional will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championship on Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Men's 8K Team Results
1. Arkansas, 36
2. Florida, 74
3. Alabama, 82
4. Tennessee, 102
5. Mississippi State, 138
6. Auburn, 158
7. Georgia, 177
8. LSU, 180
9. Kentucky, 214
10. Vanderbilt, 302
Florida Men's Individual Results
2. Jeremy Criscione, 23:56.28
12. Sean Blaney, 24:39.70
15. Enoch Nadler, 24:44.55
21. Steven Hassen, 25:02.20
24. Scott Hans, 25:07.14
27. Justin Taylor, 25:11.94
33. Jose Garcia, 25:23.78
36. Matt Hensley, 25:29.19
38. Jeremy Miller, 25:30.58
40. Aaron Kindt, 25:32.28
Men's Individual Champion
Emmanuel Bor, Alabama, 23:50.45
Women's 6K Team Results
1. Arkansas, 39
2. Tennessee, 84
3. Georgia, 85
4. Florida, 96
5. Kentucky, 104
6. Auburn, 171
7. Mississippi State, 209
8. Vanderbilt, 217
9. LSU, 259
10. Alabama, 275
11. South Carolina, 290
12. Ole Miss, 352
Florida Women's Individual Results
8. Jacy Kruzel, 21:12.49
12. Rebecca Lowe, 21:21.08
20. Lindsay Sundell, 21:33.98
27. Alison Babb, 21:45.28
29. Sara Petrick, 21:48.56
30. Ali Crabb, 21:49.63
40. Kristen Johnson, 22:05.33
41. Kathryn Kramer, 22:11.18
50. Julie Northrup, 22:43.84
48. Kaitlin Shiver, 23:01.78
Women's Individual Champion
Sarah Madebach, Georgia, 20:49.11
