Both the Florida men’s and No. 7 women’s cross country teams turned in seventh-place finishes at the 2010 Wisconsin adidas Invitational in a tough and competitive field packed with top-25 competition at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course Saturday afternoon in Madison. Women’s senior Charlotte Browning (Chichester, England) took first overall in the women’s collegiate 6K race, while junior Dumisani Hlaselo (South Africa) clocked a seventh-place 8K run on the men’s side as UF’s highest finisher.
“I thought we had a solid day on both sides, with some things we can improve upon as well,” cross country coach Todd Morgan said. “This was a competitive field, and they approached the meet focused. Charlotte had an outstanding race to lead our women’s team. It was her first race of the season and she did a terrific job with that. On the men's side, we had a great day. Our men's team has a completely different dynamic than a year ago and we stepped up today against several competitive, top-ranked teams. They have been training hard and we’ll look to carry this momentum with us through the next couple of weeks.”
The seventh-ranked women’s team tallied 195 points behind Browning’s efforts. Browning crossed the finish line first in the field of 202 collegiate women to chalk up one first-place point for the Gators. In her first meet of the 2010 season, she turned in a 6K time of 20:14 to pace the women’s college athletes. Gator junior Genevieve LaCaze (Daisy Hill, Australia) crossed the finish line second for UF in 20:55, while senior Ali Crabb (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and freshman Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) hung together as Florida’s third (21:11) and fourth (21:12) scorers, respectively. Sophomore Callie Cooper (St. Augustine, Fla.) rounded out the top five UF athletes, crossing 69th overall in 21:39. Florida freshman Stephanie Strasser (Fernandina Beach, Fla.) and sophomore Mandy Perkins (Ormond Beach, Fla.) closed out the Gators’ competitors, placing 80th and 89th in 21:48 and 22:09.
With the first 6K race of the season now behind them, Cooper and Perkins both set personal-best marks Saturday, while McGee and Strasser established marks in their first collegiate 6K races, respectively, an insight into the distances for both the SEC and NCAA Championship races. The Gators also saw five top 25 programs in Syracuse (11th), Michigan (22nd), Michigan State (20th), North Carolina (29th) and host Wisconsin (26th).
In the men’s 8K race, junior newcomer Hlaselo clocked a 23:46, seventh-place overall finish in his first race donning the Orange and Blue to set the pace for the Florida men’s squad, which tallied 217 points collectively Saturday afternoon. Not far behind, junior Josh Izewski (Doylestown, Pa.), the 2010 Mountain Dew Invitational winner Sept. 18, crossed as Florida’s second finisher, coming in 26th (24:04) place overall, while Gator freshmen Matt Mizereck (Tallahassee, Fla.), Mark Parrish (Tampa, Fla.) and senior James Uthmeier (Destin, Fla.) stuck close together in 59th (24:33), 62nd (24:35) and 63rd (24:36), respectively, as the Gators’ third, fourth and fifth scorers. Senior Anthony Morales (Palm Coast, Fla.) and sophomore Danny Manco (Miami, Fla.) rounded out UF’s men’s runners in 74th and 85th, with times of 24:42 and 24:48.
Florida’s men also shined against a field saturated by top-25 ranked teams, including Wisconsin (6), Syracuse (11th), Michigan (15th), Michigan State (18th), Providence (20th), Princeton (23rd), Georgetown (24th) and Indiana (25th). Six of seven Gator men’s team members ran personal-best times at the adidas Invitational, while also improving their performances from two weeks ago at the season and home opener in Gainesville.
The Gators will continue the 2010 campaign when they head to Tallahassee, Fla., Friday, Oct. 8, for competition in the Florida State Invitational. Results and a recap can be found on www.GatorZone.com following the event.
Women’s Top 10 Team Results
1. Syracuse 89
2. North Carolina 98
3. Michigan State 109
4. Michigan 113
5. Indiana 151
6. Harvard 157
7. Florida 195
8. San Francisco 205
9. Nebraska 248
10. Texas A&M 256
Florida Women’s Finishers
1. Charlotte Browning 20:14
33. Genevieve LaCaze 20:55
45. Ali Crabb 21:11
47. Cory McGee 21:12*
69. Callie Cooper 21:39*
80 . Stephanie Strasser 21:48*
89. Amanda Perkins 22:09*
* denotes collegiate personal best
Men’s Top 10 Team Results
1. Indiana 43
2. Wisconsin 75
3. Princeton 112
4. Syracuse 131
5. Oklahoma 132
6. Michigan State 191
7. Florida 217
8. North Carolina 225
9. Ohio State 256
10. Illinois 280
Men’s Top Finisher
1. Donn Cabral, Princeton 23:46
Florida Men’s Finishers
7. Dumisani Hlaselo 23:46*
26. Josh Izewski 24:04*
59. Matt Mizereck 24:33*
62. Mark Parrish 24:35*
63. James Uthmeier 24:36*
74. Anthony Morales 24:42
85. Manco Danny 24:48*
* denotes collegiate personal best
