Florida junior cross country newcomer Dumisane Hlaselo (South Africa) and senior women’s runner Charlotte Browning (Chichester, England) turned in Florida’s top finishes at the 2010 Brook’s Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday afternoon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. Florida’s men finished ninth overall (350) out of the 35-team Blue Race field, while the Florida women’s squad came in 19th (512) of the 40-team women’s White Race field at the meet, hosted by Indiana State University. Eighteen of the top 30 men’s cross country teams and 18 of the top 30 women’s cross country teams were on hand at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center for the pre-NCAA meet, along with many other schools that have either been ranked or received votes during the 2010 cross country season. Stanford took the overall team title in the men’s race, while Georgetown claimed the women’s title.
“We have had better race days. As the coach, I take full responsibility and need to do a better job of correcting things that went wrong today. We’re going to get back to Gainesville and go back to work on Monday,” assistant track and cross country coach Todd Morgan said. “On the men’s side, Dumisane had a great run - he did tremendously for us today.”
The Gators were able to test-run and preview the ISU course Saturday, also the 2010 NCAA course, as the Sycamores will host the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s National Cross Country Championship on Nov. 22. Florida additionally plugged in a couple of lineup changes, running freshman Shelby Hayes (Winter Park, Fla.) in the women’s lineup, her first complete race of the season.
Hlaselo recorded UF’s sole top-20 finish of the men’s race, coming in 15th out of the 231-athlete 8K race and recording a 23:59.2. Junior Josh Izewski (Doylestown, Pa.) (24:35.3), seniors James Uthmeier (Destin, Fla.) (24:39.3), Anthony Morales (Palm Coast, Fla.) (24:48.9) and freshman Mark Parrish (Tampa, Fla.) (25:02.5) completed UF’s five scorers, coming in 63rd, 72nd, 85th and 115th behind Hlaselo.
Browning clocked a 21:14.1 to finish 44th in the 247-athlete women’s field as the Gators’ top scorer, while junior Genevieve LaCaze (Daisy Hill, Australia) was UF’s second scorer close behind Browning in 47th (21:18.9). Freshman Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) (21:28.4), sophomore Callie Cooper (St. Augustine, Fla.) (21:58.3) and senior Ali Crabb (St. Petersburg, Fla.) (23:17.8) finished 62nd, 117th and 242nd overall to complete the top five women’s scorers behind Browning.
Florida will have a two-week idle period to train for the 2010 SEC Championships Nov. 1, hosted this year by the University of South Carolina in Columbia. For more information on Florida cross country, visit www.GatorZone.com.
Men’s Blue Race Top 10 Team Finishes
1. Stanford, 43
2. Iona, 127
3. Florida State, 154
4. Northern Arizona, 192
5. Princeton, 196
6. William and Mary, 204
7. California, 233
8. North Carolina, 336
9. Florida, 350
10. Louisville, 354
Florida Men’s Finishers
15. Dumisane Hlaselo, 23:59.2
63. Josh Izewski, 24:35.3
72. James Uthmeier, 24:39.3
85. Anthony Morales, 24:48.9
115. Mark Parrish, 25:02.5
151. Derek Wehunt, 25:26.0
158. Matt Mizereck, 25:31.8
Men’s Blue Race Winner
1. Chris Derrick, Stanford, 23:16.9
Women’s White Race Top 10 Team Finishes
1. Georgetown, 100
2. Colorado, 123
3. Stanford, 125
4. Stony Brook, 216
5. Minnesota, 241
6. San Francisco, 308
7. Michigan, 311
8. North Carolina State, 341
9. Toledo, 342
10. Kansas State, 361
19. Florida, 512
Florida Women’s Finishers
44. Charlotte Browning, 21:14.1
47. Genevieve LaCaze, 21:18.9
62. Cory McGee, 21:28.4
117. Callie Cooper, 21:58.3
242. Allie Crabb, 23:17.8
264. Shelby Hayes, 23:57.9
Women’s White Race Winner
1. Lucy Van Dalen, Stony Brook, 20:08.1
