Florida cross country runners Charlotte Browning (Chichester, England), Dumisane Hlaselo (South Africa) and freshman Matt Mizereck (Tallahassee, Fla.) were named SEC Cross Country Athletes of the Week Tuesday by the league, sweeping three of the four SEC weekly cross country honors.
Florida’s league accolades come three days after the Gators traveled to Madison, Wis., for a successful competition in the nationally renowned Wisconsin adidas Invitational this past weekend. Florida competed with multiple top-25 squads, including five in the women’s competition and eight in the men’s field. The Gators turned in seventh-place team finishes on both sides, tallying 195 points in the women’s race and 217 in the men’s competition.
Browning, the 2010 NCAA Indoor Champion in the mile and the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Champion in the 1,500m was named the SEC Cross Country Female Athlete of the Week for her first-place finish at the adidas Invitational after clocking a 20:13.4 6K in her first race of the 2010 campaign. Browning, a 2010 senior, topped a field of 202 athletes from 20 different collegiate teams, even topping the 2009 NCAA runner-up Kendra Schaaf of UNC, who placed fourth in the field. The victory was Browning’s seventh career top-10 finish, was a second shy of her career-best time and was the fourth-fastest 6K time in Florida cross country history.
Hlaselo, a junior newcomer, was named the SEC Cross Country Male Athlete of the Week and was UF’s top finisher in the 212-athlete, 21-team men’s field, turning in a seventh-place overall finish in his first race donning the Orange and Blue. Hlaselo’s mark, 23:45.6, was good enough to jump into the Florida record book as the fourth-fastest 8K in Gator men’s cross country history. Hlaselo led the then-unranked men’s squad to finishes above top-25 programs Michigan, Providence and Georgetown. In the latest USTFCCCA National Poll, also released Tuesday, the UF men checked in at No. 30 following impressive performances in Madison.
Also helping Hlaselo and the men’s team to their seventh-place finish was Mizereck, the SEC Cross Country Male Freshman Athlete of the Week. Mizereck ran a season/career-best collegiate mark in the men’s 8K in Wisconsin, 24:32.6, after running a 25:25.8 in UF’s season-opening home meet Sept. 18. Mizereck was the second-highest male freshman finisher at 59th overall (first freshman finished 46th), and was the third Gator to cross the finish line.
Florida continues the 2010 campaign Friday when it heads to Sunshine State rival Florida State University in Tallahassee for competition in the FSU Invitational. Race time is slated for 6:20 p.m. (ET). Results and a recap will be available on www.GatorZone.com following competition.
2010 SEC Athlete of the Week Accolades
Sept. 21: Mark Parrish, SEC Cross Country Male Freshman of the Week
Oct. 5: Charlotte Browning, SEC Cross Country Female Athlete of the Week
Oct. 5: Dumisane Hlaselo, SEC Cross Country Male Athlete of the Week
Oct. 5: Matt Mizereck, SEC Cross Country Male Freshman of the Week
