McGee and the Distance Corps Finish Big at Flotrack Husky Classic

Sophomore distance runner Cory McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) recorded a personal-best and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 4:34.06 in the women’s mile to lead the Gators on the second day of the Flotrack Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. on Saturday.

“I’m very pleased with everyone’s performances today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “They really engaged in the competition. This is a very prestigious meet with a lot of big time performances and I was incredibly pleased, especially with our women’s races.”

McGee, who is the reigning SEC champion in the women’s mile, improved her current spot at third all-time at UF, besting her previous career mark of 4:36.53. Her time also leads the SEC this season. Fellow miler Shelby Hayes (Winter Park, Fla.) also completed a strong race, running a personal-best 4:42.05 on Saturday evening.

“Really proud of both Cory and Shelby,” Holloway said. “We made some changes in Cory’s training model and it really helps for her to see that pay off. Shelby ran a personal best and she’s really having a great season so far.”

Newcomer Agata Strausa (Riga, Latvia) used her first meet as a Gator to make her mark on the Florida women’s distance program, racing her way to second all-time in Florida school history in the women’s 3,000 meters, registering a time of 9:17.62.

“What a great first race for Agata,” Holloway said. “What we’re seeing out of the performances by Agata and Florence (Ngetich, who ran 16:15.18 in the 5,000m yesterday evening) is how important recruiting is to any program. We knew what we were getting with these young ladies and they both have left their marks on this program already, just a few weeks into their Gator track careers. We couldn’t be more pleased.”