For the second consecutive meet in 2013, Florida’s cross country team turned in a victory.
However, unlike the season opener at the Western Carolina Invitational, the Gators didn’t sweep the competition.
Facing stiff competition in what many consider a preview for this year’s Southeastern Conference Championships, the Gators won the men’s side and came in third on the women’s side at the Mountain Dew Invitational at UF’s Mark Bostick Golf Course, the host location for this year’s SEC Championships.
Leading the men were Jimmy Clark and Mark Parrish.
Clark, a junior, won the race with a time of 23:53.78, while Parrish, a senior, ran 23:59.41 to finish runner up.
Both Parrish and Clark placed at the WCU Invitational earlier this season, finishing first and third, respectively.
“Running at home is always great,” Clark said. “The fans were awesome, out around the whole course cheering us on. We had our lead cart with people cheering us on. Everything combined, like being able to run (the course) once or twice a week, helped us.”
Florida’s Eddie Garcia finished fourth, all but ensuring a men’s team victory.
The women didn’t quite live up to their high expectations on Saturday, however, finishing third overall in the team standings with two runners, Agata Strausa and Julie Macedo, finishing in the top ten.
“The results on the women’s side are not indicative of what we’re capable of doing,” coach Paul Spangler said.
The women who were running performed well, but they were running without two key seniors in Stephanie Strasser and Shelby Hayes. Both are currently battling injuries, but should be back before the SEC Championships.
After a first place finish at the WCU Invitational, Strausa finished second on Friday against much stronger competition.
“I think the race went really well,” Strausa said of her performance. “I felt really good and in control. From the beginning, we executed coach’s race style, which was to dominate the race and show confidence.”
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand.
