Gator Country

Florida senior Aaron Kindt and Embry Riddle freshman Evans Kirwa compete in the men's 8K during the Mountain Dew Invitational on Sept. 18 at the UF Golf Course. Kirwa won the race, Kindt finished third./ Gator Country photo by Casey Brooke Lawson

The University of Florida men’s and women’s cross country teams took first place for the fifth consecutive year at the Mountain Dew Invitational on Friday evening. The No. 14 women tallied 18 points and the men recorded 20 points as both teams placed six Gators in the top 10.

Junior Charlotte Browning won the women’s 5K, clocking in at 17:25.08, the third-best time ever run at the Gator Invitational. She also recorded the third-best time on the UF Golf Course in Gator history. Sophomore Genevieve LaCaze, last year’s winner, came in second in 17:41.03.

Junior Kaitlin Shiver placed fourth (17:46.55), senior Julie Northrup finished fifth, setting a new personal-best time (17:52.18) and junior Laura Garrow rounded out the scoring for the Gators with an eighth-place finish in 18:13.98.

Junior Ali Crabb finished right behind Garrow in ninth (18:15.92) and freshman Sydney Devore earned 26th place in her first-ever collegiate meet (18:52.88). Redshirt junior Alison Babb placed 35th (19:17.89) while freshmen Erica Taltos finished 59th (20:07.84) and Callie Cooper finished 71st (20:28.32) out of 227 runners.

Tampa came in second, USF took third, while Jacksonville and UCF rounded out the top five women’s team.

Junior Anthony Morales led the way for the men’s team with a second-place finish in a new personal-best time of 24:24, the 10th-best time for a Gator on the UF Golf Course. Senior Aaron Kindt crossed the line in third overall, also setting a new personal-best time (24:45.9).

Freshman Derek Wehunt started his UF career on a high note, tallying a fifth-place finish (25:07.3), while senior James Uthmeier significantly improved his personal-best time, finishing sixth in 25:08.4. Classmate Matt Hensley was the final Gator to score, placing seventh (25:11.7).

Redshirt freshman Daniel Manco recorded a fourth-place finish, running unattached, in a new personal-best time (25:03.8). Sophomore Michael Anderson was the final Gator to finish in the top 10, coming in ninth (25:32.3). Sophomore Josh Izewski placed 15th (25:52.9), with freshman Tim O’Loughlin behind in 16th (25:58.7) running unattached. Classmates Dan Wehunt finished 33rd (26:43.8) and John Mitchell finished 111th (28:49.6), both also running unattached.

Embry-Riddle’s Evans Kirwa won the men’s race in a time of 24:21.1, recording the third-best time at the Gator Invitational. His team took second and North Florida came in third. Florida Southern was fourth and FAU claimed the fifth spot.

The Gators will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 2 when they travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational. Last season, the women placed fifth and the men tied for sixth in the high-competitive meet.

Photo Gallery: UF Cross Country, 9/18/09 (click here to view gallery)

DIRECTORY OF GATOR COUNTRY PHOTO GALLERIES

About the author

jumper42

Casey Brooke Lawson earned a B.S. in journalism from the University of Florida in December 2008. Lawson was born in Sarasota, Fla., but now still resides in Gainesville, Fla. Lawson picked up her first camera before she could walk, and now, 24 years later, she has made a career of her first love. She has been working as a photojournalist for eight years. She began at her high school, Sarasota High School, interned with the Gainesville Sun, Sarasota Herald Tribune, The Independent Florida Alligator and Sports Illustrated. Now, Lawson is a regularly contributing photojournalist for Gator Country. Trained in sports photography by Gator Country's own Tim Casey, sports photojournalism has become one of Lawson's favorite parts of her job.

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