Padilla Leads Argonauts at Florida State :: Men finish third overall; women place fifth.

Oct. 7, 2006

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Running in his final meet before the Gulf South Conference Championships in two weeks, senior Michael Padilla (Pensacola, Fla./Pine Forest HS) won the 8K race Saturday at the Florida State Invitational at Miccosaukee Greenway. Padilla helped lead the men to a third place finish while the Argonaut women finished fifth.

The West Florida men finished third, ahead of fourth place Tampa. Of the seven schools racing, West Florida and Tampa were the only two NCAA Division II institutions. Padilla finished with a time of 25:19.71, nearly 30 seconds ahead of Tampa's David Forry, who finished second. Padilla's time equaled Lamar Hardy's 8K time at the 1993 NAIA nationals for the fourth-best time in school history. Padilla now holds five of the top 10 8K times.

Junior Brian Gowin (Pensacola, Fla./Pine Forest HS) earned a top 20 finish in 16th place with a time of 26:31.29. Sophomore Jordan Theuerkauf (Wausau, Wisc./DCE) earned a time of 27:23:74 to finish 26th. Not too far behind in 29th place was senior Justin Dickieson at 27:26.83.

Also running for West Florida was senior Eric Mayes (Pensacola, Fla./Univ. of South Florida), who finished 36th with a time of 27:41.35. Junior Craig Henry (Mary Esther, Fla./Fort Walton Beach HS) crossed the finish line at 27:52.87 to finish 40th. Bennett Stackhouse rounded out the Argonaut contingent in 52nd place with at time of 28:29.25.

On the women's side, the Argonauts finished fifth in an eight-team field in the 5K race. Tampa, the only other participating Division II school, finished second. Senior Lauren Brooks (Westlake, Ohio/Westlake HS), who was the first Argonaut across the finish line at last week's Pre-National race in Pensacola, was the highest finishing Argonaut in 13th place with a time of 19:17.75. Junior Diana Sitar (Las Vegas, Nev./The Meadows School) joined Brooks in the top 20 by finishing 19th with a time of 19:43.78.

Three other Argonaut runners finished with top 30 times. Sophomore Jessica Spurgeon (Fayette, Mo./Fayette HS) ran the course in a time of 19:53.07 to finish 24th. Senior Jen Pulmano (Orange Park, Fla./Clay HS) put together a time of 19:57.68 to finish 27th. Junior Dawn Kane (Pensacola, Fla./Pensacola HS) posted a time of 20:03.99 to finish 30th.

Also running for West Florida were Amy Baird (Graysville, Tenn./Soddy Daisy HS), who finished 44th with a time of 20:46.62. Junior Rebecca Thielemann (Dunnellon, Fla/Crystal River HS) finished with a time of 21:00.46 for a 49th place finish. Junior Lindsey Failing (Pace, Fla./Pace HS) crossed the finish line in 70th place with a time of 22:15.44.

Both men's and women's squads will prepare for the Gulf South Conference Championships in Huntsville, Ala on Oct. 21. The races will begin at 9:00 a.m. CST.