West Florida's Michael Padilla Qualifies for Nationals in Pensacola :: Men's Cross Country Just Misses out on Chance to Compete in Nationals

Nov. 4, 2006

MEMPHIS - The West Florida men's and women's cross country teams competed at the NCAA Division II South Regional Meet this morning at Shelby Plough Park in Memphis, Tenn. The men's team finished in third place out of 17 teams. Harding won the meet followed by Florida Southern. The top two teams advance to nationals. On the women's side, UWF finished in sixth out of 22 teams. Harding won the women's race as well. Tampa was second and Florida Southern finished third, as the top three teams advance to nationals.

For the third consecutive season, Michael Padilla (Pensacola, Fla./Pine Forest HS) qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships at the Escambia Equestrian Center in Pensacola, Fla. on Nov. 18. He dashed to a third place finish with a time of 31:23 in the 10K race. His time marked the second best in school history. Second best to his own time he recorded in the 2004 regionals. Jordan Theuerkauf (Wausau, Wisc./DCE) was 12th with a time of 32:48. Theuerkauf's time is the fifth best time school history. Brian Gowin (Pensacola, Fla./Pine Forest HS) crossed the line in 14th place with a time of 32:52. Gowin's time is the sixth best time in school history. Padilla, Theuerkauf and Gowin made the NCAA II All-South Region Team.

Craig Henry (Mary Esther, Fla./Forth Walton Beach HS) had a time of 34:01 for 30th place. Jason Dickieson (Crawfordville, Fla./Godby HS) finished in 60th with a time of 35:17. Eric Mayes (Pensacola, Fla./Washington HS) was 80th with his time of 35:58, and Martin Vaughn (Lawrenceville, Ga./Mill Creek HS) landed in 84th with a time of 36:11. Theuerkauf, Gowin, Henry, Dickieson and Vaughn all achieved personal 10K time bests.

"It hurts to finish in second again, but I'm really happy with how everyone ran today," said UWF head coach Matt Dobson. "I'm looking forward to seeing Michael run in nationals here in Pensacola."

Lauren Brooks (Westlake, Ohio/Westlake HS) paced UWF with 6K time of 24:06. She finished in 26th place. Jessica Spurgeon (Fayette, Mo./Fayette HS) was 43rd and finished with a time of 24:49. Diana Sitar (Las Vegas, Nev./The Meadows School) landed in 45th place with a time of 24:52. Dawn Kane (Pensacola, Fla./Pensacola HS) was 54th with a 25:07 mark. Jen Pulmano (Orange Park, Fla./Clay HS) crossed the line with a 25:17 time for 61st place. Amy Lankford finished in 64th place with a time of 25:21, and Rebecca Thielemann was 70th with a time of 25:29.

"The women's race was very competitive this year," said Dobson. "We improved from ninth place last year to sixth this season in regionals. I'm pleased with the season."