University of Florida - Tower / Seminole Yearbook (Gainesville, FL)

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Second in the SEC The men ' s cross country team finished second behind Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships for the third consecutive year. Runner Bill Cason finished fourth in the meet with a time of 24:20. Cason was followed by John Rogerson in sixth place, Mike Blaney in eighth and Mike Bilyeu twelfth. Other finishers included Roger Sutton, Eric Joffre and Steve Conway. The cross country team had an outstanding season, shutting out their in all five regular season meets. In the season opener against Santa Fe Community College and Florida Track Club, Florida dominated the competition, capturing the seven top positions. Mike Bilyeu finished first in the four mile run while teammates Mike Blaney, Bill Cason, Steve Conway, John and Eric Joffre filled in the other six spots. Even though half the cross country team failed to place in the Run for the Stars Invitational, those who did place grabbed top honors. Bilyeu finished first with Cason following in third, Conway in fourth and Joffre in seventh. With their efforts, Florida won the race and boasted a 2-0 record. The third meet of the season was the third first place win for both Florida and Bilyeu. Also placing in the five mile State Invitational meet were (3rd), Cason (4th), Blaney (7th), (15th), and Roger Sutton (16th). In the Furman Invitational no Florida runner placed better than fourth, but Florida still went on to collect their fourth consecutive win. The Gators final meet was the Florida Invitational. Rogerson dazzled the home audience by finishing first, his only win of the season. Other top finishers were Cason in fourth and Blaney in fifth. After the SEC Championship, Florida went on to be the fourth best cross country team in the NCAA District Ill Regionals. Rogerson finished first among the Florida runners capturing ninth place in the meet and an option to attend the NCAA Championships. Rogerson placed 69th at the NCAA ' s with a time just over 31 minutes. — Tina Gonsalves 1) Mike Bilyeu was th e winningest member of the team with three first place finishes while ex-Navy runner John Rogerson was the only runner to represent Florida at the NCAA Championships. 2) First row: Mike Blaney, Tripp Godfrey, Mark Pietrofesa, Eric Joffre, John Rogerson, John Thrailkill. Second row: Michael Bilyeu, Roger Sutton, David Strahl, Bill Cason, Steve Conway, Bart Sellers, Coach John Randolph. (Opposite page) 1) Senior Bill Cason was the top SEC runner in his first year at Florida. I) Sports Information 112 Track

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1) Allyson Limbaugh and captain Greg Robinson perform with the band during a half-time show. 2) Showmanship is one of the qualities it takes to become a Gator cheerleader. 2) Flash Foto 1) K. Rotberg

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1) K. Rotberg I came to Florida because of its running program. I knew that Coach Randolph was a great coach and the cross country team had a lot of tradition backing it up, said senior Bill Cason. Cason, a transfer student from Furman University, came to Florida after the Furman track program folded due to a lack of funds. Switching schools as a senior was difficult, but Cason said his involvement in the cross country team and his teammates helped make the transition easier. The team really has a family type atmosphere around it. Everyone is supportive of each other and we tried as hard as we could to help each other out as well as the team. The support helped me through my transfer. — Bill Cason Senior Men ' s Track 113