PENSACOLA, Fla. – The West Florida men’s cross country team has added two newcomers to the roster this fall, and both are hometown products from Pensacola. Sophomore Don Kerrigan, a graduate of Pensacola Catholic High School, transferred to UWF after competing at Maine during his freshman season. He will be joined by fellow Pensacola native Alec Clark, an incoming freshman from West Florida High School.
Don Kerrigan (Pensacola, Fla./Maine) ran for the cross country and indoor track and field teams at Maine during the 2012-13 academic year. During his time at Pensacola Catholic he won the 2011 district championship and placed sixth in the 5,000-meter run at the state championships. Kerrigan also placed fourth in the state in the 3,200-meter run for the track team.
Alec Clark (Pensacola, Fla./West Florida HS) will start his first collegiate season this fall after making a name for himself at the high school level. He was an all-area selection in cross country and track and field, and he won a district championship in the 1,600-meter run in 2012 and the 3,200-meter run in 2013. He also led the West Florida High School cross country team to a regional runner-up finish and a seventh place finish at the state meet in 2012.
“Both Don and Alec have experience running in state championships,” explained first-year head coach Caleb Carmichael. “Don has experience in collegiate running already, and Alec was one of the best runners in the Pensacola area in high school last year. They’ll bring in a lot of extra experience and add to our team’s depth.”
In addition to the two newcomers, Carmichael has two other runners who were members of the team last season that will be competing with the team in the fall for the first time in 2013. Tim Wenger (Inverness, Fla./Citrus HS) ran in one meet in the fall unattached in 2012, and during the spring track season he was the Argonauts’ top performer. The Inverness, Fla. native posted a UWF freshman record time of 15:12 in the 5k at the Auburn War Eagle Invitational. Nick Merrett (Christchurch, New Zealand/Burnside HS) joined the squad in the spring semester, and his best performance came at the FSU Relays where he crossed the line at 16:03 in the 5k.
“Tim and Nick both had great springs, and hopefully that will continue that into the fall,” said Carmichael. “We’re looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish.”
The UWF men’s cross country team finished third at the 2012 Gulf South Conference Championships and fifth at the 2012 NCAA South Regional. The Argos have finished in the top three in the GSC each of the last three seasons.
UWF will open the 2013 fall season with their home meet, the Gulf Coast Stampede at the Escambia County Equestrian Center, on Saturday, Sept. 14. The women’s 5,000-meter run will start at 7:30 a.m., and the men’s 8,000-meter run will follow at 8 a.m. For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.