Cross Country Has Sights Set on ASUN Championships

Saturday, October 30

Orlando, Fla.

TBA

University of North Florida

2021 ASUN Championship

ASUN preview graphic with Thomas Weiler, Aidan Arnold, and Onix Ortiz running at FSU Pre-Nationals meet in Tallahassee

10/29/2021 12:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Stream Live Timing Meet Info

Men's team aim for fourth title in seven years

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida's cross country teams head down to Orlando, Fla., at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to compete in the ASUN Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 7:40 am. The men's team looks to defend their conference title, while the women's team aims for their first title since 2017.

LAST TIME OUT

During the last time out for UNF, the men's team placed 21st in the Pre-Nationals meet that included top-ranked teams from across the country. They finished over many Power Five schools in Tallahassee, Fla., such as UCLA, Florida, and Ohio State. Senior Nathan Jubran was the top runner on the team for the third time this season and senior Noah Perkins joined him within the top 100 individuals with a career-best 8k time. Sophomore Jake Turner also finished with a career-best time as well, with seniors Jared Vazquez and Timothy Doyle rounded out the top five for the Ospreys.

The women's team also ran well in the Pre-Nationals meet, as they placed 17th in the open race over in-state teams such as Florida Atlantic and FIU. They also finished over conference opponent Florida Gulf Coast, who they will be competing against this Saturday. The top returners from that meet for the ASUN race will be senior Camryn Cooney and sophomore Mia McLain. They both placed within the top 115 individuals and recorded 6k times just over 23 minutes. Senior Raquel Lespasio, who was the top team runner in the FSU XC Open earlier this season, followed in right behind Cooney and McLain with a 127th-place finish.

MAKING STRIDES

Nathan Jubran looks to defend his individual ASUN title, alongside the men's team defending their team title, when they race in Orlando this weekend. The Preseason ASUN Runner of the Year will also aim to post his third-consecutive top 8k time in school history, as he ran the program's best 8k time in the Gans Creek Classic on Oct. 1, and then ran the second-best time in Pre-Nationals weeks later. The top three tandem of Nathan Jubran, Noah Perkins, and Jake Turner, who combined hold nine of the program's top 10 times in 8k races, have their sights set on leading UNF to their fourth conference title in seven years.

The women's team will return most of their runners from Pre-Nationals for the ASUN Championship meet this Saturday. Senior Grace Gumpel is the top returner on last season's ASUN meet for the Ospreys, while six of the eight other runners for the women have experienced running in the conference meet. Most of the meets throughout the regular season have been 6k races, so the women will look to use that advantage when competing in the 5k meet on Saturday.

NOTABLE OPPONENTS

Both cross country teams will compete against all 12 teams in the ASUN Conference. The men's race will feature five total teams that are ranked in the USTFCCCA regional rankings. Lipscomb is one spot ahead of the Ospreys within the top five of the South Region, while Liberty, Central Arkansas, and Eastern Kentucky are all ranked in the top 12 of their respective regions. Since 2013, the ASUN men's championship has been won by either UNF or Lipscomb, as the Bison have five titles and the Ospreys have three over that eight-year span.

The women's race will feature four ranked teams in the regional polls, including Lipscomb and Kennesaw State that are both ranked in the top 12 of the South Region. Liberty is ranked third in the Southeast region over Kentucky and Duke, while Eastern Kentucky sits at 15th in that region. Although Liberty won the ASUN Championship last year, Lipscomb has won eight of the past 10 titles, with the Ospreys taking the conference title in 2017 and another one in 2010 before the Bison's run.

EVENT SCHEDULE

The Ospreys starts the morning with the men's team competing in the 8k race at 7:40 am. The women's team will follow up shortly after and start their 5k race at 8:15 am. The awards ceremony for the individual and team winners will take place at 9:15 am.

Both the men's and women's teams will send nine participants to Orlando, Fla., for each of the conference races on Saturday morning. The race will be streamed on ESPN+ and the results will be updated at every checkpoint on Half-Mile Timing.

HOW TO GO

The ASUN Championship ticketing information is located in the "Meet Info" tab at the top of the page. Admission passes will be available for $19.50 for adults (ages 10+) and $14.50 for children (ages 3-9). Children under three (3) years of age will be admitted free.

Spectator parking is available at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at no additional cost. The address for the event is 700 South Victory Way, Kissimmee, FL, 34747.

UP NEXT

After the ASUN Conference Championship meets this Saturday, the Ospreys will prepare for a potential bid to race in the NCAA South Regional meet on Friday, Nov. 12, in Huntsville, Ala. The last appearances for both teams in the NCAA Regionals were during the 2019 season due to the meet being canceled in the 2021 spring season due to COVID-19.

PIGG'S POINTS

"We are heading into the ASUN Championships coming off a couple of great weeks of practice. Our race at Pre-Nationals showed progress on both sides and we continue to build on that with a focus on peaking at the ASUN meet. With 12 teams in the championships, it changes the scoring dynamics and has certainly made the conference very strong. Our focus is on just running our race and seeing how we stack up against the others. We don't have to go do anything that we haven't already done in meets or practices, we just need to execute like we are capable of and let the chips fall.

Nathan [Jubran], Jake [Turner], and Noah [Perkins] have been very consistent as top runners for the men. Aidan [O'Gorman] is doing much better after some mid-season illness. Our strong middle distance crew of Tim [Doyle], Jared [Vazquez], and Robert [Pedroza] are looking great as well. We have run some nice races this fall, but we have not really executed the perfect team race. We know it's time to put it all together.

Our top five for the women this fall has been consistent with Camryn [Cooney], Mia [McLain], Raquel [Lespasio], Billie [Castillo], and Sadie [McLaughlin]. However, Sadie broke her collarbone and arm this week so, unfortunately, she will not be able to compete. Chelsey [Oliver] and Grace [Gumpel] both have shown they can perform at a solid, top-five level as well. We are excited to go race!"