McLain and Lespasio Lead Women's Cross Country at Regionals

Friday, November 12

Huntsville, Ala.

8:30 am

University of North Florida

NCAA Regionals

Mia McLain South regional meet running to finish line

Photo by: Anderson Bobo

11/12/2021 1:30:00 PM | Women's Cross Country

Final Results Photo Gallery

Meet: NCAA South Regionals
Location: Huntsville, Ala.
Date: Friday, Nov. 12, 2021

COURSE REPORT: Mia McLain and Raquel Lespasio both set personal-best 6k times to lead the North Florida women's cross country team to a top-20 finish at the NCAA South Regionals.

The Ospreys placed 19th in a field of 33 teams in the regional meet in Huntsville, Ala. The women finished over conference opponents against Stetson and Jacksonville State, as well as in-state competition against South Florida, Florida Atlantic, and Florida International.

FINISH LINE

Five of the seven Osprey runners for the women ran personal-best 6k times in the regional meet on Friday morning.
McLain had her best race of the season with a personal-best 6k time of 22:19.23, which put her just outside the top 100 runners at the regional meet.
Lespasio placed right behind McLain, with a personal-best time of her own, finishing in 108th at 22:26.48.
Camryn Cooney finished among the top-three Osprey runners for the fourth time this season, as she placed 113th at 22:29.95.

SEASON WRAP UP

The women's team wrap up their 2021 cross country season. Their best performances of the season were top-10 finishes at both the Gans Creek Classic 6k meet and the ASUN Championship 5k meet. McLain led the Ospreys throughout the season as the lead runner in three of their five meets, with Lespasio and Sadie McLaughlin both finishing as the top team runner in the other two races. Cooney also performed well this season with three top-two team finishes.

PIGG'S POINTS

"Women's team did a nice job today. It was a really strong finish for the end of the season. Our women as a whole really stepped up and continued to progress. We had an 18-second spread from our first to fifth runner, which is something we've worked on to run as a pack. We bonded and got some good experiences for the young women. It was a great way to finish on a strong note." -- head coach Jeff Pigg

FINAL THOUGHTS

"Camryn [Cooney] has meant a lot to this cross country program. She's worked hard and done an excellent job for us. I thought that she went out with one of the best cross country races of her entire career. I'm really proud of what she's accomplished and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with her."

"Mia [McLain] just keeps getting better and had a really strong race today. She's progressing nicely and I think she has a pretty good future. It's nice for her to finish the cross country season on a positive note."

"Raquel [Lespasio] has continued to get better since the first day she walked into practice. She works hard and it's exciting to see her continue that trend."

"Chelsey [Oliver] is another senior that's had a nice journey and it's been good to see her continue to progress and have her as a part of the group. This was probably her healthiest and best cross country season, so it was nice to finally be able to put a good string of races together for her."

"Billie [Castillo] has been consistent and steady all season. She has consistently been in our top five and has done a good job in continuing to improve as well."

-- Head coach Jeff Pigg

UNF RESULTS

101. Mia McLain - 22:19.23
108. Raquel Lespasio - 22:26.48
113. Camryn Cooney - 22:29.95
121. Chelsey Oliver - 22:37.41
122. Billie Castillo - 22:37.78
161. EJ Schlageter - 23:19.08
166. Hannah Martin - 23:25.91