JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The North Florida track and field teams finished strong on the final day of competition at the ASUN Outdoor Track and Field Championship at the Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium on Saturday, May 14.
Robert Pedroza and
Aidan O'Gorman showed out in their finals races, as Pedroza placed second in the 800m final and O'Gorman followed that up with a runner-up finish of his own in the 1500m. They joined
Kaley Petrosky as the three Ospreys to place in the top three this week.
The runner-up finish by Pedroza is his second time medaling at an ASUN event after participating on the 4x400m team that earned third in 2021. The sophomore from Key West, Fla., is also the first Osprey to place second or better in the 800m race at the conference meet since Nick Morken won the event in 2018.
In the 1500m, O'Gorman continues the program's dominance in the race, as he became the seventh consecutive UNF runner to place in that event at the ASUN Championship. It is the second time the sophomore from New Smyrna Beach, Fla., has medaled at the conference event after also grabbing second in the 10,000m last year.
ON THE TRACK
Men's Races
- O'Gorman ran a time of 14:34.84 in the 5000m to end his week with a runner-up finish after also placing fourth in the 10,000m race on the first day of the meet.
- Pedroza made his first individual stand on the ASUN podium in his career after placing as the runner-up in the 800m finals with a time of 1:50.59.
- Timothy Doyle also ran in the 800m event placing fifth in the race at 1:52.26 for his first of two events he competed in this afternoon.
- Doyle finished in fourth for the 1500m finals with a time of 3:47.39 out of the 12 runners that qualified in the prelim races.
- Ryan Thomas was seventh in the 400m hurdles clocking in at 55.82 after qualifying for the finals race on Thursday.
- The Ospreys rounded out a great conference championship week with a top-five finish in the men's 1600m relay that notched a time of 3:20.91.
Women's Races
- Mia McLain ran in the women's 1500m event and finished the race in 11th with a personal-best time of 4:38.30.
- Hannah Martin lead a trio of Ospreys that ran in the 5000m event with a time of 18:18.13 that earned her 13th-place.
- Billie Castillo and Raquel Lespasio finished side-by-side to round out the group with times of 18:56.22 and 18:57.02 respectively.
TOP OSPREY PERFORMERS
Second Place
Robert Pedroza - Men's 800m
Aidan O'Gorman - Men's 5000m
Third Place
Kaley Petrosky - Women's High Jump
PIGG'S THOUGHTS
NEXT UP
The UNF track and field athletes will wait to see if they have been selected to advance to the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round. Selections are announced Thursday, May 19.
