XC Meet Preview: UNF Invitational

Robert Pedroza flexing on UNF Invitational graphic

9/8/2022 2:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida cross country will look to start its season on a high note as the Ospreys host for the first time since 2019 at the UNF Invitational on Friday, Sept. 9, starting at 7:30 a.m. The men's cross country programs will run in the first race, while the women's teams follow at 8:15 a.m.

LAST TIME OUT

The Ospreys vigorously finished the 2021 season with a fifth-place finish in the NCAA South Regional meet. More than half of the players set personal-best 6k times and three runners recorded times to place in the top 20. Aidan O'Gorman is the leading returner after earning 17th at the regional meet, with fifth-year redshirt senior Jared Vasquez and graduate Timothy Doyle both returning as well with times in the top 50.

The women's team placed 19th out of 33 fielded teams at the NCAA regional meet in Huntsville, Ala. UNF out-performed a pair of their conference opponents in Stetson and Jacksonville State during the meet. The women also posted a pair of top-10 finishes at the ASUN Championship 5k race and the Gans Creek Classic 6k meet. Raquel Lespasio, Mia McLain, and Camryn Cooney will be the top returners for North Florida this season.

MAKING STRIDES

UNF enters the 2022 season as back-to-back ASUN champions and will have sights set on their first three-peat in program history, as well as the ASUN's first three-peat since Lipscomb did it in 2015. They will also look to win the UNF XC Invitational for the first time since the 2018 season. This year's team features a few notable runners including O'Gorman, who set the second-best 10k mark in program history in the NCAA regional meet.

Much like the men, the women's team will look to start the season strong at home in the UNF Invitational. They will enter the year with a chip on their shoulder after being voted to finish eighth in the conference by the coaches. Lespasio, McLain and Cooney are back in the lineup to help lead the Ospreys for the 2022 season. McLain, the top runner for UNF last season, placed in the top 100 at the NCAA South Regional meet, hitting a personal-best time of 22:19.23.

NOTABLE OPPONENTS

For the men's race, UNF will be racing against four in-state opponents with Jacksonville, Saint Leo, Bethune-Cookman and FSCJ (Jacksonville), as well as out-of-state competitor, Presbyterian, to round out the group. Shane Bracken placed as an individual for Saint Leo in the 10,000m race at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship this past season.

In the women's race, it will include the same teams as the men's meet, with the additions of Florida A&M and ASUN rival, Stetson. Last season, the Hatters finished within the top 25 at the NCAA South Region Cross Country Championship. Saint Leo also qualified as a team for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship and finished just outside the top 25 as well.

EVENT SCHEDULE

The men's 8k race starts at 7:30 a.m. with the women's 5k race following right afterwards at 8:15 a.m. Both teams will be racing down Betty Holzendorf Drive around the perimeter of the UNF Hayt Golf Center before crossing their respective finish lines on their way back around.

UP NEXT

After the meet on Friday, the Ospreys will head up to Columbia, Mo., to run in the Missouri Invitational on Friday, Sept. 30, at 9 a.m. EST.

PIGG'S POINTS

"We are excited to be hosting a home cross country meet again this year. It is a great way to kick off the season. We have been working for quite some time and it will be exciting to finally line up and race. Our men have good leadership and front runners, and it is time for a couple of our younger guys to step to the fold as well.

Our women will have quite a race on their hands, as we face our crosstown rival, Jacksonville, who is ranked just ahead of us in the ASUN preseason poll. The women also have good depth and a lot of possibilities, so it will be exciting to see who has the breakthrough season."