JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida's cross country team will make its way to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2023 ASUN XC Championships on Saturday, October 28th, at Percy Warner Park. Both teams will compete on the Vaughn's Gap Course with the first race kicking off at 10:15 a.m. (EST).

LAST TIME OUT

The men's and women's cross country teams closed out the regular season victorious in Lakeland, Fla. Both squads notched a number-one team rank, as they ousted competitors from South Florida.

The North Florida men picked up a second team title in the 2023 season with Seth Martinez leading the way with his first career top individual finish. Gianna Forte did the same, clinching the first-place slot for the Osprey women, as both teams took home gold.

MAKING STRIDES

Last season, the North Florida men went top four at the 2022 ASUN XC Championships. Aidan O'Gorman held the Ospreys top individual finish in eighth overall, punching the clock in at 23:47.7 in the 8k. O'Gorman superseded his personal-best mark by four seconds at the meet and beat his own program record to make program history. The men had significant strides from Timothy Doyle, Macauley Franks, Onix Ortiz, and Aiden Arnold as well.

The women clinched a top-five team finish at the 2022 ASUN XC meet. Emma Jane O'Gorman led the Ospreys in the 5k event last season, circumventing competitors from teams such as FGCU, Austin Peay, and Queens. She recorded a personal-best mark of 17:39.1 in the race as well.

NOTABLE OPPONENTS

The men's and women's races will include the entire ASUN field, which includes Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, FGCU, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, North Alabama, Queens (N.C.) and Stetson. During last season's event, Eastern Kentucky, Liberty and Lipscomb went top three for the men's XC programs.

Liberty, Lipscomb and Eastern Kentucky have maintained top three placements for two consecutive seasons in the women's division. Both Ahmed Jaziri from Eastern Kentucky and Calli Doan from Liberty repeated as individual champions during the 2022 meet with respective times of 23:22.40 in the 8k and 16:21.00 in the 5k.

EVENT SCHEDULE

The women will start off the morning in Tennessee with a 10:15 a.m. (EST) start time. They will compete in the 5k for the first time on the season. The men will conclude the conference meet with their 8k race that starts at 11 a.m. (EST), shortly after the women's event. This will be the fourth and final time racing in an 8k this season, as the NCAA regional meet will expand to a 10k race.

PIGG'S POINTS

Men 
"It has been a good year. We are healthy and have put in some great work since the last XC season. I'm very excited to see how we stack up in the ASUN."
-- head coach Jeff Pigg

Women 
"This year's squad has a new look. We are missing EJ [O'Gorman] due to injury, but all others are doing well. I know we are better this year and it will be fun to see how we do at the championship."
-- head coach Jeff Pigg

UP NEXT

After the meet on Saturday, the Ospreys will head to Gainesville, Fla., to compete in the 2023 NCAA South Regional on Friday, Nov. 10.