Friday, November 10
Gainesville, Fla.
8:30 a.m.
University of North Florida
vs
NCAA South Regionals
Women's Cross Country Goes Top 20 at NCAA South Regionals
11/10/2023 9:00:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -Â North Florida women's cross country team closed out the season with a top-20 placement in the NCAA South Regionals on Friday morning.
Ana Markovina clinched the lead ranking for the Ospreys, marking her second career lead placement at UNF. Markovina positioned herself in 92nd overall notching the race in 20:49.8, while Forte also joined her in the top 100 at 20:51.0.
"They competed well and it was a tough race. I think when it's all said and done, there'll be five teams out of that region that go to nationals, including Lipscomb who was fifth. I thought the girls did a good job this year. We've made some strides in the right direction. We have a couple of seniors, Billie [Castillo] and Gianna [Forte], but we have a lot of young girls, so I'm really proud of what we were able to accomplish. I'm proud of the effort that the girls put not just in the race, but also in their preparation and their commitment. I thought it was a good day and we look for many even better in the future.
It was nice to see Ana [Markovina] have another solid race. Gianna, who is from Jacksonville and went to Florida, came back to UNF for PT school. She started her career here and obviously finished it here with a nice solid race, so that was that was fun to see too. Isa [Leen] had a solid race. I think she might have been a little bit disappointed, but she was having an off day. She just kept on competing really hard because she knew that it mattered for our team score. For Billie [Castillo], that was her last collegiate cross country meet and she bounced back from what wasn't a really strong race for her at the conference meet. It was nice to see her up there in the top four for our team. That was a wrap on our season and I thought they did a nice job."
-- head coach Jeff PiggÂ
92. Ana Markovina - 20:49.8 (PR)
95. Gianna Forte - 20:51.0 (PR)
116. Isa Leen - 21:06.9 (PR)
128. Billie Castillo - 21:17.8
130. Erica Fisher -Â 21:19.5
132. Emma Millson - 21.22.4
147. Jada Williams - 21:32.6
Ana Markovina clinched the lead ranking for the Ospreys, marking her second career lead placement at UNF. Markovina positioned herself in 92nd overall notching the race in 20:49.8, while Forte also joined her in the top 100 at 20:51.0.
FINISH LINE
- Markovina led the Ospreys in 92nd overall, clinching a new personal-best time in the 6k race.
- Forte crunched a new lifetime mark in the race as well to finish 95th overall.
- Isa Leen was the third Osprey on the day to earn a personal-best at 21:06.9.
- Billie Castillo, Erica Fisher and Emma Millson all finished within five spots of each other to help UNF to its top-20 finish.
- Jada Williams rounded out the group to stay inside the top 150 individuals to close out the season.
PIGG'S POINTS
"They competed well and it was a tough race. I think when it's all said and done, there'll be five teams out of that region that go to nationals, including Lipscomb who was fifth. I thought the girls did a good job this year. We've made some strides in the right direction. We have a couple of seniors, Billie [Castillo] and Gianna [Forte], but we have a lot of young girls, so I'm really proud of what we were able to accomplish. I'm proud of the effort that the girls put not just in the race, but also in their preparation and their commitment. I thought it was a good day and we look for many even better in the future.It was nice to see Ana [Markovina] have another solid race. Gianna, who is from Jacksonville and went to Florida, came back to UNF for PT school. She started her career here and obviously finished it here with a nice solid race, so that was that was fun to see too. Isa [Leen] had a solid race. I think she might have been a little bit disappointed, but she was having an off day. She just kept on competing really hard because she knew that it mattered for our team score. For Billie [Castillo], that was her last collegiate cross country meet and she bounced back from what wasn't a really strong race for her at the conference meet. It was nice to see her up there in the top four for our team. That was a wrap on our season and I thought they did a nice job."
-- head coach Jeff PiggÂ
UNF RESULTS
92. Ana Markovina - 20:49.8 (PR)95. Gianna Forte - 20:51.0 (PR)
116. Isa Leen - 21:06.9 (PR)
128. Billie Castillo - 21:17.8
130. Erica Fisher -Â 21:19.5
132. Emma Millson - 21.22.4
147. Jada Williams - 21:32.6
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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