'23 Season in Review - Track & Field - University of North Florida Athletics

'23 Season in Review - Track & Field

6/23/2023 4:00:00 PM | Men's Track, Women's Track

Men's Indoor Statistics Men's Outdoor Statistics Women's Indoor Statistics Women's Outdoor Statistics

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The North Florida track & field squads had one of its most successful seasons within recent years with 36 combined top finishes, 11 All-ASUN selections, eight program records broken and an NCAA All-American honorable mention selection.

Three runners qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East First Round with a chance to run against the best in the nation on their home track at Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium. Robert Pedroza (1500m), Macauley Franks (3000mS) and Aidan O'Gorman (10,000m) represented the Ospreys during the first round and O'Gorman punched his ticket to Austin, Tex., for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Between indoor and outdoor seasons for both the men's and women's squads, UNF found success week in and week out with multiple weekly conference awards and top-three finishes across various events. O'Gorman highlighted the season as the ASUN Most Outstanding Indoor Track Performer, a three-time event champion, two-time ASUN All-Academic selection, two school records broken and an NCAA Championship qualifier.

AT A GLANCE - INDOOR

Jimmy Carnes Invitational

Ospreys opened the indoor season at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational with 12 top-three finishes, including five event winners.
Franks and Ladarius Tellis went 1-2 in the 800m race, followed with a first overall finish in the mile to take down the program record on his first try.
Ella Chandler (800m), EJ Schlageter (Mile) and Erica Fisher (3000m) all took home event wins in their season debuts on the women's side.

RADD Sports College Invitational

UNF returned to Gainesville, Fla., for the RADD Sports College Invite with a whopping number of 23 top-three finishes, including five champions once again.
The men finished first and second in the 800m, first through sixth in the mile, first through fourth in the 3000m and first through fifth in the 5000m.
Franks (800m), Timothy Doyle (Mile), O'Gorman (3000m) and Seth Martinez (5000m) recorded the big wins on their second go-around of the indoor season.
For the women, Schlageter (3000m) was the highlight of the meet with her first overall finish, followed with runner-up marks from Chandler (600m & 800m), Fisher (3000m) and Isa Leen (5000m).
O'Gorman earned his first career ASUN Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week after an outstanding performance in the 3k to break a 35-year-old program record.

Celebration Pointe Indoor Classic & Camel City Invitational

UNF competed in a split meet between the Celebration Pointe Indoor Classic and the Camel City Invitational in early February.
The men had three runner-up positions at the Celebration Pointe meet, while Kaley Petrosky broke the facility record in the high jump to win the meet.
At the Camel City meet, the men's DMR team won the top spot in the meet and broke the program record, followed with a runner-up finish in the mile from Doyle and a third-place finish from Chandler in the 800m.
Franks was the second UNF runner to be tabbed with ASUN weekly honors for Track Athlete of the Week after his performance in the mile at the Camel City Invitational.

Florida University Invitational & David Hemery Valentine Invitational

The Ospreys split squads once again the next week with the team going to the Florida University Invitational, while O'Gorman and Franks travelled to Boston, Mass., for the David Hemery Valentine Invite.
There were 14 total top-three placements from UNF in their regular season indoor finale with five event champions for the third time in four meets in Gainesville.
Tariq LaJoie and Petrosky won the high jump meet respectively for the men and women, while Ryan Thomas (60mH), Robert Pedroza (800m) and Gavin O'Brien (Mile) came away with victories.
At the Boston meet, Franks clocked in a personal-best sub-four-minute to improve his program mark, while O'Gorman went top-25 with a sub-eight-minute mark in the 3000m.
Thomas and O'Gorman both broke school records in their respective events to bring the total to five indoor records broken in 2023.

ASUN Indoor Championships

The Ospreys brought their momentum to the ASUN Indoor Championships, where they had two event champions and six combined All-ASUN selections, as the men finished third as a team.
O'Gorman was the champion for both the 3000m and 5000m, while Ryan Douihech (800m), Franks (Mile) and the DMR team all got second, followed by Petrosky's third overall placement in the high jump.
On top of being awarded the conference's Most Outstanding Indoor Track Athlete, he was also selected to the ASUN All-Academic Team.

AT A GLANCE - OUTDOOR

River City Classic

The River City Classic yielded outstanding results from the Ospreys in their outdoor home opener with six event winners and 19 podium finishers.
Doyle (800m), Franks (1500m), Luke Clements (3000mS) and Kameron Wallizada (10,000m) won on the men's side, while Fisher (5000m) and Raquel Lespasio (10,000m) brought home big wins for the women.
The men also finished with six runners in the top seven of the 800m, all seven runners in the top seven of the 1500m, four runners in the top six of the 10,000m and three jumpers in the top five of the high jump.

Raleigh Relays

O'Gorman and Franks went to the Raleigh Relays to compete at NC State for NCAA qualifying times, which they achieved with program records for their respective races.
Franks finished 10th overall among a group of Power Five runners in the 3000mS, while O'Gorman finished 20th overall with a sub-29-minute mark in the 10,000m.

Florida Relays

Four top-three finishes were posted at the Florida Relays for the team's first road meet, as Aidan Arnold highlighted the meet as the event winner of the 1500m.
A pair of third place finishes from the men were also made by Jared Vazquez (1500m) and Jaasiel Torres (HJ), along with Pedroza posting a program record in the 1500m elite race in fifth overall.
Fisher finished second overall for the women in the 5000m, followed by Leen in fourth as well.

Tom Jones Memorial

A return to UF for a second straight meet at the Tom Jones Memorial had Doyle finishing second among the field, followed with Petrosky and Schlageter each setting season-high marks.
In between meets at UF, Pedroza picked up his first career ASUN Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week honor.
O'Gorman was also recognized just a day later as the ASUN Winner of Life honoree for the winter term.

Georgia Tech Invitational

Five more event champions were awarded in UNF's last road meet with nine athletes finishing among the top three at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
Pedroza (800m & 1500m) and O'Gorman (5000m) headlined their races in first with three Ospreys in the top four of the 800m and 1500m, while both Torres and Jacob Hippo shared first overall in the high jump.
Ella Chandler had the best mark for the women's team with a third-place finish and a personal-best time in the 800m.
Pedroza turned his top finishes for two events, including a lifetime best, into another conference weekly award for the second time this season.

East Coast Relays

Just before the regular season finale, UNF celebrated its accomplishments at The Ozzies with Franks winning Male Newcomer of the Year and O'Gorman winning Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Ospreys put together three podium placements on the men's side, as well as personal-best marks on the women's side.
Franks and Pedroza went first and second for the 1500m, along with Franks earning another top-two finish in the 800m the next day, which earned him ASUN Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week honors.

ASUN Outdoor Championships

The ASUN Outdoor Championship capped the seasons for the majority of each team, as UNF hosted the conference's best in May.
O'Gorman (5000m - ASUN record), Franks (1500m) and Pedroza (800m) became event champions, followed by second-team placements from O'Gorman (10,000m) and Doyle (1500m).
O'Gorman and Franks were also selected to the ASUN All-Academic Team, making O'Gorman the first athlete in program history to be selected to the conference's All-Academic team for cross country, indoor and outdoor in the same season.

NCAA Outdoor East Regional First Round & NCAA Outdoor Championships

Pedroza (1500m), Franks (3000mS) and O'Gorman (10,000m) all finished the season qualifying to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field First Round meet hosted at Visit Jax Track.
After placing 11th overall in the meet, O'Gorman became the second Osprey in men's program history to make it to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Tex.
The senior from New Smyrna Beach, Fla., finished 11th overall in the 10,000m finals race and earned All-American honorable mention recognition.
To complete the 2023 track season, eight Ospreys from both cross country and track & field were tabbed with CSC Academic All-District Team honors.