unf men's cross country and women's cross country team photos

Cross Country Announces Full Meet Schedule For 2023 Season

Will Host UNF XC Invitational on Sept. 1

7/28/2023 4:00:00 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's and women's cross country releases its schedule for the 2023 season as announced by head coach Jeff Pigg on Friday afternoon.

The Ospreys' meet slate is highlighted by their home meet, the North Florida Invitational, hosted on Friday, Sept. 1, in UNF Golf Complex at the Hayt Learning Center. Three away meets follow the season opener at Florida, Missouri and Florida Southern before postseason competition at the ASUN Championships and NCAA South Regionals.

North Florida Invitational
The Ospreys will be set to open up the season on Friday, Sept. 1, hosting their second consecutive home meet, the UNF XC Invitational. Teams will include Florida and Florida State among other competitors. Both men's and women's team will look to defend their team titles at the UNF Golf Complex.

Last season, the men were led by Aidan O'Gorman in first overall with all 15 runners placing in the top 18 spots. The women had 10 runners inside the top 20 on their side with Emma Jane Schlageter with the top finish at third overall.

Mountain Dew Invitational
For the first time since 2019, the Ospreys will return to Gainesville, Fla., for the Mountain Dew Invitational on Friday, Sept. 15. This will be one of three road meets, as well as the second of three in-state meets, before postseason competition later in the year.

Both teams made finishes in the top three of 30 teams, as they look to replicate that success just four seasons later. The only runner that has previous experience running at Florida for cross country is O'Gorman, who placed 16th overall in the meet.

Gans Creek Classic
For the fourth time in five seasons, North Florida will travel to Columbia, Mo., to run against the nation's top teams in the Gans Creek Classic on Friday, Sept. 29. The men's team made an outstanding finish last season placing third overall among 22 teams. The women's team also made spectacular strides going top 15 with four runners in the top 100.

O'Gorman broke his previous personal-best in the 8k at the meet and will have a chance to do it again this season. He was the leader at Missouri finishing eighth as one of nine runners in the top 100 for the men.

South Florida Invitational
UNF will stay in state yet again, going to Florida Southern Oct. 13 for the final tune-up before ASUN Championship play set for two weeks later. This will be the conclusion of the regular season and the first and only evening race of the season for the Ospreys with a start time of 5 p.m.

ASUN Conference Championship
The ASUN Cross Country Championships will see a change of scenery with the races being held in Nashville, Tenn., hosted on Saturday, Oct. 28. The UNF men and women will be one of 10 ASUN teams competing for the top spot at the conference meet.

After a fourth-place finish last season, the men have their sights set on returning to the top spot for the third time in four seasons, as well as the fifth time in eight seasons. The women have consistently stayed among the top five teams in the meet but will look for their first win in the conference championship since 2017.

NCAA Regionals
The Ospreys return to Gainesville for the second time on the year with Florida hosting the NCAA South Regionals on Friday, Nov. 10.

During last year's meet, O'Gorman was the only Osprey for the men in the top 40 at 17th overall to help lead the squad to an eighth-place finish. On the women's side, Isa Leen and Schlageter were both among the top 100 individuals to finish inside the top 20 teams.

The 2023 XC schedule is an excellent blend of competitiveness, travel and terrain. We will see some great teams and go to some exciting places without being gassed at the championship point of the year. Opening at home with Florida and FSU among others will be an exciting opener. Then, we go to UF to preview the South Regional course and, again, run with some stiff competition. Our trip to Missouri will be the strongest meet of the year, as they are hosting the Midwest Regional this year and the NCAA Championships in 2025. The field there will be amazing competition and it is a first class meet.

All of our training and races will point to the ASUN Championships in Nashville. It is a somewhat challenging course, so we will point our training to be ready for the race. The regionals back in Gainesville will be an easy trip and we will hope to jump up a few spots from where we were in 2022. It should be a great year for UNF cross country.

- head coach Jeff Pigg