Cross Country Set to Compete in Missouri at Gans Creek Classic

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida cross country will hit the road once again and head to Columbia, Mo., for its second meet of the season at the Gans Creek Classic hosted by Missouri. It will take place on Friday, Sept. 29, starting at 9:00 a.m., with the men running in the first 8k race, followed by the women racing in the 6k at 9:45 a.m.

PREVIOUS MEET HIGHLIGHTS

Men

O'Gorman maintained a top-three position from the 2k mark on and never looked back after finishing with a season debut time of 24:01.0.
Pedroza had a strong race as well, with a top-two time from the 2500m on, as he and O'Gorman went back and forth for him to ultimately finish second overall in the 8k at 24:06.1.
Onix Ortiz Vazquez crushed his 8k personal-best time at 24:22.1 to place in the top five in the season opener.
Cole Perry was right behind Ortiz Vaquez in seventh at 24:35.1, while William Sinclair and Aiden Arnold finished together for 10th and 11th overall.
Paul Lespasio and Ilias El Khattabi put seven Osprey runners, as well as O'Gorman, in the top 25 individuals to give UNF momentum moving forward from its season-opening win.

Women

Markovina, who is a recent transfer from St. John's, made an early impact with a 20th-place finish that led the team in the 3-mile race.
Fisher was following Markovina after clocking in right at 18 minutes, as she pushed her way from 47th from the 1-mile checkpoint to a 26th overall finish.
Millson and Castillo both made similar jumps in the race after being outside the top 50 at the one-mile mark to showing spots in the top 36 at the finish line.
Leen, Martin and Chandler all showed stellar 3-mile times to finish among the top 55 runners.
Laci Watford and Jada Williams join Chandler as sophomores ready to take the next step, as they both finished side-by-side in the top 70.
Annika Buser and Mary Pace-Balzan rounded out the Osprey squad, each making their debuts on the team in just over 19 minutes.

NOTABLE OPPONENTS

North Florida will compete against top performing teams in their second meet away from home. Kansas currently holds a top-five placement in the Midwest Region for its USTFCCCA ranking. They can also expect to see South Region schools. The Osprey men have secured a top-10 placement in the second week of competition. The meet will be highlighted by Baylor and Texas Tech, as well as Missouri, who are all ranked in the top 15 of their respective regions. Much like head coach Jeff Pigg, UNF runner William Sinclair will return to Missouri to compete against his former team on his old stomping grounds.

EVENT SCHEDULE

The men's 8k is slated to start promptly at 9:00 a.m., with the women's 6k following shortly after at 9:45 a.m.

UP NEXT

After the meet on Friday, North Florida cross country will use the next two weeks to train for the Florida Southern Invitational hosted by Florida Southern on Friday, Oct. 13, in Lakeland, Fla.