Pedroza Leads Men's Cross Country to Silver in Gans Creek Classic

Friday, September 29

Columbia, Mo.

10 a.m. (EST)

University of North Florida

Gans Creek Classic

Pedroza Leads Men's Cross Country to Silver in Gans Creek Classic

9/29/2023 1:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

Event Results

Second Top-Two Finish This Season, Third Straight Top-Three Mark at Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The North Florida men stole the show with a second-place finish in the 8k race at the Gans Creek Classic on Friday morning. UNF topped teams such as Texas Tech, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas State, Creighton, Baylor, Marquette, Nebraska and Kansas.

Robert Pedroza placed in the top five yet again with a fourth overall finish to help lead the Ospreys to a remarkable second slot against 20 fielded teams. Pedroza and Aidan O'Gorman paced the field switching between first and second through the 4k mark before dropping back to both finish in the top six overall.

Pedroza finished the race in 24:00.5, while O'Gorman finished slightly behind him in sixth overall, clinching the race in 24:11.0. Both Ospreys paired a cumulative set of 10 points, leading the Ospreys to a consecutive podium standing.

FINISH LINE

The Osprey men notched a consecutive top-two team rank, stacking the podium in second overall.
UNF finished over teams such as Texas Tech, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas State, Baylor, Nebraska and Kansas.
Pedroza clinched a fourth-place finish, marking the lead for the Ospreys.
He also secured a new lifetime mark of 24:00.5 in the men's 8k race.
O'Gorman floated across the finish line with a remarkable sixth-place finish.
Onix Ortiz and Aiden Arnold battled to the finish line, marking top-20 strides against 197 runners.
Cole Perry fought long and hard to earn a top-30 placement overall
Ilias El Khattabli notched an exceptional ranking in 30th overall.
William Sinclair returned to Missouri, where he ran before transferring this season to UNF, and finished 57th at 25:24.2.
Paul Lespasio, Seth Martinez and Gavin O'Brien rounded up the group all finishing in the top 102 spots.

PIGG'S POINTS

"We beat some very good programs today and I am proud of our results. Robert [Pedroza] and Aidan [O'Gorman] had really strong races today. It was a very good field and they did their jobs well. Ilias [El Khattabli] had a breakthrough day, but fell near the end finishing 30th, but it was a nice improvement. Onix [Ortiz], Aiden [Arnold] and Cole [Perry] all ran very strong in our top five. It is great to see them continue to run at this high level. Overall, it was a promising day."
-- head coach Jeff Pigg