Cross Country Reveals Meet Schedule For '24 Season

Osprey Set To Host DUVAL 5K XC Challenge on Sept. 13

8/12/2024 12:00:00 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's and women's cross country officially reveals its five-meet slate for the 2024 season, as announced by head coach Jeff Pigg on Monday afternoon.

The Ospreys' XC schedule kicks off at home for the second time in three years with the DUVAL 5K XC Challenge being hosted at the UNF Hayt Golf Center on Friday, Sept. 13. Two road meets ensue over the following month with trips to Missouri for the Gans Creek Classic and Alabama for the Crimson Classic.

The ASUN Championships will be held in DeLand, Fla., on Saturday, Nov. 2, with the Ospreys looking for its first conference title since 2021. UNF will continue its postseason push at the NCAA South Regionals on Friday, Nov. 15, with a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships later that month.

DUVAL 5K XC Challenge

UNF will embark on its 2024 cross country season as the hosts of its lone home event of the season with the DUVAL 5K XC Challenge held on Friday, Sept. 13, at the UNF Hayt Golf Center. Both the men's and women's teams will look to defend their titles from the North Florida Invitational in 2022.

The Ospreys host a meet for the second time in three seasons after their home event from last year was canceled due to impending weather. In 2022, the men were led by Aidan O'Gorman, who finished first overall, as the other 14 Osprey runners placed among the top 18 finishers. The women had 10 runners inside the top 20 on their side as well with Emma Jane O'Gorman notching a top-three placement.

Gans Creek Classic

For the fourth straight year, as well as the fifth time in six years, the Ospreys will make its trip up to Missouri to compete in its first road meet of the season at the Gans Creek Classic on Friday, Sept. 27. Both teams made spectacular finishes last season with the men placing as the runner-up, while the women grabbed 10th overall in the event.

Robert Pedroza was the leader for the men this time around with a fourth-overall finish, as well as a personal-best 8k time. The women leaned on Isa Leen with the lone top-50 individual placement for the Ospreys in Columbia, Mo.

Crimson Classic

After a one-year hiatus, UNF returns to the Crimson Classic hosted by Alabama on Friday, Oct. 18. The Ospreys went to Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2022, and returns for the men to improve on their runner-up team placement.

Aidan O'Gorman and Pedroza both finished in the top-15 overall, while Leen and EJ O'Gorman were among the top 50 runners just two seasons ago. This will be a tune-up race just two weeks before the conference championships the first Saturday of November.

Atlantic Sun Conference Championship

For the 20th time in program history, North Florida will take part in the Atlantic Sun Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2, hosted in DeLand, Fla. The UNF men and women will be one of 12 ASUN teams competing for the top spot at the conference meet.

Nine of the 10 men's runners who ran in the conference competition from last season will be returning in 2024, while eight of the 10 women's runners will also be coming back this season for the Ospreys. All five All-ASUN honorees across both teams from last season's meet, including both Aidan O'Gorman and Pedroza, will look to build off their success of last season.

After exceeding expectations as the runner-up in the ASUN meet, the men will look to get over the hump and win the conference title for the first time since going back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. The women have been building their way up after a top-four placement last year and look for their first conference win since 2017.

NCAA Regionals

The Ospreys will make one final push in postseason play with the NCAA South Regionals being held in Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 15. The men were narrowly edged out of a spot at the NCAA Championships placing sixth overall among 23 teams, while the women were among the top 20 teams in the meet.

Aidan O'Gorman and Pedroza continued their 2023 success with lifetime bests in the 10k race during their regional runs in the top-25 overall. Ana Markovina was the leader for the women in regionals with a personal-best as well in the top 100.

Both teams will be looking for a chance to advance to the NCAA Championship meet either as a team or an individual. It would be the first time this occurred since Nathan Jubran qualified as an individual during the 2021 spring season.

We have a nice XC season planned. We will open with a low-key 5k here at the UNF Golf Complex, which will give everyone an opportunity to kick off the year. The Missouri meet is the site of the 2025 NCAA Championship, so it will be a very competitive race. It has been a great meet for us in the past. It’s a great course and a well-run meet that'll have some strong teams. Alabama will also provide great competition in another traditionally excellent meet. These meets should set us up well for the ASUN Championships in Deland, Fla. Finally, we head back to Tallahassee, Fla., to compete on the premiere course in Florida for the South Region Championship. As always, we hope to start strong and really progress throughout the year.

-- head coach Jeff Pigg