Pedroza Awarded Co-ASUN Preseason XC Runner of the Year

JACKSONVILLE - North Florida graduate student Robert Pedroza goes into his fifth XC season named as one of three ASUN Preseason Runners of the Year, as announced by the league office on Thursday afternoon.

"Robert [Pedroza] has done a lot of great things and just continues to improve," said head coach Jeff Pigg. "Last season, he ran some very impressive cross country races. We are planning to continue the trajectory and it is an honor that the coaches picked him as a potential ASUN Runner of the Year."

Pedroza comes off a successful 2023 XC campaign with three top-five finishes in four meets raced, including a runner-up placement at the Mountain Dew Invitational. With fifth overall mark in the ASUN meet and a top-25 finish in the NCAA South Regional, he brought in both All-ASUN First Team and All-South Region honors.

Additionally, the Ospreys were tabbed third out of 12 teams in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll with the men's team garnering a first-place vote. Both teams were selected in the top four last season with the men finishing second and the women finishing fourth in the ASUN XC Championship meet.

North Florida joins Eastern Kentucky and Lipscomb as the top three teams in the conference for both the men's and women's preseason poll. EKU is the reigning champions for the men's competition, while Lipscomb won last year's meet on the women's side.

The men's team will have nine of the 10 runners that races in the ASUN Championship return for this upcoming XC season, headlined by Pedroza and Aidan O'Gorman. For the women's team, they will have eight of their 10 runners back, headlined by Smilla Kolbe and Ana Markovina.

Not only will the Ospreys have the Co-ASUN Preseason XC Runner of the Year in Pedroza, but they will have O'Gorman, who earned ASUN XC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2023. Six returning runners between both the men's and women's teams earned All-ASUN honors during the championship meet as well.

"The men's team has become a consistent contender in the ASUN and the pick is well deserved, and hopefully we will live up to the third slot and maybe excel above the ranking," said Pigg on the men's squad. "We have a lot of new faces in our top seven, so it will really boil down to how well these guys run. It will be exciting to see the season unfold."

"Our women are very solid as well. Our emphasis on middle distance and expanding the track roster has left us with fewer cross country-specific runners," continued Pigg on the women's squad. "We do have a strong incoming class and some returning firepower as well. I am pleased that we are picked third and hope to see some great development throughout the season. It will be fun to kick off the year and see how prepared we are for this season."

North Florida will debut its cross country season at home in the Duval 5K XC Invitational on Friday, Sept. 13, at the UNF Hayt Golf Center.

Players Mentioned

Smilla Kolbe

Ana Markovina

Robert Pedroza

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