Cross Country Wraps Up Regular Season on Friday

10/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's XC/Track & Field

Oct. 13, 2016

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University men's and women's cross country teams will toe the start line for the last time in the regular season on Friday evening, competing in Tampa for the 2016 USF Invitational.

The meet will take place at the Claw golf course, near the USF campus, beginning with the women's 5K at 5 p.m. The men will follow with their 8K race, at approximately 5:45.

"We are excited for our final tune-up for the C-USA Championships in two weeks," said Head Coach Alex Smolka. "This meet will give our top runners one more chance to explore various racing strategies while it will also serve as our final opportunity to evaluate who our conference participants will be."

All told, Smolka will take 19 women and eight men to run in Friday's meet. The men will be represented by Luke Dewlow, Conor Fitzgerald, John Marting, Cory Moogerfeld, Johanny Przygocki, Ross Rabalais, Lachlan Shiver and Jonathan Werble.

The women's entrants will be Delsie Borgen, Brooke Butterfield, Sophia Clark, Olnick Duverge, Carydaliz Fontanez, Johanna Freeman, Meagan Giddens, Cianna Gopie, Shannon Grace, Bethany Hardcastle, Kali Hazera, Christina Humphries, Erica Lersch, Emily Ludwig, Christina Schultz, Chloe Sell, Mary Tulin, Jasmine Van Tine and Liz Wellman.

Last season at this same meet, Fitzgerald paced the fifth-place men, finishing in 13th with an 8K time of 26:56. The women too were fifth, led by Wellman in 11th and Hardcastle in 16th, running 6K marks of 22:39 and 22:52, respectively.

The Owls, along with the host Bulls, will be one of 25 programs sending both men's and women's squads to the meet. Also competing on both sides will be Ave Maria, Bethune-Cookman, FIU, Florida, Florida A&M, Florida College, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida Southern, Jacksonville, Johnson County CC, Keiser, Lipscomb, Miami, North Florida, Nova Southeastern, Palm Beach Atlantic, Rollins, Saint Leo, South Florida State College, Southeastern U., St. Thomas (Fla.), Stetson, and Tampa. Pasco-Hernando State College and UCF will only send a women's team.

Results following the meet will be found at www.halfmiletiming.com/event/usf-bulls-cross-country-invitational/ with the recap shortly thereafter here on www.FAUSports.com.