TALLAHASSEE – Looking to bounce back from a cold and challenging weekend at the Greater Louisville Classic, the FGCU cross country teams continue action with their last meet of the regular season on Friday at the FSU Seminole Invite, racing through Florida State's Apalachee Regional Park. The women's 5k will take off at 6:20 p.m. with the men's 8k immediately following.
"We're glad to be getting back to competing in our state this weekend," head coach
Cassandra Goodson said. "After a tough race with less than perfect weather conditions in Kentucky it's nice to be back closer to home. We've been focusing and working hard the past week and are eager to see how it pays off."
A total of 29 collegiate women's teams and 30 men's teams will compete in the race, which also serves as a course preview for the NCAA Division I South Region meet, which will be contested November 14. Joining the FGCU women to race in Tallahassee are No. 9 FSU, Auburn, UCF and USF. The FGCU men will face No. 18 FSU, Auburn (receiving votes), Vanderbilt and USF. In their final race before the Atlantic Sun Championship on November 1, both FGCU squads will get one last look at conference competition as Jacksonville and Stetson will also travel to the capital city this weekend.
Racing last weekend through the prestigious E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, which has played host to five Southeast Regional Championships and two NCAA Championships, the FGCU women finished in 6th place in the Blue 5k, while the men saw a 26th-place finish in the Gold 8K at the Greater Louisville Classic, one of the largest and most competitive meets in the country.
Highlighting FGCU's showing was
Brooke Sill (Lake Zurich, Ill./Eastern Illinois University), who led the women's team for the fourth-consecutive meet by clocking 18:38.76 for a 26th-place finish. Making her finish even more impressive, Sill – who played in the women's soccer team's game last Friday at USC Upstate – flew from Spartanburg, S.C. to Louisville following the contest to compete in the race.
Following Sill's finish for the Green and Blue was
Lauren Tarovisky (Wheeling, W. Va./Wheeling Park HS/Moorehead State University) in 30th with a time of 18:42.04. Closely trailing Tarovisky was
Courtney Corradetti (Oceanside, Calif./Vista HS) in 68th (19:04.45), who was right in front of
Regan Farrow (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell HS) in 74th (19:08.03).
On the men's side, freshman
Troy Clark (Mount Dora, Fla./Mt. Dora Bible HS) once again led the team with a time of 25:49:51 to outpace runners from Tennessee, Clemson, Illinois, Cincinnati, Ole Miss and A-Sun foes Northern Kentucky and Lipscomb. Closely following Clark were
Cody Adkinson (Port Charlotte, Fla./Port Charlotte HS) with a 25:58.96, trailed by
Courtland Bernard (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota HS) with a 26:05.46.
After they return from Tallahassee, the Eagles will take a two-week break from competition and prepare for the 2014 Atlantic Sun Cross Country Championship on November 1 in DeBary, Fla.
For complete coverage of FGCU cross country at the Seminole Invitational, follow on Twitter @FGCU_XC and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of the meet.
FGCU is led by Cassandra Goodson, whose six seasons at the helm have taken the Eagles from their humble beginnings to a competitive D-I program, highlighted by two finishes in the top half of the Atlantic Sun Conference and three trips to NCAA Southeast Regional Championship. Every mark in the FGCU all-time record book has been etched under Goodson's leadership, as she has coached five A-Sun All-Conference selections and two members of the NCAA South All-Region Team.
