JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU men's and women's cross country teams return to a familiar course and look to make program history at the A-Sun Cross Country Championships held at UNF's John Hyat Golf Learning Center in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday. The men's 8K race is scheduled to being at 8:30 a.m., followed by the women's 5K at 9:30 a.m.

"Anything can happen at conference championships," said FGCU head coach Cassandra Goodson. "For both teams, I've been impressed with their last couple of practices. As long as they do what they've been doing over and over again, they should place very high. We're excited and can't wait to get there."

A season ago, FGCU turned in program-best performances with the women finishing third and the men finishing fourth for the third-consecutive year at the conference championship meet. The departed Brooke Sill finished first among Eagle runners and 15th overall in a time of 18:19.77 and was followed by current senior captain Lauren Tarovisky (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park HS/Morehead State), who crossed the finish line 19th overall after running a pace of 18:32.68. On the men's side, the Green and Blue return its top-six finishers from a season ago, led by Troy Clark (Mount Dora, Fla./Mt. Dora Bible HS), who finished 13th in a time of 25:49.62.

Entering the championship meet, both the FGCU men and women are projected to finish third, according to the latest A-Sun Coaches Polls. Similarly, the Green and Blue were picked to finish third in both the men's and women's preseason polls released by the conference in August.

In four meets leading up to this weekend, FGCU has faced five of a potential seven conference opponents. The men have defeated Jacksonville three times, Stetson twice and Kennesaw State once, while losing a pair of races to UNF and one to USC Upstate. On the women's side, the Eagles have also defeated Jacksonville three times, Stetson twice and Kennesaw State once with an additional victory over USC Upstate and a couple of losses to UNF. Neither the men nor women have raced against Lipscomb, who is the conference favorite and received all eight first-place votes in both the men's and women's polls, or NJIT this season.

On the women's side, the Eagles have been led for much of the season by Tarovisky, who has paced the team in three of four meets this season. In the most recent meet at the USF Invitational, she clocked a 6K time of 21:54.90 – good for the fourth-fastest time in program history – and finished in a season-best fourth overall as the Eagles won a team title for the first time since 2014. The Wheeling, W.Va., native's performance earned her the Green and Blue's first A-Sun Women's Runner of the Week honor since 2013. Additionally, a strong supporting cast has helped FGCU to its highest ranking in program history as they appeared at No. 12 in the USTFCCCA's latest South region ranking. In four meets this season, the Eagles had a collective 27 runners place among the top 30 competitors.  

"We've been working hard all season and are excited for the meet," Tarovisky said. "We put in a lot of hard work, and we're just trying to do our best and be positive about it. Every meet we compete in we're ready to go, and this one is no different."

For the men, FGCU has received strong performances from senior Nathan Kandie (Iten, Kenya/Arizona) and Clark for the second consecutive season. The duo has turned in the Eagles' top-four times this season and combined to pace the team in three of four meets. At the UF Mountain Dew Invitational, Kandie ran a personal-best 8K time of 25:34.72 – good for the eight-best time in program history – and finished seventh in the meet. Later in the season, Clark ran a season-best time of 25:50.60 at the USF Invitational and finished second in the race – the highest finish by a FGCU runner this season. Collectively, the men's team is coming off its best performance of the season with a runner-up finish in Tampa, where all eight members of the Green and Blue finished among the top 34 competitors at the meet.

"No matter what, we will keep our heads held high," said FGCU senior captain Jean Deceus. "It would be great to finish among the top two or three teams. I have high hopes and confidence that we will, but we have to remain resilient and we have to show up ready to race on Friday for that to happen."

LATEST A-SUN COACHES POLL

Men's XC Coaches Poll	Women's XC Coaches Poll
1. Lipscomb (8) – 64	1. Lipscomb (8) – 64
2. UNF – 56	2. UNF – 55
3. FGCU – 47	3. FGCU - 46
4. USC Upstate – 38	4. Jacksonville – 43
5. Kennesaw State – 30	5. Stetson – 30
6. NJIT – 22	6. Kennesaw State – 25
7. Jacksonville – 18	7. USC Upstate – 17
8. Stetson - 13	8. NJIT - 8

 
FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of FGCU men's and women's cross country this season, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_XC and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com.
 
COACH GOODSON
Cassandra Goodson, whose seven seasons at the helm have taken the Eagles from their humble beginnings to a competitive D-I program, highlighted by three trips to the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship. Every mark in the FGCU all-time record book has been etched during the Goodson era, as she has coached nine A-Sun All-Conference selections, the 2013 Female Conference Runner of the Year and two members of the NCAA South All-Region Team.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.