2015 UF Invitational Teams List

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU men's and women's cross country programs return to action on Saturday, Sept. 19 as they travel to the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla., for the 27th annual Mountain Dew Invitational hosted by the University of Florida. The men's 8K is scheduled to being at 7:55 a.m. followed by the women's 5K at 8:30 a.m.

"We're excited to get back to racing at the UF Invitational," said head coach Cassandra Goodson. "It's a great opportunity for us to compete against all of the universities and the top talent in Florida. We're ready."

Saturday's race marks FGCU's 11th overall and ninth consecutive appearance in the invite. A season ago, the men's team tied a program-best performance as they finished fourth in the meet, while the women turned in their best performance since 2012 and finished seventh.

This year's field in Gainesville will once again be one of the more competitive the Eagles see this season as Florida, Florida State, Miami, UCF and three Atlantic Sun Conference foes in Jacksonville, North Florida and Stetson join FGCU in the field, giving the Green and Blue the chance to size up against conference opponents leading up to the A-Sun Championship on Friday, Oct. 30.

In the season-opening meet at the UNF Invitational, the FGCU men's and women's teams dropped their dual meet matchup against UNF while defeating Jacksonville and Stetson. For the men, Nathan Kandie (Iten, Kenya/Arizona) led the way with a fifth-place finish after running a pace of 25:59.20. On the women's side, Lauren Tarovisky (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park HS/Morehead State) also finished fifth and ran a 5K time of 18:47.79.

After returning from Gainesville, the Eagles will travel to Spartanburg, S.C., for the Upstate Invitational hosted by USC Upstate on Saturday, Oct. 3.

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
FGCU is led by 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.