TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The FGCU women's cross country team ran to a program-best 13th-place finish while the men finished 18th at the NCAA South Regional Championships at the Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday morning.

In only the team's second time competing in the regional championship, the FGCU women finished 11 spots better than its 24th-place finish in 2014 and crossed the finish line ahead of four regionally-ranked opponents in No. 11 UNF, No. 13 Southern Miss, No. 14 Jacksonville and No. 15 Belmont along with prominent programs USF, Georgia Tech, Tennessee and UCF. The Green and Blue finished second among A-Sun teams behind only conference champion No. 3 Lipscomb and third among Florida schools behind No. 7 Florida State and No. 8 Florida.

"This team is so special," FGCU head coach Cassandra Goodson said of the women's team. "From the leadership of Lauren (Tarovisky), Regan (Farrow) and the seniors to the grit they bring every time they compete. With those positive qualities, it's no wonder they're able to perform when it matters. The jump they made from last year's regional meet is remarkable. This is an awesome ending to an inspiring season and my heart is filled with pride."

Individually, senior Lauren Tarovisky (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park HS/Morehead State) turned in one of the best NCAA regional performances in program history as she crossed the finish line 37th overall and ran a personal-best time of 21:23.91. Tarovisky's 37th-place finish was the second best by a FGCU runner, behind Kelly Perzanowski's 14th-place finish in 2013, and her time was good for the third best in program history. She now holds three of FGCU's top-five 6K times in program history. Additionally, she finished third among A-Sun runners and ahead of the conference's individual champion from Lipscomb, Maddi Talbert.

Also finishing inside the top-100 in the women's 6K was senior Morgan Reichert (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins HS/Ohio) and sophomore Anita Munoz (Immokalee, Fla./Immokalee HS), who finished 87th and 94th overall in times of 22:16.73 and 22:23.20, respectively. All seven FGCU regional participants placed inside the top-130 in the field of 208 student-athletes.

Despite the men's team not achieving its goal of finishing inside the top-15 for the first time in program history, the Green and Blue placed just one spot outside of tying its program-best finish of 17th place in each of the past two seasons.

"The men's result was not what they wanted," Goodson said. "That's the nature of the sport, though. Sometimes the results don't go in your favor. This has been a tough year full of setbacks and health issues, but that's part of the sport. I'm proud of their attitudes this season, their resiliency and their loyalty to each other and their coaches. I look forward to the future with them."

Sophomore Troy Clark (Mount Dora, Fla./Mt. Dora Bible HS) paced the men's team for the third consecutive race as he finished 57th overall in a personal-best time of 32:29.86, good for the seventh best in program history. Clark's finish was the fourth best for an FGCU student-athlete in program history behind Argeo Cruz's 25th-place finish and Austin Boetje's 36th-place finish in 2013 and Gilbert Chemaoi's 55th-place performance in 2011. Additionally, after a top-10 finish at the A-Sun Championships, he finished sixth among conference runners on Friday. Seniors Cody Adkinson (Port Charlotte, Fla./Port Charlotte HS) and Nathan Kandie (Iten, Kenya/Arizona) joined Clark inside the regional top-100 as they finished 63rd and 87th, respectively, in times of 32:36.09 and 22:04.59. It was the second consecutive season the duo finished inside the top-100 at the regional meet.

The Green and Blue's 2015 season comes to a completion as the top two teams and top four individuals are the select few advancing to the NCAA Championship race in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 21.

WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
37. Lauren Tarovisky – 21:23.91
87. Morgan Reichert – 22:16.73
94. Anita Munoz – 22:23.20
103. Araceli Leon – 22:30.58
106. Courtney Corradetti – 22:31.33
126. Stephanie Cajas – 22:49.74
127. Regan Farrow – 22.49.75

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
57. Troy Clark – 32:29.86
63. Cody Adkinson – 32:36.09
87. Nathan Kandie – 33:04.59
118. Jean Deceus – 33:52.73
119. Leonel Delacruz – 33:53.23
131. Courtland Bernard – 34:35.56
139. Charles Bengston – 35:10.02

WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS
1. Vanderbilt – 65
2. Mississippi State – 78
3. Alabama – 135
4. FSU – 139
5. Auburn – 186
6. MTSU – 201
7. Ole Miss – 205
8. Lipscomb – 206
9. Florida – 256
10. Georgia – 364
11. South Alabama – 401
12. UT-Chattanooga – 404
13. FGCU – 407
14. Southern Miss – 419
15. UNF – 465
16. USF – 483
17. Georgia Tech – 495
18. Belmont – 496
19. Tennessee – 512
20. Jacksonville – 533
21. UCF – 557
22. Memphis – 559
23. Florida A&M – 567
24. Georgia State- 619
25. UAB – 692
26. ETSU – 697
27. Tennessee Tech – 734
28. Alabama State – 736
29. Mercer – 796
30. Georgia Southern - 798

MEN'S TEAM RESULTS
1. FSU – 58
2. Mississippi – 62
3. Florida – 102
4. Georgia – 127
5. Auburn – 174
6. Alabama – 183
7. MTSU – 196
8. Georgia Tech – 211
9. Tennessee – 296
10. Belmont – 296
11. Lipscomb – 298
12. UNF – 316
13. Mississippi State – 317
14. South Alabama – 344
15. Samford – 353
16. ETSU – 417
17. USF – 421
18. FGCU – 428
19. Vanderbilt – 484
20. UT-Chattanooga – 565
21. Memphis - 583

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 eight seasons at the helm have taken the Eagles from their humble beginnings to a competitive D-I program, highlighted by four trips to the NCAA South Regional Championship. Every mark in the FGCU all-time record book has been etched during the Goodson era, as she has coached 12 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.