FGCU Cross County Notes & Information
Meet Details	Friday, September 2 |  Men's 8k | 6 pm | Women's 5k | 6:30 pm
Location	Orlando, Fla. // UCF Softball Complex
Teams	UCF, South Florida, Miami, FIU, Florida, Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Florida Atlantic (women's team) , Stetson (women's team)
Live Results	Here
Twitter	@FGCUEagles // @FGCU_XC
Instagram	FGCU Cross Country
Facebook	FGCU Cross Country

 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The men's and women's cross country teams officially open the season Friday evening competing in the UCF Invitational. The meet is highly completive with three participating schools among the top 15 in the 2022 Preseason NCAA D1 Cross Country Regional Rankings: 5th-ranked Florida (women), 8th-ranked Florida (men), 13th-ranked Miami (women), and 15th-ranked UCF (women).

The Green and Blue
The men's squad will be looking to build off their 5^th-place finish at the ASUN Championships as all three top runners return to the field. Osman Humeida (South Riding, Va.), who earned All-ASUN honors with a 13^th-place finish and set a new men's cross country program record in the 8k at the Conference meet, will be highlighting the squad.

Humeida also turned in the third-fastest 10K time in program history to lead the FGCU cross country men's and women's teams at the NCAA South Regional Meet last season. This was the first regional appearance since 2018.

Head coach Cassandra Goodson also added strength to the team with the addition of Bus Baker (Richmond, Va.) who last ran at Louisville and Abel Ramos (Riverside, Calif.) a standout from Riverdale City College. The duo headline a highly talented class of six newcomers to the squad.

Meanwhile, the women will return with a veteran squad that includes sophomore Karley Piers (Falmouth, Maine/ Falmouth HS) who produced solid performances throughout the year. Newcomer Gabrielle Spain (Gabrielle Spain) will also be joining the team and holds a top 3-mile time of 17:44 at the SDHSAA Class AA Cross Country Championship this past fall placing 20^th overall. Also joining the team this fall is Mercy Kosgei.

Both teams are coming off success in the classroom as they earned All-Academic Team honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The women's team finished the fall semester with a 3.29 overall grade-point-average, while the men's team had a 3.21 GPA.

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 15 seasons at the helm have taken the Eagles from their humble beginnings to a competitive D-I program, highlighted by eight 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 21 ASUN All-Conference selections, the 2013 Female Conference Runner of the Year and three members of the NCAA South All-Region Team.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.