FORT MYERS, Fla. — Ozia Trujillo made history this morning by becoming the first Eagle to compete in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri. Despite suffering an injury mid-race, she pushed through to finish with a time of 25:14.6.

"We are all very proud of Ozia for making it this far and representing FGCU at the national stage," said head coach Argeo Cruz.  "Her effort this season elevated the program to a whole new level. Unfortunately, today's race did not go as we had wanted, but Ozia showed that FGCU is capable of competing at the highest level, and we look forward to returning."

She earned a spot in the national race with a standout performance at the NCAA South Regionals last Friday running a program-record and personal-best 19:45 to place 11th in the women's 6K out of 202 athletes.

Her time shattered the previous FGCU record of 20:38.9 set by Kelly Perzanowski at the 2013 South Regionals and marked the highest individual finish by any Eagle, male or female. The performance capped an already record-breaking season that started strong from the opening meet.

Her historic momentum continued at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship on Oct. 31, where she ran 16:20 to set a new ASUN Championship record in the women's 5K. She earned ASUN Runner of the Year honors and a spot on the ASUN First Team.

Trujillo cut a remarkable 47 seconds off her previous personal best of 17:07.7 and secured FGCU's first individual conference title since 2013.