FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU will have a trio of distance runners head to the prestigious Pepsi Florida Relays on Friday with all three ready to test their talents in the evening's 5,000-meter races.

Siyabonga Mokgothu and Innocent Ntwali will compete on the men's side at 8:45 p.m., while Alise Petrova racing on the women's side at 8:20 p.m.

Mokgothu heads to Gainesville for his second appearance at the Pepsi Relays. Last year, he registered a runner-up finish in the 3,000m steeplechase with a school-record time of 8:57.37. This will be his first 5K race in Gainesville, but it's an event in which he has found significant success. He has one win and three top-10 finishes in the 5K in his career, and he posted the school's second-best 5K time in program history earlier this season in Tampa, clocking 14:34.89.

Ntwali will be making his first appearance in Gainesville. The Eagles junior has two top-10 finishes in the 5K over his career, including a third-place finish and season-best time of 14:38.92 recorded earlier this season in Tampa. He looks to top his career-best mark of 14:34.78 when he races Friday evening.

Petrova already has a 5K win this year under her belt and six top-10 finishes in her career. Her personal best time of 17:07.19 came at USF on April 11, 2025, and her season-best time of 17:21.78 was raced at the University of Tampa on Mar. 13 earlier this year, where she finished third a week after winning the 5K on the same track with a mark of 17:26.73. She is making her second appearance at the Pepsi Florida Relays, having raced 17:28.96 in the 5K last year to place 11^th.
 
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