Sept. 30, 2005
ORLANDO - After a two-week hiatus from competition, the UCF cross country team travels to Chicago's Montrose Beach for the 33rd Annual Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational on Saturday.
One of the largest cross country meets in the nation, includes 50 collegiate teams, more than half of which will run against the Golden Knights in the gold division. Many of the schools attending are ranked in their respective regions and the UCF women have the opportunity to compete against Conference USA rival Marshall in their race.
The UCF men's squad, which was ranked 13th in the latest U.S. Cross Country Coaches' Association (USCCCA) South Region poll, races at 1:45 p.m. against a field of 30 teams. The Golden Knights will be looking for another strong effort from the top of the lineup, including freshman Chris Mullaney and juniors Brent White and Ryan White.
Mullaney continues to be impressive in his rookie campaign as he has been the team's No. 1 runner in both prior meets. He opened the season with a personal best 25:36.05 and placed 16th at the Gator Invitational on Sept. 9.
Brent White and Ryan White also posted personal records in that race and have finished as No. 2 and No. 3 for UCF.
Also competing this weekend are senior captain Ray Gossage, sophomores Paul Fitzpatrick and Paul Nielsen.
Five women will represent the Black and Gold in the 28-team field for the women's gold division collegiate race at 1:15 p.m. Leading the pack is senior Andrea Morrow, who has run No. 1 for the Golden Knights this fall and recorded a personal best 18:43.38 in the season opening Gator Invitational.
The rest of the UCF lineup continues to jockey for position. Freshman Jamie Rzepecki has also performed well as have Allison Palmer and Kristen Zieminski.
After finishing No. 4 for the Golden Knights at Gainesville, sophomore captain Karen Kozub missed the FSU Invitational on Sept. 17 but is back in the lineup this weekend.
"The athletes have been excited about the opportunity to compete in such a prestigious meet so they have been training very hard," said UCF head coach Marcia Mansur-Wentworth. "We're psyched and ready for this challenge."