Cross Country Prepares for the NCAA South Region ChampionshipsCross Country Prepares for the NCAA South Region Championships

Cross Country Prepares for the NCAA South Region Championships

Nov. 8, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF cross country teams have been using the last two weeks to prepare for Saturday's NCAA South Region Championships, which is being hosted by the University of Florida and the UF Golf Course. The event will begin at 10 a.m. in Gainesville, with the top programs being selected to advance to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., Nov. 19.

"This is a great opportunity for our team to step up and show that they are great competitors and that their hard work has paid off for this season," said head coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert. "I'm looking forward to watching everyone run their personal-best times this week up in Gainesville."

The Knights recently competed in the Conference USA Championships Oct. 27, with the men coming in sixth and the women taking seventh. Leading the men's squad was Richie Bonilla, who placed 22nd with a time of 27:21.80. For the women, Jamie Rzepecki earned 27th by posting a time of 19:33.0.

Last year at the NCAA South Region Championships in Maryville, Tenn., the men took 14th out of 25 programs, while the women grabbed 16th out of 23 squads.

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