Oct. 30, 2009
By Jared Greenbaum
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF women's cross country team is set to travel to Houston, Texas, where it will compete in the Conference USA Championships on Saturday, October 31. The races will be held at the Bear Branch Sportsfields in The Woodlands, Texas, and the University of Houston will play host to the one-day event. The women's 5k race is scheduled for 10 a.m., pending the completion of the men's 8k race scheduled for 9 a.m.
The Knights recently ended their regular season with a fourth-place finish at the Hatter Invitational in DeLand. Junior Ocean Cohen (Sarasota, Fla) finished as the highest individual for UCF, crossing the end line in seventh place overall with a time of 18:40.00. Cohen was followed by senior Erica Weitz (Morganville, N.J.), who finished eight seconds later and 11th place overall. Rounding out the top-five spots for the Knights were Alyssa Franks (Tampa, Fla.), Carley Dart (Whitby, Ontario) Amethyst Strickland.
UCF has had an impressive season thus far, finishing in the top five in all of its six meets. The Knights have two wins on the year, claiming the titles at both home events - the Black & Gold Invitational and the Knight Attack Challenge.
Senior Jamie Rzepecki (East Aurora, N.Y.), will run in the championships as the Knights' top competitor, despite her absence at the recent Hatter Invitational. Rzepecki led the team in four out of the five races she participated in, and posted her season's best of 18:38.12 at the Mountain Dew Invitational.
The Black and Gold faces an abundance of talent in the conference, competing against top runners and teams with strong regional ranks. UTEP will be a strong contender in the hunt for the championship title, coming into the race with a No. 25 USTFCCCA and No. 5 Mountain Regional ranking. SMU leads all women's teams in regional ranking with a No. 3 slot in the South Central Region, while Rice closely follows with a rank of fifth in the same region. Other notable regional marks include Houston (No. 9-South Central), Tulane (No. 15-South Central), Tulsa (No. 14-Midwest), UAB (No. 12-South). UCF is ranked 15th in the South region.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.