Sept. 5, 2014
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Dan Forcella
UCFKnights.com
Related Content
+ Complete Results
+ UCF Results
TAMPA, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Junior Anne-Marie Blaney won the USF Invitational for the third straight year as the UCF cross country team opened the 2014 campaign in Tampa Friday evening.
The Ocala, Fla., native finished the slow, rainy five kilometer course at The Claw in a time of 18:05.04, just over 13 seconds before her younger sister. The younger Blaney, Catherine of USF, finished as the day's runner-up.
The Knights placed second out of 10 teams in competition on Friday. UCF scored 58 points, falling only to the host Bulls, who totaled 44 points on the day. Among Division I teams, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida Atlantic and Florida A&M came in behind the Knights.
"The course was slow today, but our girls ran well," Assistant Coach Johnny Gray said after the meet. "The difference was that our younger ladies raced a bit too safe and they spotted USF too much. We made up some of the early deficit but came up just a bit short."
Freshman Laura Korsmit and sophomore Holly Wooley took 10th and 11th place, respectively, with the Knights' second and third fastest times on the evening. The former recorded a mark of 19:04.75, while the latter timed in at 19:08.08.
Senior Amelia Williams and freshman Ashton McMurray rounded out the scoring for UCF. Williams placed 21st in 19:41.58 and McMurray took 27th with a time of 19:41.58.
"Overall I am proud of our entire team," Gray said. "I'm looking forward to bigger and better things to come as the season moves forward."
UCF will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 13, when the Knights host the UCF Invitational at 7:40 a.m.