ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Fully rested after a bye week, the UCF cross country team turns its attention to the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championships, which will take place on Saturday in Cincinnati.
The race will serve as the War on I-4 rivalry meet between the Knights and USF. UCF, who collected the first three points of the War on I4 Rivalry Series, looks to reclaim the lead after falling behind 9-6 to the Bulls.
Saturday's race will feature a live stream on the American Digital Network. All of the information for the Championship can be found here.
The squad will line up for their first 6K race of the season at 10 a.m. Following the men's 8K race at 10:50, an awards ceremony will be held at Voice of America Metropark.
After redshirting the 2015 season, Anne-Marie Blaney made a comeback this season, taking the top honor in three consecutive races. Blaney, who won the conference championship in 2013 and finished third in 2014, was named the USTFCCCA National Division I Athlete of the Week and spent two straight weeks in the FloTrack Top 25.
Earning The American Runner of the Week accolade twice this year, the Ocala, Fla., native has collected the honor nine times on the cross country side and 13 times overall when including indoor and outdoor track.
In addition to Blaney, redshirt juniors Holly Wooley and Marissa Codispodi, juniors Rosie Chamberlain and Kalleigh Forrester and freshman Brittany Gill, all have top 10 finishes this season.
UCF looks to use its deep roster to improve on its seventh place team finish in 2015. In their first two years in The American, the Knights posted program-best fourth place finishes at the league championship.