GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Following its trend, the UCF cross country team posted faster times yet again, this time at the Mountain Dew Invitational on Saturday morning.
The Knights finished ninth as a squad in the 27-team field at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. UCF’s 256 points put them ahead of Jacksonville, Florida Atlantic, Miami, South Florida and Stetson in the team standings.
"I'm really proud of how we raced today! It's not often that every athlete on team runs either a liftime best or a season best on the same day, but that's exactly what happened today!" UCF assistant coach Bryan Jackson said. "We have been working on racing with a 'strength in numbers' mentality. We did an excellent job of racing as units today and not individuals, especially Charlotte and Tori, who finished together at 18:09."
A trio of Knights finished in the top 50, and all seven competitors finished in the top 125 out the 270 runners at the 5K race. Each member of the Black and Gold met or improved their personal best marks in the event.
One week after making her collegiate debut, Charlotte Crook has quickly moved to the front of the pack. She was the first Knight across the finish line in Gainesville, lowering her previous best mark by more than 45 seconds. She took 28th with a time of 18:09.2.
Victoria Jung has improved her 5K time in all three outings this season. Running alongside Crook, Jung dropped her personal best time by more than 34 seconds to finish 29th with a mark of 18:09.5.
After posting her 5K PR in the season opener, Jessica Dolan ran nearly 36 seconds faster in Gainesville to set a new mark in the event. She finished 48th overall with a time of 18:39.3.
For the third straight race, Kaitlyn Soltis improved her personal best time, crossing the line more than 26 seconds faster than last week’s outing. She finished in 19:01.2 for 70th overall.
Making the largest improvement of the season, Crystal Tejeda shaved more than a minute off her personal best time as a Knight. Posting the first sub-20 5K time of her UCF career, Tejeda finished in 19:20.3.
Shayla Sanders matched her personal best for the second consecutive race with a time of 19:36.1. Kayla McGowan lowered her personal best 5K mark by more than 46 seconds, finishing in 20:32.2 to finish 123rd.
Next up, UCF will compete at the FSU Invitational on Oct. 12 in Tallahassee.
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