GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF cross country team posted a top 10 finish at the Mountain Dew Invitational on Saturday morning.
"I'm really excited and proud of all the PRs we had today," UCF coach Bryan Jackson said. "We had one in the top 15, two in the top 20 and three in the top 30. Those three ran lights out. When you look at where we finished at the Mountain Dew Invitational last year, our top finisher was 28th. I'm really looking forward to having everyone healthy and out there competing. Today's results show that we can run with any team in Florida."
The Knights finished eighth out of 35 teams competing in the 5K race, finishing one spot ahead of last year's ninth place spot. Three runners were among the top 30 of the 306-runner field.
For the second race in a row, Jamie Tomassetti was the first Knight to cross the finish line. The rookie's time of 18:42.5 put her at 13th overall.
Kaitlyn Soltis posted a personal best 5K mark of 18:51.9 to finish 17th overall. Jessica Dolan joined Tomassetti and Soltis in the top 30, crossing the line in 19:08.5.
Jewel Walters made her cross country debut in Gainesville, finishing 98th in 20:19.6. Gabrielle LaRock improved her 5K mark in her second collegiate race, crossing the line in 20:35.8.
UCF returns to Orlando to host the UCF Invitational on Sept. 27 at 5:45 p.m.
