ORLANDO –The UCF cross country team is headed to Augusta, Kan., for the 2020 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship.
In the fall, the championship segment of the NCAA cross country season was moved to the spring of 2021. The Knights are one of a handful of teams that enter the championship meet having a cross country race under their belts this spring. The Black and Gold hosted – and won – the UCF Invite on Jan. 23.
In their lone race, UCF took home the team title and swept the podium finishes. In her first official race as a Knight, Valerie Lastra set the UCF freshman 5K record, winning the meet in 17:43.6. Classmate Alexandra Del Re was second with a time of 18:16.9 and redshirt senior Victoria Jung finished third in 18:26.7.
The Knights take a mixture of experience and youth into the conference championship. Jung, who redshirted the 2019 campaign, posted a top 40 finish with a personal best 24:22.0 at the 2018 meet. Charlotte Crook used a personal best 22:06.0 to earn a top 40 finish, and Kaitlyn Soltis posted at top 75 finish at the 2019 meet.
Mackenzie Czurak will join Lastra and Del Re in making their American Athletic Conference debuts.
Saturday's 6K race will start at 11 a.m. at the 4 Mile Creek Resort, with live coverage on ESPN+ beginning at 10:50 a.m.
The conference race also serves as the War on I-4 meet between the Knights and South Florida. UCF currently holds a 9-3 lead in the overall rivalry series after victories in football and men's tennis and six points are up for grabs at the cross country meet.
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