BOCA RATON, Fla. – The UCF cross country team opened its 2021 fall slate with a second place finish at the FAU Invitational on Wednesday evening in Boca Raton.
"I'm very proud of the women and how they competed in our opening race!" UCF assistant coach Bryan Jackson said. "I thought we did a lot of things very well, but the most exciting thing about this team is how much room for growth we have over the course of this season. They definitely set a great starting standard. I'm excited to see where we go from here."
Lightning delayed the women's 5K race by about 30 minutes in South County Park, but a later start could not deter the Knights. Five members of the Black and Gold squad finished in the top 15 and all 12 UCF competitors finished in the top 50.
Lillian Holtery opened her collegiate career with a fifth place finish in 18:41.42. Mariana Rodriguez ran personal best 18:49.04 – more than two seconds faster than her previous best – to finish eighth. Mackenzie Czurak dropped more than two seconds off her personal best to finish 10th in 18:57.83.
A pair of freshmen rounded out UCF's top five as Kambry Smith finished 12th in 19:07.28 and Rachel Wheatley posted a 14th place performance in 19:12.81.
Just over 30 seconds separated UCF's top five finishers. The quintet posted an average time of 18:57.68.
"I want to especially acknowledge our top five," Jackson said. "Our top three freshmen had great collegiate openers. Mackenzie and Mariana showed great growth in this opener from last year."
Brenna Mullaney ran a collegiate best 19:41.6 to finish 25th and Cydni Turner ran a personal best 20:09.92 for 31st.
Camryn Williams, Allison Gerrits and Paige Kelly finished 34th, 41st and 43rd, respectively. Williams ran the 5K in 20:18.93; Gerrits ran 20:57.65 and Kelly ran 21:32.62.
Mikaela Brown and Megan Rhodes rounded out UCF's competitors with collegiate best performances. Brown ran 21:47.06 to finish 46th while Rhodes ran 21:47.06 to finish 49th.
UCF posted its best team average under coach Bryan Jackson and matched its best fall season-opening finish under his guidance.
The Knights return to action on Sept. 11, traveling to Gainesville for the Mt. Dew Invitational.
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