ORLANDO - Coming off a 12th-place finish in the Louisville Classic, the UCF cross country team will travel to Texas to compete in the Arturo Barrios Invitational for the second year in a row. The race will start at 10:15 a.m. ET at the Dale Watts XC Course on Oct. 13. UCF will compte in a 6k race for the first time this season.
The Knights will continue their inaugural Big 12 campaign after some strong performances at the Louisville Classic. Sophomore Isabella Richardson continues to impress as she led the Knights with a 38th finish and a season-best time of 17:47.4. Marina Rodriguez (18:06.5) and Penelope Sosa (18:06.6) followed in stride as Rodriguez broke her personal record in the 5k and crossed the finish line among the top-100.
Overall, coach Bryan Harmon stressed the porgress that was made in Louisville ahead of the squad's final regular season meet before their first Big 12 Championship in Ames, Iowa, later this month.
There will be a field of 42 teams competing alongside UCF with programs such as: Arkansas State, Baylor, Boston College, Connecticut, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Houston, Houston Christian, Incarnate Word, Indiana, Kennesaw State, Lamar, Louisiana, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, McNeese State, New Mexico State, Nicholls State, North Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Rice, SMU, South Dakota State, Stephen F. Austin, TAMU Corpus Christi (currently led by former UCF assistant coach Bryan Jackson), TAMU Texarkana, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tulane, UCLA, Utah Valley, UT-Arlington, UTEP, UTRGV, UTSA and Youngstown State.
Last year, the Knights competed in the Women’s 6k at the Arturo Barrios Invitational and finished 13th place with 415 points.