The Knights cross country team gave an impressive performance throughout their second season in the Big 12. The squad commenced their 2024 cross country season at home in the UCF Cross Country invitational, where they secured a commendable 3rd-place finish in the Women’s 5k. Junior Isabella Richardson held her own with an impressive 8th place with a time of 18:33.7.
After a brief break due to weather concerns, the team made their way to Greenville, North Carolina for the East Carolina Pirate Invitational. Once again Isabella Richardson led the team, placing 23rd (22:28.0) marking her second top-10 finish this season. She was followed by Junior Kendall who maintained her momentum from the Knights Invitational, finishing in 27th place (22:35.5) and putting up her second personal best in as many meets.
In their third appearance of the season, the black and gold competed in the Bradley Pink Classic, where several newcomers showcased their talent. Kendall Hughes continued to impress, setting her third-consecutive personal best with a time of 21:46.0.
Not far behind was freshman Ava Quattrocchi, who gave an outstanding performance achieving a personal best 22:16.3. Quattroccchi was one of three freshmen to set records as Madison Patchan (23:17.3) and Gianna Del Pizzo (23:27.5) all recorded personal bests.
The Knights made their next appearance in the Big 12 Championships at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course. The team gave it their all in the 6k race, placing 12th out of 16 teams. This performance prepared the team for the NCAA South Regionals, their final appearance this season.
At Apalachee Regional Park the team gave a thrilling performance, finishing top 20 amongst 31 teams. Assistant Coach Bryan Harmon reflected on the meet stating “This group over the last six weeks or so has rallied together. They run and race for each other and really embrace the team concept and we are already talking about busting out some PRs on the track so I’m really proud and excited with the culture of this squad."