ORLANDO – Coming off one of the strongest 6K performances in program history, the UCF women's cross country team will open postseason competition Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Big 12 Cross Country Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The Knights enter their fourth Big 12 Championship with momentum following a historic showing at the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Oct. 16, where each of UCF's top seven finishers recorded personal-best times and four Knights earned spots among the program's all-time top 10.
Junior Alexandra Raquet led the way in College Station, finishing 19th overall with a time of 19:49.2, the second-fastest 6K in program history. The performance made Raquet just the second Knight to break the 20-minute barrier, joining Anne-Marie Blaney, who set the school record of 19:39.90 in 2014.
Senior Caroline Moon followed with a personal-best time of 20:42.2, moving into third on UCF's all-time 6K list. Junior Madison Patchan also climbed the record books with a 21:10.1 performance, good for seventh all-time, while fellow junior Bella Brick rounded out the historic efforts with a time of 21:14.4, the 10th-fastest mark in program history.
The Knights finished 12th overall at the Arturo Barrios Invitational with 426 points and a scoring-five average of 20:51, continuing a season of steady improvement. UCF opened the year with a team title at the Florida Intercollegiate, its first under distance coach Bryan Harmon, before placing sixth at the Southern Showcase.
The progression has been particularly evident in the Knights' depth, with the group behind Raquet continuing to close the gap. At the Arturo Barrios Invitational, UCF's second through fifth finishers crossed the line within 40 seconds of one another, helping the team produce one of its strongest collective 6K performances.
UCF will look to carry that momentum into Stillwater, where the Knights will compete against a challenging Big 12 field. The conference features defending champion BYU, which has claimed the women's team title in each of the past three seasons.
Last year, UCF placed 12th at the Big 12 Championship in Lawrence, Kansas, totaling 351 points. Raquet led the Knights with a 47th-place finish in 21:03.7, recording the best time and finish by a UCF runner at the conference championship. Ava Quattrocchi followed in 77th with a time of 22:04.8, while Yvone Sandui, Kendall Hughes and Patchan also finished among the top 100.
Raquet, Patchan, McLain and Sandui return to the conference championship after competing in last year's meet. Joining the four returners in UCF's 10-athlete lineup are Caroline Moon, Emily Wheldon, Daisy Ross, Bella Brick, Sarah Rose and Abby Clements.
Saturday's race will provide the Knights with an opportunity to build on their regular-season success as they look to improve upon last year's conference finish. Following the championship, UCF will turn its attention to the NCAA South Regional Championship on Nov. 13 in Tallahassee, Florida.
The women's 6K is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Saturday at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma.