In their last meet of the regular season, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams placed third at the FSU Invitational.
The men’s team finished behind Florida A&M and Florida State, with six Gators runners placing in the top 25. The pack was led by redshirt sophomore Jack Rogers, who finished with the fastest time for the Gators at 25:08.3, good for 11th place.
Redshirt junior Jonathan Hulzebos and redshirt freshman Marshall Dillon followed in close behind Rogers to wrap up those placing in the men’s 8K top 20. The FSU Invitational was the second 8K of the season for the men’s team. The Gators finished 42 points under first place and 44 points above USF, who was in fourth place.
Sophomore Jessica Pascoe led the women’s Gators for the third-consecutive meet this season. Pascoe was able to make a fourth-place finish with a time of 18:01.6, and she has made strides this season coming off of a foot injury that kept her out for nine months. Keeping pace three places behind her was redshirt junior Lauren Perry with a time of 18:05.6.
Four Gators runners placed in the women’s 5K’s top 25.
“I think they've really come out of the gate strong and put some good performances and good consistency that's gonna lead to even greater performances,” assistant coach Chris Solinsky said.
The team will now look ahead to the SEC Championship on Oct. 27 in Athens, Georgia.
You can follow Alana Gomez on Twitter @alanaa_gomez, and contact her at agomez@alligator.org.
Lauren Perry runs during the 2016 Mountain Dew Gator Invitational on Sept. 24, 2016, at Mark Bostick Golf Course.
