Lakeland, Fla., October 12, 2023 – The University of South Florida cross country men's and women's teams head to their final regular season meet of the 2023 season for the SSC Preview at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Fla.

The women's 6K race will start at 5:00 p.m., while the men's 8K race will begin at 6:00 p.m. Friday night. Both teams will be competing at Holloway Park for the second time this season. They opened the 2023 season there on Sept. 1st, with the Mocs XC Kick-off. The women finished second out of six teams racing, while the men finished fourth. True freshman Marlo Hibler (Ft. Lauderdale) checked in third place overall and the top Bulls finisher, with a time of 15:31.04 on the day. For the men, senior Jonathan Reid (Bradenton) led USF and placed 13th out of the 68 runners with a time of 19:31.31, only seven seconds behind a top-10 finish. This time both teams will have a longer race, with the women running a 6K rather than a 4.2K, and the men running an 8K rather than a 5K. The meet is scheduled to have 16 teams racing for the women, and 20 teams for the men.

The women will race 12 of their 20 rostered runners. Last meet in Tallahassee, Fla., they earned ninth out of 35 teams competing, being given 260 points. Three Bull runners placed in the top 60, led by senior Kelly Lynch (Wilmington, Del.), who finished as the team's top performer coming in 23rd out of 335 runners, with a time of 18:16.7 on the course. Behind her were two freshman Bulls, in 35th was freshman Delaney Stephens (Port Orange) with a time of 18:34.8, and in 53rd was freshman Marlo Hibler (Ft. Lauderdale) with a time of 18:52.2 on the day. 

The men will race all nine rostered runners. Last time out they finished fifth out of 31 teams running and were given 178 points. Five Bulls finished in the top 60 runners, of the 342 runners competing. The top finisher was graduate student Nickolas Kamen (Naples) who finished 27th with a time of 25:32.6 on the course. Behind him were freshman Jackson Dravo (Creekside) in 39th with a time of 25:40.2 and sophomore Thomas Ashley (Boynton Beach) in 41st with a time of 25:42.2 on the day. Sophomore Tyler Wadsworth (Port Charlotte) came in 53rd with a 25:51.8 time and senior Jonathan Reid (Bradenton) rounded out USF's top finishers with a 55th-place finish at a 25:55.4 time.

Following the Bulls' competition in Lakeland, Fla. the teams travel to Grimesland, N.C. to compete in the AAC Championships scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28 at 9:15 a.m..

About USF Cross Country

The USF Cross Country team has earned 2 All-America selections, Christina Benton in 2002 and Gray Mavhera in 1994. The Bulls have advanced to the NCAA Cross Country Championships seven times in program history, three times for the men and four times for the women. The USF men's teams have won seven team conference championships and the women have won five team championships. Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Erik Jenkins took over the program in 2019 and during his tenure the Bulls posted twelve program records and 106 top 10 all-time program marks. USF hosted the 2018 NCAA Track and Field East Preliminary and the 2021 AAC Outdoor Championship at the USF Track and Field Stadium, as well as the 2022 AAC Country Cross Country Championship at Holloway Park. 

– #GoBulls –