University of South Florida
NCAA South Regional
USF Cross Country Sends Three to South Regional Championship
November 08, 2023 | Cross Country
Lynch, Kamen, and Dravo will head to Gainesville to compete for a Regional Championship
Gainesville, Fla., November 10, 2023ย โย The University of South Florida cross country will send three athletes to Gainesville, Fla., to compete in the 2023 NCAA South Regionals at Mark Bostic Golf Course.
Thirty teams are participating with seven other schools, including USF, only sending individual athletes to race in the women's 8:30 a.m. 6K event.
For the men, there will be 26 teams participating, along with six other schools sending individual runners for their 10K race starting at 9:30 a.m..
Live updates on the race will be availableย here.
Seniorย Kelly Lynchย (Wilmington, Del.) will compete for the women in the 6K. Lynch has had a career senior year, posting personal record times in the 3-mile, 5K, and 6K. First, she set her 3-mile PR on the same course as this week's race, running it in 18:17.8 at the Mountain Dew Invitational on Sept.ย 15. She set her 5K PR of 18:16.7 two weeks later at the FSU Invitational. Her 6K PR was set at the Conference Championships in North Carolina on October 28th, running with a time of 22:11.7 on the day.
Graduate Studentย Nickolas Kamenย (Naples) will compete for the men in the 10K and also has set multiple PRs this year. He opened the season with a PR time of 19:57.2 in the 6K at the Mocs XC Kickoff in Lakeland on Sept.ย 1ย and then closed the season with a PR time of 24:53.6 in the 8K during conference championships in North Carolina.
The Bulls will also send freshmanย Jackson Dravoย (St. Johns) to compete in the 10K. Like Kamen, Dravo's best times in his first season came during the Mocs XC Kickoff 6K (19:33.5) and the Conference Championships 8K in North Carolina (24:26)
The top four individuals automatically qualify to Charlottesville, VA., for the NCAA Championship competitions scheduled for Nov. 18.
About USF Cross Country
The USFย Cross Countryย team has earnedย 2ย All-America selections,ย Christina Benton in 2002 and Grayย Mavheraย in 1994.ย 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.ย 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 Countryย Erik Jenkinsย took over the program inย 2019 andย during his tenureย the Bulls postedย twelveย program records andย 106ย top 10ย all-time program marks. USF hosted theย 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.ย
โ #GoBulls โ
