University of South Florida
Mocs XC Kick-Off
September 01, 2023 | Cross Country
The men's team finished fifth and the women second at the Mocs XC Kick-Off on Friday.
Lakeland, Fla., September 1, 2022 โย The University of South Florida men's and women's cross country teams completed their first meet of the season on Friday morning at the Mocs XC Kick-Off at Holloway Park.
For the 7:15 a.m. women's 4.2K, the Bulls saw three top-10 finishes. True freshman Marlo Hiblerย (Ft. Lauderdale) checked in third place overall with a time of 15:31.04, while seniorย Kelly Lynchย (Wilmington, Del.) finished just over three seconds later, for sixth overall (15:34.34). Another freshman,ย Delaney Stephens, crossed the finish line about five seconds after Lynch, for seventh place (15:39.08). Junior Grace Johnsonย (Naples)ย finished just outside the top 10, running the course in 15:55.02, for 11th place.
As a team, the South Florida women placed second out of the six schools competing in the race.
For the 7:45 a.m. men's 5K, USF earned fourth position out of four. Senior Jonathan Reid (Bradenton) placed 13th out of the 68 runners with a time of 19:31.31 only seven seconds behind a top-10 finish. Freshman teammateย Jackson Dravo was right behind him in 14th with a time of 19:33.15, while junior ย Sebastian Edwardsย (Celebration) was 16th, running the race in 19:36.14.
"We had quite a few people who really stepped up and made a major, immediate impact. Marlo (Hibler) and Kelly (Lynch) running up front gives us a huge leg up as we get deeper in the season," coachย Tony Nicolosiย said about the women. "Two new guys really stepped up with Johnny (Reid) setting a tone for why you bring in a veteran guy like that, and Jack (Dravo) as a freshman certainly has what it takes to be a really solid runner in this conference."
Up next, the Bulls travel to Gainesville, Fla. to compete in the Mountainย Dew Invitational scheduled for Friday, Sept. 15.
"Gainesville will be an excellent test of how we stack up in the entire state and the region," Nicolosi said.
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 team have won seven team conference championships and the women have won five team championships. Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Erik Jenkinsย took over the program inย 2019 andย during his tenure,ย 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
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