University of South Florida
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USF Cross Country Hits Road to Orlando to Begin Season at UCF XC Invitational
August 29, 2024 | Cross Country
The Bulls open the 2024 season on Friday morning in Orlando.
Orlando, Fla., August 29, 2024ย โย The University of South Florida men's and women's cross country teams kick off their 2024 season on Friday, August 30, at the UCF XC Invitational in Orlando, Fla., at the University of Central Florida.ย
The women's 5K race will kick off at 6:15 p.m., while the men's 5K race will begin at 6:45 p.m.ย
"I am excited to see our team start the regular season in Orlando," Director of Cross Country and Track &ย Field Erik Jenkins said. "We have a very young group who are eager to represent themselves and USF. "ย
The women will race nineย runners. The team has six returning runners scheduled to race including seniors Victoria Valdez and Sydney Granack;ย juniors Hailey Cohen, Cora Kolodge, and Chloe Fernander; sophomoresย Callie Wakefield, Katelyn Thompson,ย and Catalina Edwards.ย The team has oneย new transferย scheduled to make their debut in junionr Giovana Meade.ย
The men will race seven runners. The team has twoย men returning from last year to run, sophomore Sean Perry andย senior Sebastian Edwards. The men will have fiveย Bulls debuting,ย junior transfer Jayven Garcia, as well asย freshmen John Keester IV, Aiden Maue, and Nicholas Zamora.ย
Following the Bulls' opener in Orlando, they travel to Huntsville, Ala., to compete in the Southern Showcase scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13.ย
About USF Cross Countryย
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 posted 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 ย
โ #GoBulls โย
