The Florida Gulf Coast University men’s and women’s cross country team heads to Kentucky to compete in the Louisville Cross Country Classic on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“Louisville is going to be a large meet,” coach Cassandra Goodson said. “It is going to be a great opportunity for the team to get a large-meet experience… It’s strong competition that can push them. I’m excited to see how they respond and who steps up.”
Both teams competed in the Mountain Dew Invite this past Saturday. The men’s team finished fourth with 137 points. Georgia Tech won the event with 41 points, followed by the University of Florida with 51 points and the University of North Florida in third with 60.
Freshman Troy Clark led the men’s team in the 8K, finishing with a time of 25:32.84. He finished 20th. Junior Nathan Kandie finished 30th with a time of 25:57.92 and sophomore Courtland Bernard followed closely with a 25:59.11 in 31st place. All of the Eagles that competed in the 8K finished within the top 50.
“Troy is a great person and he worked incredibly hard over the summer,” Goodson said. “It is great to see all of his hard work pay off.”
The women’s team finished seventh out of 13 teams with 205 points. UF won the meet with 35 points. Georgia Tech finished second with 67 points and UNF finished third with 90 points.
Senior Brooke Sill led the women’s team by finishing in eighteenth place with a time of 17:58.35. Junior Courtney Corradetti finished 42nd with 18:34.60. Also finishing in the top-50 was junior Lauren Tarovisky in 47th place with 18:37.99. According to the FGCU athletics website, the women’s team had their fastest team average to date.
“The women’s average time improved significantly from last year,” Goodson said. “I think it is a combination of bringing in new people…and the returners have improved as well. It is a good culture, good environment and they work hard and deserve all that they are getting.”