BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Aug. 29, 2019) – Florida Atlantic University men’s and women’s cross country will commence the 2019 season on Friday for the sixth annual FAU Cross Country Invitational. The Owls’ only home meet of the season will take place at South County Regional Park.
The women will kick off the invite at 6:30 p.m. and the men will follow at 7 p.m. Nine other Florida schools will be attendance, including Florida A&M, FIU, Florida Gulf Coast, Miami, Stetson, UCF, Ave Maria, Nova Southeastern and St. Thomas.
The women’s team is looking to keep the streak alive by claiming its sixth straight title. Senior Mikaela Jonsson was the top finisher for the Owls, clocking in at 18:48.56 for fourth place. On the men’s side, Lachlan Shiver crossed the finish line first, while setting a new FAU record in the 5K with a time of 15:20.79. The men’s team also finished third overall.
“It’s always great to be able to open up at home,” said head coach Alex Smolka. “It gives us a chance to run in front of our home fans once during the season and it gives our freshmen exposure to racing without having to worry about travel yet. Overall, it’s very exciting and fun to have a home meet be the very first one of the season.”
In Smolka’s 15th season leading the Owls, the women’s team features six returners and seven newcomers, while the men bring back five from the 2018-19 season.
For complete coverage of FAU cross country and track & field, follow along on Twitter (@FAU_XC_Track) or Instagram (@FAUXC.TF).
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Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
