Four of the women who powered the championship-qualifying effort earned the nod, while Ethan Geiger’s career day netted him the recognition.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gators Cross Country athletes Hilda Olemomoi, Beth Morley, Allison Wilson, Tia Wilson, and Ethan Geiger have earned All-Region Honors for their performances at the NCAA South Regional at Apalachee State Park in Tallahassee Florida on Nov. 15, the USTFCCCA Announced Monday.
Hilda Olemomoi finished first in the South Regional, her first race win of the 2024 Cross Country campaign. She defeated the second-place runner, Alabama’s Doris Lemngole, by less than one tenth of a second. Both runners boasted final times of 19:30.6, with Olemomoi taking the final advantage by a fraction of a second. The win marked the third consecutive year that a Gator runner has topped the podium, as Olemomoi takes the crown after Parker Valby secured each of the previous two in 2022 and 2023.
Tia Wilson, Allison Wilson, and Beth Morley finished 12th, 15th and 16th respectively, continuing their trend of in-succession finishes and strong performances which powered the Women’s team to an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. The same trio finished 28, 29 and 31 at the SEC Championships in College Station, Texas, and have emerged as a collective force to be reckoned with as Florida looks to hoist a trophy in Madison.
Senior Ethan Geiger led the way for the Men’s team in Tallahassee, finishing 12th with a 10k time of 30:19.1. His 12th place finish was the best individual placement in a regional by a men’s runner for Florida since 2015, when Jimmy Clark finished fourth and Eddie Garcia fifth in the South Regional. Geiger’s career performance lofted the Gators to their ninth-place finish, their best team finish in a regional since 2021.
The Women’s team will continue their Post Season at the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wis. on No. 23 at 10:20 a.m. ET. The event will be available to watch on ESPNU.<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/b16b2801-db87-47f4-9015-3bb2c82a66eb>
The complete list of All-Region honorees can be found here.<https://www.ustfccca.org/2024/11/featured/2024-ncaa-division-i-cross-country-all-region>
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