UF XC: Gators Start Strong in Cross Country Season Opener

Both the Men’s and Women’s teams secured second-place finishes in the UCF Invite to open the 2024 Cross Country schedule.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Gators opened the 2024 Cross Country campaign with a strong showing at the UCF Invite. The Men (5k race) took a second-place team finish with 50 points, and the Women (5k race) also placed second with 51 points to start the season off right.

Breanna Stuart was Florida’s top finisher in the women’s race, claiming third with a 18:17.9 time. Freshman Ashley Fitzgerald broke into the top-10 in her collegiate debut, securing an 18:17.9 time.
Ashley Klingenberg, Christiana Coleman, and Kate Drummond rounded out Florida’s scoring.

The Men’s race saw Emerson Miller score eight team points with his 11th place finish and 15:30.0 time. All five of the Gators’ scorers cracked the top-20 finishers, as Michael Fiore (12th), Alejandro Pena (16th), Riley Novak (17) and Aidan Villasuso (18) secured a second-place team finish.

The Gators’ next race is set for September 27 when the Gators travel to Colombia Missouri for the Gans Creek Classic.

UCF Invite – Complete Results
Men – 2nd (50 points)

Women – 2nd (51 points)

Place

Name

Time

Place (score)

Name

Time

11 (8)

Emerson Miller

15:30.0

3 (3)

Breanna Stuart

18:17.9

12 (9)

Michael Fiore

15:34.5

9 (8)

Ashley Fitzgerald

18:34.0

16 (10)

Alejandro Pena

15:41.4

15 (11)

Ashley Klingenberg

18:55.7

17 (11)

Riley Novak

15:44.4

19 (14)

Christiana Coleman

19:02.6

18 (12)

Aidan Villasuso

15:47.0

20 (15)

Kate Drummond

19:02.7

25 (17*)

Gavin Nelson

15:52.7

28 (20*)

Lindsey Kiehl

19:20.0

27 (19*)

Alec Miller

16:02.3

31 (22*)

Avery Fronrath

19:30.3

28

Orlando Cicilioni

16:05.9

40

Ava Wyant

20:11.1

58

Annie Loehle

21:35.1

Team Finishes
Men
FSU (15)
Florida (50)
USF (111)
Stetson (121)
Jacksonville (159)
Bethune Cookman (225)

Women
FSU (18)
Florida (51)
UCF (80)
USF (105)
Jacksonville (141)
Stetson (182)
Bethune Cookman (223)

SCORING
* Team scores are comprised of the total points accumulated by a team’s first five runners. The team with the lowest score wins.
* Runners six and seven also figure into the scoring by occupying scoring positions that, while they do not count toward their team’s score, prevent other teams from earning the extra points. Any runner for a team beyond its seventh is removed from the team scoring, and is not considered in any successive finishers’ scoring place, noted in parentheses.