UF XC: Olemomoi Shines, Gators Finish Strong in Final Regular-Season Races

The Gator women finished tenth in the Women’s “A” race and the men took seventh in the Men’s “B” race at the Wisconsin Pre-nationals races.

MADISON, Wis. – Florida Gators Men’s and Women’s Cross Country wrapped up their regular season schedules with strong showings at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals meet in Madison, Wis. on Saturday. The Gator women claimed tenth place in the Women’s “A” race team standings, and the men finished seventh in their respective “B” race. It was a promising performance from the Gators in their first looks at the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, the home of this year’s NCAA Cross Country National Championships.

Hilda Olemomoi finished second overall in her Orange and Blue debut, finishing with a time of 19:02.9 in the Women’s 6k “A” race. For context, the course record heading into Saturday’s event was 19:17.2, set last season by Florida’s own Parker Valby at the Nuttycombe Invitational. Olemomoi is expected to be among the top competitors in the nation as the postseason begins.

Tia Wilson backed up her promising debut performance at the Gans Creek Classic last month with another strong showing, finishing 43rd with a 20:10.4 mark. Allison Wilson crossed the line third for the Gators in her season debut, finishing 85th with a 20:31.5 time.

On the men’s side, Florida’s talented youngsters showed their promise yet again, as Jonathan Leon crossed the line 28th overall with a time of 24:28.5 and fellow freshman Riley Smith finished 52nd with a 24:46.3 time. Senior Ethan Geiger finished 31st after a late push, jumping nine spots in the last 2000m of the race.

Matthew Mule’ also authored a comeback, climbing from 96th place at the 2000m mark to 55th across the finish line.

The Gators now look towards the postseason, with their next outing scheduled for Nov. 1 at SEC Championships in College Station, Texas where the Gator women will look to repeat as SEC Champs.

Complete results from Saturday’s Wisconsin Pre-Nationals Races can be found at this link.<https://live.pttiming.com/xc-ptt.html?mid=7515>

Results
Men – 7th (223 points)

Women – 10th (368 points)

Place

Name

Time

Place (score)

Name

Time

28 (28)

Jonathan Leon

24:28.5

2 (2)

Hilda Olemomoi

19:02.9

31 (31)

Ethan Geiger

24:31.4

43 (43)

Tia Wilson

20:10.4

52 (52)

Riley Smith

24:46.3

86 (86)

Allison Wilson

20:31.5

55 (55)

Matthew Mule’

24:49.3

109 (107)

Caroline Wells

20:40.7

57 (57)

Riley Novack

24:52.9

132 (130)

Bethan Morley

20:52.6

77 (77)*

Matthew Stratton

25:06.3

169 (167)*

Gabrielle Schmidt

21:08.4

134 (133)*

Alex Pena

24:44.4

190 (188)*

Liina Winborn

21:18.6

Other Results:

  *   Michael Fiore competed in the Men’s Open race, finishing 37th with a 24:58.2 time.
  *   Josh Ruiz did not finish in the Men’s “B” race.

Team Finishes – Top 10
Men – Men’s “B” race
Purdue (73)
Illinois (148)
Ohio State (177)
Yale (180)
Washington State (190)
Utah Valley (202)
Florida (223)
Belmont (235)
Weber State (237)
Southern Utah (253)

Women – Women’s “A” race
BYU (105)
Washington (157)
Northern Arizona (166)
West Virginia (207)
Notre Dame (216)
New Mexico (236)
NC State (293)
Wisconsin (348)
Florida State (364)
Florida (368)

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