| 8/30/2024 | Men’s Cross Country BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic’s men’s and women’s cross country team kicked off their season in the only home race of the 2024 season and got off to a great start in the tenth annual Florida Atlantic Invitational. Both teams ran a 5k on Friday evening. The women’s team placed first out of six teams for the first time since 2019, while the men’s team placed third out of 12 teams. It was a great night for the Owls as senior Elyssa Toal placed fifth overall and came in first for Florida Atlantic with a time of 18:17.48. She is now holds the best time recorded by an Owl at South County Regional Park. On the men’s side, Paul Glick ran his personal best with a time of 15:46.41 to be the first runner to cross the finish line for Florida Atlantic. QUICK HITS Women (5K) Toal started off the season great, as her performance secured her the number one spot in program history for racing in the South County Regional Park. She improved her time from last season, which was 18:22.3. Freshman Constance Pittet claimed eighth place overall in her first collegiate race with a time of 18:19.48. With that time, she has the third-best program time at the South County Regional ParkTransfer Andi VanMeter placed ninth overall for the Owls. VanMeter registered an 18:27.3 in her first race with Florida Atlantic The Owls had seven runners claim a spot in the top 25 Coming in tenth overall was Leah Helms (18:28.00) on the night Jessica Hatch (18:57.70) and Astrid Baunge (19:02.46) placed in 19th and 20th Following closely behind was freshman Emilee Moen, as she registered a 19:16.93 in the 25th spot In the 32nd and 34th place was Kayla Groppe (19:38.93) and Isabel O’Brien (19:45.72) Men (5k) Glick started it off for the Owls when he came in fifth overall As a team, Florida Atlantic recorded 89 points on the evening Claiming the 13th overall spot was Sam Henery, with a 16:02.07. Henery improved from his last time during the 2023 FAU invite Newcomers for the Owls Noah Curfman (16:26.36), Donovan Petty (16:30.56), and Joseph Garcia (16:37.29) placed 21st, 24th, and 27th in their debut. Sophomore Enrique Toro registered a time of 16:54.78 COACH SMOLKA’S TAKE Hear from Head Coach Alex Smolka on his thoughts on today’s first win of the season Thank you to everyone who came out and supported today at the Florida Atlantic Invitational!#WinningInParadise pic.twitter.com/21pz1rG4JF– Florida Atlantic XC/Track (@FAUXCTF) August 31, 2024 COACH SONJA’S TAKE Thoughts from Coach Sonja on how today’s race went for the men’s team #WinningInParadise pic.twitter.com/tVQ8H8ZKJP– Florida Atlantic XC/Track (@FAUXCTF) August 31, 2024 UP NEXT The Owls will travel to Jacksonville to compete in the UNF XC Invitational on Sept. 13. FOLLOW THE OWLS For complete coverage of FAU cross country and track & field, follow us on social media @FAUXCTF |
