Tampa Turns In Quality Showing Against Top Competition
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - In its toughest test of the 2010 season, The University of Tampa men's and women's cross country teams held strong against top Division I teams from across the state. The Spartan women finished fifth as the men were eighth.
The women's 5k was won by the University of Florida, which also hosted the event. Jacksonville, South Florida, North Florida and UT rounded out the top five. Tampa finished ahead of Miami, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida Atlantic, Florida International and Central Florida.
In the men's 8k, the Gators took the title, followed by Embry-Riddle, Florida Southern, Miami and Florida Gulf Coast. Notable teams who UT defeated were Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M and Stetson.
Heather Nicolosi paced the Spartan women, finishing 11th while clocking a personal record time of 17:56.60. Kaia Hampton (20), Lindsay Edwards (23), Katie O'Brien (30) and Chanelle Cox (47) comprised head coach Jarrett Slaven's lineup in the 208-runner race. Each of UT's top five runners concluded the race with a personal record.
Charles Toledo and Tony Nicolosi finished 33rd and 34th respectively in the men's race to pace UT, with times of 26:29.79 and 26:31.22. Kevin Lane (56), Bryan Garcia (60) and Tory Webb (76) were all scorers among 201 total runners.
The Spartans return to action on Fri., Oct. 1 at the Lehigh (Pa.) Invitational.
Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.