The FGCU men's and women's cross country teams begin their season with their first hurdle at the Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park in Boca Raton for the FAU Invitational.
"We are looking forward to getting out and having an opportunity to compete with the majority of teams," said head coach Cassandra Goodson. "We will use this meet to see how our new runners stack up and the fitness of our returners. Excited to see how they respond."
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of an up and down season from last year. The men finished as high as 2nd place (FAU Invitational) while the women finished as high as 5th (FAU Invitational).
In the A-SUN Cross Country Championship, the men would finish 5th overall while the women finished 7th. The Eagles were still able to send five to the NCAA South Regional Championship.
History in the FAU Inivitational:
This will be the third time the teams will compete in this meet. Last time both teams competed, the men would finish in 2nd place behind Miami while the women finished in 5th place.
New Blood:
On the men's side, the six newcomers will be making their including freshman Bryce Bell and transfer Lucas Kiprotich.
Bell recently graduated from Lyman High School in Orlando where he competed for coach Fred Finke.
Kiprotich joins FGCU after spending his freshman season at Eastern Kentucky. Kiprotich joins the FGCU as a sophomore and will have three years of eligibility remaining.
On the women's side, four newcomers join including freshman Jillian Felton and redshirt junior Victoria SanFilippo.
Felton joins FGCU after graduating from Citrus High School in Inverness, Florida.
Already a student for her freshman through junior years, SanFilippo joins the team as a walk-on for the team. The Staten Island native will have two years of eligibility remaining.
In addition, Goodson has also added a new coach to the squad: Luka Ndungu. Ndungu is entering his first season as assistant coach. A native of Nyahururu, Kenya, Ndungu competed in five races and turned in the most prolific season in program history after transferring from Eastern Kentucky. Ndungu earned A-SUN All-Conference First Team honors in 2016 and paired with now grad student Ronny Greenup to become the first duo to take home first-team honors in the same season.
Returners:
For the men's side, returners for the team include Greenup, junior Jan Figueroa, and sophomore Cole Pruim.
Figueroa competed in the FAU Invitational last season where he etched a 5k time of 16:23.35 for a 12th-place overall finish. In the NCAA South Regional Championship, Figueroa finished 143rd with a time of 34:55.7
After being named on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team last season and being named a participant in the NCAA South Regional Championships where he finished with a time of 26:03.80 (22nd overall), Pruim made his debut coming in 24th overall (16:50.97-5k) in the FAU Invitational last season.
Greenup returns to compete after missing the entire season with a foot injury. Greenup hasn't competed since the 2016 NCAA South Regional Championship. Greenup competed in the FAU Invitational at the start of the 2016-17 season with a 6th place finish in 15:50.9.
For women's side, seniors Carley Lutzow and Angela Cruz Gonzalez return to finish for their final season.
Lutzow clocking in a 5k time of 18:56.42 to finish 6th overall and the first runner to score for the 2nd place Eagles in the FAU Invitational last season. Along with being named on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team, she was the only runner on the women's team to compete in the NCAA South Regional Championship as she competed and set a personal best of 21:14.90 in the 6k run (48th overall).
After transferring from NJCAA Pasco-Hernando State College, Gonzalez, the brother of assistant coach Argeo Cruz, competed in the FAU Invitational last year finishing 47th overall with a time of 21:28.91.
Polls:
As the A-SUN Cross Country Preseason Polls were unveiled Wednesday afternoon, FGCU was picked to finish fourth on the men's side and sixth on the women's side.
Who Else Will Compete?:
Along with host FAU, FGCU will compete against Miami, FIU, and A-SUN foe Stetson among other programs.
The race will begin on Saturday, August 31 at 6 P.M. The women will race first at 6:30 P.M. and the men will follow at 7 P.M.
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