FGCU XC: Fordham Fiasco Recap

The FGCU men's cross country team now has a pair of top-3 finishes to open the 2018 slate after coming in third at the Fordham Fiasco Saturday morning, led by a third-place individual finish from sophomore Lucas Kiprotich. On the women's side, the squad scored three runners in the top-35 for an overall 7th place-finish.

"We accomplished our main objective was which was to familiarize ourselves with the conference championship course," said head coach Cassandra Goodson. "We are very happy that we came and now we can get back to The Nest and continue to work."

Following his second overall finish at the FAU Invitational last weekend, Kiprotich continued to forge ahead, this time on an 8k course, etching a time of 26:07.58. The mark was just two seconds shy of second-place.

Soon after, three more Eagles would round out the top-25 to keep the momentum going. Grad student Ronny Greenup, freshman Austin Redondo and sophomore Boniface Mutai finished 18, 21 and 23, respectively. Junior Jan Figueroa  capped off the scoring as the fifth FGCU runner to cross the end line to give the team a total of 88 points.

Not too far behind them was a pair of sophomores in Cole Pruim and Joseph Salerno who crossed the finish line 38th and 44th, respectively, as each Eagle placed in the top-50 out of 112 runners.

In the women's field, freshman Jillian Felton set the tone for the Green and Blue with her 22nd overall finish with a mark of 20:08.36.

Another newcomer in freshman Emily O'Connor was right on her heels with a time of 20:21.38, good enough for 29th.

Senior runner Angela Cruz Gonzalez followed suit and rounded out the trio of Eagles in the top-35 as she registered a mark of 20:27.65, coming in 34th.

With only five runners competing for the women, freshman Julia Filip and sophomore Madeline Wyers completed their 5k races coming in 54th and 66th, respectively, to give the Eagles 190 points.

Up Next:
FGCU will have three weeks off to prepare for the 45th taking of the Paul Short Run on Saturday, Sept. 29. in Bethlehem, PA. The high-profile race last year featured over 4,200 finishers and nearly 400 teams competing in 14 different races.

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:
3. Lucas Kiprotich – 26:07.58
18. Ronny Greenup – 27:03.76
21. Austin Redondo – 27:13.45
23. Boniface Mutai – 27:21.17
34. Jan Figueroa – 27:42.93
38. Cole Pruim – 27:55.65
44. Joseph Salerno – 28:11.61

WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:
22. Jillian Felton – 20:08.36
29. Emily O'Connor – 20:21.38
34. Angela Cruz Gonzalez – 20:27.65
54. Julia Filip – 21:31.41
66. Madeline Wyers – 22:26.57

MEN'S TEAM RESULTS
1. Lipscomb
2. Manhattan
3. FGCU
4. Rutgers (Power 5)
5. Yale
6. Fordham
7. NJIT
8. NYIT (NCAA DII)
9. Pace (NCAA DII)
10. St. Joseph's
11. Mt. St. Vincent (NCAA DIII)

WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS
1. Lipscomb
2. Princeton
3. Manhattan
4. Fordham
5. St. John's
6. Yale
7. FGCU
8. NJIT
9. LIU Post (NCAA DII)
10. St. Joseph's
11. Montclair State (NCAA DIII)
12. Pace (NCAA DII)
13. Mt. St. Vincent (NCAA DIII)