After being unable to compete in the FSU XC Invite on Oct. 11 due to Hurricane Milton, the Florida Gators cross country team traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday to compete in the third and final meet of the regular season.
The meet gave the seven women and nine men from UF the opportunity to run on the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, which will be the course for this year’s NCAA Championship meets.
Florida’s women’s squad competed against 32 other schools in a 6k race, with a total of 250 runners participating. Making her season debut, junior Hilda Olemomoi consistently stayed ahead of the pack, taking second place with a 19:02.9 finish.
Junior Tia Wilson was the next to finish for the Gators, taking the No. 43 spot. Wilson advanced from 58th place at the 2k mark, finishing the race with a 20:10.4.
UF’s men's squad competed against 24 other schools in an 8k and finished No. 7. 180 runners participated in the race with the earliest Gators coming in at No. 28.
The top runner for Florida was freshman Jonathan Leon, who made his collegiate debut at Gans Creek. Leon has been a solid competitor for the Gators, running a 24:28.5 in the race.
Senior Ethan Geiger was not far behind, coming in 31st with a 24:31.4 finish.
Next, the Gators will compete in the SEC Championship on Nov. 1.
Contact Rae Weinstein at rweinstein@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @raefweinstein.
Rae Weinstein is a sophomore majoring in political science. Fall 2024 is her first semester with The Alligator as Cross County Reporter and in her free time she enjoys reading, watching the NY Mets and playing field hockey.
