Tomer Mualem finished 10th in the men’s 8K as the University of North Florida placed second at the ASUN Cross Country Championship on Oct. 30 at The University Club at Arlington in Richmond, Kentucky. North Florida scored 66 points in the eight-team field, finishing behind champion Lipscomb, which scored 16 points. The Ospreys finished 28 points ahead of third-place Bellarmine, which scored 94.
North Florida placed three runners in the top 15 and seven in the top 25. The Ospreys also finished ahead of Stetson, Florida Gulf Coast, Queens (N.C.), Jacksonville and West Florida. The result gave North Florida a runner-up finish in the conference championship.
Mualem leads North Florida’s finishers
Mualem, a redshirt sophomore, led North Florida by finishing 10th in 25:15.7. Redshirt sophomore Alejandro Romagosa placed 14th in 25:23.8, while freshman Samuel Freas finished 15th in 25:33.7. Those three runners placed North Florida in the top 15 three times.
Redshirt senior Paul Lespasio finished 16th in 25:34.6, giving the Ospreys four runners inside the top 20. Senior Colton Lawson placed 21st in 25:48.1, followed by redshirt junior Andrew Mahorner in 23rd at 25:58.3. Freshman Oliver Dempsey finished 24th in 26:02.2 to complete North Florida’s seven top-25 finishes.
Freshman Demetrie Meyers placed 27th in 26:20.9, while Parker Banzhaf finished 29th in 26:33.2. Joshua Gammage rounded out North Florida’s finishers in 44th at 27:14.2. The complete North Florida results gave the Ospreys 10 recorded finishers in the men’s 8K.
North Florida earns five ASUN honors
Mualem and Romagosa earned Second Team All-ASUN honors after their top-15 finishes. Freas, Dempsey and Meyers earned ASUN All-Freshman Team honors after placing 15th, 24th and 27th, respectively. North Florida totaled five All-ASUN honors at the conference championship.
Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Jeff Pigg said the runner-up result reflected the experience gained by North Florida’s young teams. “Finishing runner-up on both sides is a solid result,” Pigg said. “Both teams are young, and we’ve gained a lot of valuable experience this season. We competed hard and had some really strong individual performances. Everyone in our program wants to win, so we’ll continue to stay focused on improving. We have a lot of potential and athletes who are willing to do what it takes to win.”
Pigg also credited Mualem, Romagosa and Freas for their individual performances. “Tomer is finally getting healthy, and he stepped up today to lead the team,” Pigg said. “Roma continued to run near the front for us, and I thought Sam ran a great race. It was also great to see all three of our freshmen earn ASUN All-Freshman Team honors.”
Ospreys advance to NCAA South Regional
North Florida will compete in the NCAA South Regional Championship on Nov. 13 in Tallahassee, Florida. The regional meet follows an ASUN championship performance that included three top-15 finishers and seven top-25 finishers. Mualem and Romagosa will enter the next meet as Second Team All-ASUN honorees, while Freas, Dempsey and Meyers earned freshman-team recognition.
FSB Take
North Florida’s depth defined its second-place finish at the ASUN championship. Mualem led the Ospreys individually, but the team also put four runners inside the top 20 and seven inside the top 25. That group performance gives North Florida a clear foundation to carry into the NCAA South Regional Championship on Nov. 13.
Source: Original report