The UCF women’s cross country team left the field with immense power and ruthless intensity, finishing ninth place in the competition among 39 teams at the North Alabama Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama, on Friday.
Thirteen Knights galloped their way to new personal-best times, according to UCF Athletics. However, the top four Knights were Isabella “Izzy” Richardson, Penelope Sosa, Lillian Holtery, and Alexandra Del Re.
Richardson, a UCF freshman, showed up even faster to the North Alabama Showcase in the Women 5000 Meter Run after finishing the UCF Invite on Sept. 2 with a 5k at a time of 18:28.9. On Friday, Richardson finished with a new freshman record of 17:12.38, the fourth-fastest time in program history, finishing in 17th place individually, according to UCF Athletics.
In the Women’s 5000 Meter Run, Richardson finished the 1.6K lap with a time of 5:22.2, the 3.2K lap with a time of 5:45.3 and the 5K lap with a time of 6:04.88.
The second Knight to finish was Sosa, escalating herself to 39th place at 17:49.01, finishing approximately 37 seconds after Richardson.
Sosa finished the 1.6K lap with a time of 5:22.8, the 3.2K Lap with a time of 6:04.90, and the 5K Lap with a time of 6:21.31.
Holtery reached 64th place at 18:11.16 and Del Re reached 65th place at 18:11.96. UCF’s final placements were 17, 39, 64, 65, 70, 79, and 89, and the split scores were 256 for the 1.6K, 268 for the 3.2K and 255 for the 5K.
Perri Bockrath from the University of Kentucky finished first overall at 16:24.54 during the North Alabama Showcase at John Hunt Park, and Kentucky finished second as a team. Hilda Olemomoi from the University of Alabama, which placed first as a team, finished second place at 16:30.02, and Tori Herman from the University of Kentucky finished in third place at 16:33.65.
UCF’s cross-country team coach Bryan Jackson expressed optimism about the best “pack-running” cross country team while at UCF.
“Very proud of how we raced today,” Jackson told UCF Athletics. “Not just with 13 of 14 running lifetime best… but more importantly, we race deep and together as a unit. That was the best pack running we have ever had during my time at UCF, which led to the best top-five average in UCF history.”