Friday, November 10
Gainesville, FL
W: 6k @ 8:30 a.m. / M: 10k @ 9:30 a.m.
Florida Gators
vs
NCAA South Regional
Women’s Cross Country Punches Ticket to NCAA Championships
Friday, November 10, 2023 | Cross Country
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 6 Florida Gators Women's Cross Country team punched its ticket to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Florida was one of two auto-qualifying teams to emerge from the 2023 NCAA South Regional which was hosted by the Gators at Mark Bostick Golf Course on Friday morning.
The team's qualification for the National Championship marks the first time the women have done so since 2018 when the team placed 16th. The 2023 National Championship will be held in Charlottesville, Virginia and will be hosted by the University of Virginia.
Despite no athlete on the current roster being present for the Gators trip to the NCAA Championships in 2018, this group has a surprising amount of experience at the event.
Parker Valby participated in the event as an individual in 2022, finishing second and being named the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Runner-Up.
The Gators also have three other top-40 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships finishers on their roster in Flomena Asekol, Amelia Mazza-Downie and Elise Thorner
Asekol finished 14th at the meet, Mazza-Downie finished 22nd and Thorner finished 40th. Asekol was a part of a third-place finish by the University of Alabama while Mazza-Downie and Thorner were part of a second-place finish by New Mexico.
With this in mind the team hopes to chase the program's highest placement of 7th which they accomplished in 1981 and 2009.
HOW THE GATORS PUNCHED THEIR TICKET
The Women's 6k Championship started promptly at 8:30 a.m. with the sound of the gun setting off the group of Gators including Valby, Asekol, Wilson, Thorner, Lucinda Rourke, Liina Winborn and Sayla Donnelley as well as the rest of the pack.
Valby continued her dominant 2023 season as she finished first in the NCAA South Region for the second consecutive year. The redshirt junior from Tampa, Florida crossed the finish line with an outstanding time of 17:59.6.
Asekol also recorded a top-10 finish as she was slotted eighth at the conclusion of the race. She was the second Gator to score and did so with a time of 18:53.5.
Allison Wilson was flying on the course Friday morning as the redshirt junior finished in 14th with a time just over nineteen minutes: 19:02.0.
Thorner was the fourth Gator to complete the 6k race finishing 25th and recording a time of 19:16.7 and locked up the final spot of All-Region honors.
Liina Winborn finished just six spots behind Thorner as she powered past two runners in the final stretch to secure a 31st place finish with a mark of 19:45.1 and secured the fifth scoring finish for the Gators.
The quartet of Valby, Asekol, Wilson and Thorner were all awarded All-Region status for their finish inside the top-25. Their announcement of this honor will be officially released by the USTFCCCA on Monday.
Combining the scores from the top five finishers resulted in a point total of 79 which fell short of first place No. 15 Tennessee (61) but was enough to outscore No. 24 Ole Miss (95), No. 16 Alabama (98) and No. 19 Lipscomb (107).
Lucinda Rourke and Sayla Donnelley also logged strong performances as they finished 58th and 98th racing in their second and first NCAA South Regional, respectively.
MEN SHOW GROWTH IN 10TH PLACE FINISH
After finishing in 19th just a year ago in the NCAA South Regional, the Florida Gators Men's program showed a quick turn around as they were able to climb nine spots and secure a top-10 finish as a team.
Ethan Geiger was the first Gator to finish in the Men's 10k Championship, completing the race in under thirty minutes at 29:49.3 and placing 29th.
Joe Wester and Aiden Villasuso crossed the finish line in back to back places as the duo earned 56th and 57th behind 30:43.1 and 30:43.7 finishes, respectively.
Freshman Parvej Khan and redshirt freshman Adam Magoulas were the final Gators to score on the men's side.
POINTS FROM PALMER
POST RACE WITH PARKER
RESULTS
Women's Team Finishes
Individual Finishes – Women's 6k Championship
1) Parker Valby – 17:59.6
8) Flomena Asekol – 18:53.5
14) Allison Wilson – 19:02.0
25) Elise Thorner – 19:16.7
31) Liina Winborn – 19:45.1
58) Lucinda Rourke – 20:22.4
98) Sayla Donnelley – 20:51.9
Men's Team Finishes
Individual Finishes – Men's 8k Championship
29) Ethan Geiger – 29:49.3
56) Joe Wester – 30:43.1
57) Aiden Villasuso – 30:43.7
66) Parvej Khan – 31:00.5
72) Adam Magoulas – 31:07.6
75) Javi Vento – 31:14.1
93) Michael Fiore – 31:41.4
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Florida was one of two auto-qualifying teams to emerge from the 2023 NCAA South Regional which was hosted by the Gators at Mark Bostick Golf Course on Friday morning.
Next Stop ➡️ Nattys in Virginia #GoGators pic.twitter.com/annpE2UdSB
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) November 10, 2023
The team's qualification for the National Championship marks the first time the women have done so since 2018 when the team placed 16th. The 2023 National Championship will be held in Charlottesville, Virginia and will be hosted by the University of Virginia.
Despite no athlete on the current roster being present for the Gators trip to the NCAA Championships in 2018, this group has a surprising amount of experience at the event.
Parker Valby participated in the event as an individual in 2022, finishing second and being named the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Runner-Up.
The Gators also have three other top-40 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships finishers on their roster in Flomena Asekol, Amelia Mazza-Downie and Elise Thorner
Asekol finished 14th at the meet, Mazza-Downie finished 22nd and Thorner finished 40th. Asekol was a part of a third-place finish by the University of Alabama while Mazza-Downie and Thorner were part of a second-place finish by New Mexico.
With this in mind the team hopes to chase the program's highest placement of 7th which they accomplished in 1981 and 2009.
HOW THE GATORS PUNCHED THEIR TICKET
The Women's 6k Championship started promptly at 8:30 a.m. with the sound of the gun setting off the group of Gators including Valby, Asekol, Wilson, Thorner, Lucinda Rourke, Liina Winborn and Sayla Donnelley as well as the rest of the pack.
Valby continued her dominant 2023 season as she finished first in the NCAA South Region for the second consecutive year. The redshirt junior from Tampa, Florida crossed the finish line with an outstanding time of 17:59.6.
Asekol also recorded a top-10 finish as she was slotted eighth at the conclusion of the race. She was the second Gator to score and did so with a time of 18:53.5.
Allison Wilson was flying on the course Friday morning as the redshirt junior finished in 14th with a time just over nineteen minutes: 19:02.0.
Thorner was the fourth Gator to complete the 6k race finishing 25th and recording a time of 19:16.7 and locked up the final spot of All-Region honors.
Liina Winborn finished just six spots behind Thorner as she powered past two runners in the final stretch to secure a 31st place finish with a mark of 19:45.1 and secured the fifth scoring finish for the Gators.
The quartet of Valby, Asekol, Wilson and Thorner were all awarded All-Region status for their finish inside the top-25. Their announcement of this honor will be officially released by the USTFCCCA on Monday.
Combining the scores from the top five finishers resulted in a point total of 79 which fell short of first place No. 15 Tennessee (61) but was enough to outscore No. 24 Ole Miss (95), No. 16 Alabama (98) and No. 19 Lipscomb (107).
Lucinda Rourke and Sayla Donnelley also logged strong performances as they finished 58th and 98th racing in their second and first NCAA South Regional, respectively.
MEN SHOW GROWTH IN 10TH PLACE FINISH
After finishing in 19th just a year ago in the NCAA South Regional, the Florida Gators Men's program showed a quick turn around as they were able to climb nine spots and secure a top-10 finish as a team.
Top 10 😤#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/1zr4tynqnv
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) November 10, 2023
Ethan Geiger was the first Gator to finish in the Men's 10k Championship, completing the race in under thirty minutes at 29:49.3 and placing 29th.
Joe Wester and Aiden Villasuso crossed the finish line in back to back places as the duo earned 56th and 57th behind 30:43.1 and 30:43.7 finishes, respectively.
Freshman Parvej Khan and redshirt freshman Adam Magoulas were the final Gators to score on the men's side.
POINTS FROM PALMER
POST RACE WITH PARKER
RESULTS
Women's Team Finishes
| Team | Place | Points |
| Tennessee | 1st | 61 |
| Florida | 2nd | 79 |
| Ole Miss | 3rd | 95 |
| Alabama | 4th | 98 |
| Lipscomb | 5th | 107 |
| Georgia Tech | 6th | 224 |
| Belmont | 7th | 250 |
| Florida State | 8th | 252 |
| Auburn | 9th | 276 |
| Samford | 10th | 292 |
| Kennesaw State | 11th | 303 |
| Vanderbilt | 12th | 322 |
| Mississippi State | 13th | 387 |
| Miami | 14th | 391 |
| Middle Tennessee State | 15th | 403 |
Individual Finishes – Women's 6k Championship
1) Parker Valby – 17:59.6
8) Flomena Asekol – 18:53.5
14) Allison Wilson – 19:02.0
25) Elise Thorner – 19:16.7
31) Liina Winborn – 19:45.1
58) Lucinda Rourke – 20:22.4
98) Sayla Donnelley – 20:51.9
Men's Team Finishes
| Team | Place | Points |
| Tennessee | 1st | 68 |
| Florida State | 2nd | 71 |
| Alabama | 3rd | 86 |
| Ole Miss | 4th | 105 |
| Lipscomb | 5th | 158 |
| North Florida | 6th | 169 |
| Auburn | 7th | 200 |
| Middle Tennessee State | 8th | 201 |
| Belmont | 9th | 256 |
| Florida | 10th | 276 |
Individual Finishes – Men's 8k Championship
29) Ethan Geiger – 29:49.3
56) Joe Wester – 30:43.1
57) Aiden Villasuso – 30:43.7
66) Parvej Khan – 31:00.5
72) Adam Magoulas – 31:07.6
75) Javi Vento – 31:14.1
93) Michael Fiore – 31:41.4
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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