Gators Women Place First, Men Finish Third at Mountain Dew Invitational

Friday, September 15

Gainesville, FL

M: 8k @ 7:40 AM / W: 3M @ 8:20 AM

Florida Gators

Mountain Dew Invitational

Gators Women Place First, Men Finish Third at Mountain Dew Invitational

Friday, September 15, 2023 | Cross Country

Photo Gallery

By: Arik Morton

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators men's and women's Cross Country teams began their 2023 campaigns Friday morning at the Mountain Dew Invitational placing third and first, respectively.

Just twenty-five short minutes after the sunrise, the gun had sounded and the Gators men were off. After navigating through the holes of Mark Bostick Golf Course, the team collected 117 points in their 8k race. Joe Wester was the first Gator to cross the finish line, placing ninth with a time of 24:36.40.

Following Wester were Ethan Geiger, Javi Vento, Josh Stern, and Orlando Cicilioni, who all contributed points towards the third place finish.

Shortly after, the women took to the three-mile course. Running in her first race in three years, Allison Wilson, a transfer from the University of Alabama, placed first overall with a time of 16:38.70.

Her Gator teammates were not far behind as five other Florida runners, Liina Winborn, Vasileia Spyrou, Rylee Pustilnik, Olivia Jones and Sayla Donnelley placed in the top twenty.

Winborn, Spyrou, Pustilnik and Jones contributed to the 38 points scored by the women, which was enough to beat out Vanderbilt for a first place finish.

RESULTS

Men's Team Finishes

Team	Place	Points
North Florida	1^st	30
Georgia Tech	2^nd	40
Florida	3^rd	117
Flagler	4^th	154
Embry-Riddle	5^th	158
Vanderbilt	6^th	168
Florida Southern	7^th	181
Tampa	8^th	211
South Florida	9^th	232
Chattanooga	10^th	236
Florida Gulf Coast	11^th	270
Stetson	12^th	318
Florida Atlantic	13^th	419
FIU	14^th	451
Bethune-Cookman	15^th	490

Individual Finishes – Men's 8k
9) Joe Wester – 24:36.40
13) Ethan Geiger – 24:38.20
25) Javi Vento – 25:04.30
26) Josh Stern – 25:04.70
59) Orlando Cicilioni – 25:31.80
109) Ryan Miller – 26:33.80
117) Mac Wright – 26:50.20

Women's Team Finishes

Team	Place	Points
Florida	1^st	38
Vanderbilt	2^nd	42
Georgia Tech	3^rd	62
Chattanooga	4^th	130
Flagler	5^th	132
North Florida	6^th	151
South Florida	7^th	222
Florida Atlantic	8^th	236
Stetson	9^th	270
Florida Gulf Coast	10^th	288
Florida A&M	11^th	359
Florida Southern	12^th	362
FIU	13^th	363
Bethune-Cookman	14^th	444

Individual Finishes – Women's 3-mile
1) Allison Wilson – 16:38.70
5) Liina Winborn – 17:21.70
9) Vasileia Spyrou – 17:33.50
11) Rylee Pustilnik – 17:39.20
12) Olivia Jones – 17:40.30
18) Sayla Donnelley – 17:53.20
40) Annie Loehle – 18:15.4
44) Breanna Stuart – 18:19.40
69) Stephanie Ormsby – 18:56.90

UPCOMING ACTION
In two weeks, the Gators will travel to Tallahassee, Florida to take part in the FSU XC Invitational for their second meet of the 2023 season.

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