FGCU hosts cross country at Estero course

Like the race itself, a cross country season is all about setting a good pace.

Hard work and early morning practices combined with the encouragement and tutelage of Coach Cassandra Harbin have led to a successful season for the FGCU men's and women's cross country teams, despite a number of young runners.

Though Kyle Brunette and Megan Thies have arguably been the biggest contributors this season, both teams have enjoyed important contributions from everybody.

"The nice thing about both teams is that the place order changes every meet," said Harbin.

FGCU hosted its first ever home meet on Oct. 23 - The FGCU Invitational - which featured Jonathan Lanning setting the pace for the men with a first-place individual finish of the 5K race, clocked at 16:38. Freshman Dillon McGee rounded out the top five en route to a team win over the University of Miami.

Though FGCU and the University of Miami were tied at the end of the race, Richard Black's 10th place finish proved decisive and broke the tie in favor of FGCU.

The women were equally impressive in the 2-mile race, though they fell short of University of Miami in points.

Leigh Mumford finished first with a time of 11:46. Barrie Cohen finished third.

"I saved my energy for the first half mile," Mumford said. "In the last mile, I gave it all I had. Barrie and I pushed each other."

The epoch of the season is still on the horizon - the Atlantic Sun Conference championships, which will be held Oct. 31 beginning at 9AM in DeLand.

Both teams will be grinding toward the end of the season, continuing to refine their times while watching their diets, all with the modest goal of improving on last year's Conference finishes.

While 9 a.m. may seem like an early hour for a championship cross country meet, it'll be nothing new for FGCU's runners, who routinely meet outside Alico Arena for practices at 6:30 a.m. so they can beat the heat.

With a plethora of young talent and the upcoming end of Division I probation, the best is yet to come for the FGCU cross country program.

"I think the future is bright," said Harbin. "There is a lot of enthusiasm among the freshmen, and I'm excited for them. They get to start a tradition."