New College of Florida Men's and Women's Cross Country returned to competition Friday at the St. Thomas University Bobcat Invitational.
The Mighty Banyan men placed third in their first 8K race of the season, finishing with 98 points. The NCF women recorded 101 points to finish fifth in their first 6K of the year.
NCF competed against Nova Southeastern, St. Thomas, Lynn, Barry, Keiser, Florida National and the University of The Bahamas.
MEN'S RECAP
Junior Cole Fleming led the Mighty Banyan men for the second consecutive race, placing 12th with a time of 28:59.63. Fleming entered the meet as the reigning Sun Conference Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week after winning the season-opening Panther XC Invitational.
Junior Natheer Suied crossed the line in 29:48.35 to place 19th, followed by sophomore Alex Llanos in 20th at 29:56.16.
Junior Bryce Blalock gave NCF four runners among the top 21, finishing in 29:58.15. Freshman Keith Smith Jr. completed the Mighty Banyans' scoring lineup in 39th with a time of 32:00.55.
Freshman Jackson Smith followed in 41st at 32:22.13, while sophomore Pierce Mihailoff rounded out the NCF lineup with a 48th-place finish in 33:25.85.
The Mighty Banyans finished third in the seven-team standings, trailing only Nova Southeastern and host St. Thomas.
WOMEN'S RECAP
Freshman Mireille Gomez led the Mighty Banyan women for the second consecutive race, placing 13th with a time of 25:41.11. Gomez entered Friday as the reigning Sun Conference Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week following her runner-up finish at the Panther XC Invitational.
Freshman Rylie Yoachum was NCF's second finisher, crossing the line in 28:36.28 to place 26th. Sophomore Arianna Childs followed in 30th with a time of 29:22.40.
Freshman Eliza Larramendi-Cruz placed 41st in 33:15.07, while sophomore Abigail Retberg completed the Mighty Banyans' scoring lineup in 42nd at 33:30.97.
Junior Alicia Reynolds finished in 36:11.57, and sophomore Naomi Nerlien rounded out the NCF lineup with a time of 52:02.12.
The Mighty Banyans placed fifth in the team standings, finishing behind Nova Southeastern, Lynn, Barry and Keiser.
BY THE NUMBERS
14: Mighty Banyans competed across the men's and women's races.
9.80: Seconds separated NCF's second, third and fourth men's finishers.
3: Points separated the Mighty Banyan men from fourth-place Lynn.
7: NCF runners competed in each race.
3K: Increase in distance for the men after opening the season with a 5K.
1K: Increase in distance for the women after beginning the season with a 5K.
UP NEXT: New College of Florida returns to competition Friday, Sept. 18, at the Florida State XC Invitational. The meet will begin at 8 p.m. at Apalachee State Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
