Members of the FGCU women’s cross country team pose for a photo during an earlier meet at the FSU Pre-Regional, the women posted a third-place finish at the Nike Town Twilight on Friday. (Photo Courtesy of FGCU Athletics)

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Florida Gulf Coast University Cross Country teams put together a strong showing on Friday night at the Nike Town Twilight held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, with both squads locking up top-three team finishes.

Men’s 8k Recap

The FGCU men secured a season-best second-place finish out of 15 teams in the 8k with 44 points. University of California, San Diego claimed the team title with a low score of 33 points, while Southern Indiana finished third (81 points).

Siyabonga Mokgothu and Innocent Ntwali led the Eagles by finishing back-to-back in the top five. Mokgothu crossed third overall in 25:01.1, and Ntwali powered past eight runners in the final 3,000 meters to take fourth in 25:22.3. Evan Casterline rounded out the top-10, placing seventh with a time of 25:30.3. Andrew Wilcox (15th) and Victor Kemboi (22nd) capped off the scoring pack.

“We really wanted the win today, but we gave away too many points in the second half of the race,” FGCU head coach Argeo Cruz told FGCU Athletics. “There are lots of takeaways from this race, but regardless, a second-place finish is a solid showing for our team.”

Women’s 6k Recap

The FGCU women turned in a season-best third-place team finish out of 17 teams in the 6k with 90 points, edging out fourth-place Southeast Missouri State (99 points). UC San Diego won the women’s team title with 40 points, followed by Texas Tech in second with 52 points.

Alise Petrova paced the Eagles, turning in a fifth-place finish with a time of 21:50.4, which ranks in the top 15 in program history. Freshman Rhyen Foley earned her first collegiate top-10 finish, utilizing a strong middle push to move up seven spots and cross 10th in 22:21.6. Juliana Courville opened with a quick start to find herself in the top 10 at the 2,000-meter mark before securing a 13th-place finish in 22:32.5. Addison Torres (29th) and Tess Schultz (34th) rounded out the scoring positions for FGCU in the midfield.

“We are so proud of the team for coming to Indiana and competing fearlessly on the D1 National course,” FGCU head coach Argeo Cruz told FGCU Athletics. “Huge shout out to Juliana for stepping up big for the team today.”

The Eagles return to the Sunshine State for their regular-season finale on October 16 in Lakeland, where they will look to defend their team title at the Ed Holloway Classic.