Anne-Marie Blaney鈥檚 first season in the American Athletic Conference proved to be a memorable one as the sophomore took first place in the league鈥檚 inaugural Women鈥檚 Cross Country Championship with a time of 20:19.45 and helped push the Knights to a program-best fourth place finish.
鈥淭his is the best finish ever by UCF. This is the best they鈥檝e ever done and we鈥檝e very happy. We just go out and do our best, and that鈥檚 all I can ask for as a coach. Just give me your best and we鈥檙e happy and they鈥檝e all done that,鈥� said Knights’ head coach Johnny Gray.
Five Knights contributed points in UCF鈥檚 top-five finish as they set new personal records. Sophomore Heather Classe was the Knight鈥檚 second top finisher with her time of 21:42.45 for 21st place.
Amelia Williams (37th) and Senior Erica Winston (38th) emerged as UCF鈥檚 third and fourth finishers with times of 22:41.51 and 22:46.86, respectively, while sophomore Jocelyn Adona rounded out the Knights鈥� top-five with a time of 23:11.59 to place 45th overall.
鈥淓veryone set personal records from our fifth place finisher on up,” said Gray. “All of our top runners set personal records by huge margins. Anne-Marie finished 24th last year in the (C-USA) championship, and placed first this year. Heather (Classe) took 21st, which is a huge improvement, too. I would have love to have Amy, but she is injured. If we had her we probably would have finished in the top three.”
Next up, the Knights will prepare for the NCAA South Region Championships, which will take place on Nov. 15 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.