2020 Men's Cross Country - Year In Review

2020 Men's Cross Country - Year In Review

Coaching Staff
Bob Braman, Head Coach
David Beauchem, Director of Operations
Trevor Dunbar, Operations Assistant

Click here for team picture

Click here to see individual mug shots
2020 Cross Country Record Book


2020 Florida State Signees/Newcomers

Jay Brown, Tallahassee

Zach Cloud, Saint Cloud

Anderson Denton, Lake Wales

Zach Leachman, Mars, Pa.

Ahmed Muhamed, Salem, Ore.

Colby Otero, Kailua, Hawaii

Luke Reid, Fair Haven, N.J.

Adriaan Wildschutt, Ceres, South Africa


2020 Roster - By Name

L
T                            PY
R Name                  Cl   Ltr  Hometown (Prior School)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Jay Brown             Fr        Tallahassee (Maclay)
  Clayton Carlson       So-R      Tallahassee (Lincoln)
  Zach Cloud            Fr        Saint Cloud (Saint Cloud)
  Chris Corcoran        Sr        Oakland, N.J. (Indian Hills/Connecticut)
* Gabe Curtis           Fr-R      Clermont (Mount Dora Christian Academy)
  Tyler Dau             Jr-R *    Geneva, Ill. (Geneva Community)
* Anderson Denton       Fr        Lake Wales (Lake Wales)
  Sam Field             So        Hobart, Australia (Hobart College)
* Bert Freire           Sr-R      Miami (Columbus)
  Silas Griffith        Sr   *    Ridgefield, Wash. (Ridgefield/Lipscomb)
  Micah Hilliard        So-R      Live Oak (Suwannee)
* Jacob Holmes          So-R *    Auckland, New Zealand (Sacred Heart College)
* Zach Leachman         Fr        Mars, Pa. (Mars Area)
* Harrison Martingayle  Sr-R      Virginia Beach, Va. (Princess Anne/Louisiana State)
* Ahmed Muhamed         Sr        Salem, Ore. (West Salem/Boise State)
  Matthew Newland       Jr   **   Tallahassee (Chiles)
* Colby Otero           Jr        Kailua, Hawaii (Kalaheo/Seattle Pacific)
* Connor Phillips       Fr-R *    Tallahassee (Chiles)
* Caleb Pottorff        Jr-R **   Fort Pierce (Lincoln Park Academy)
  Luke Reid             Fr-R      Fair Haven, N.J. (Christian Brothers/Oklahoma)
* Paul Stafford         Jr   **   Lake Wales (Lake Wales)
* Adriaan Wildschutt    Jr        Ceres, South Africa (Bella Vista/Coastal Carolina)

2020 All-Americans

Name                     Organization
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adriaan Wildschutt       NCAA - All-American - 2nd place

All-Americans -  1

2020 Schedule and Results

DATE
POST
GAME
BOX
SCORE
LOC
OPPONENT
SCORE
09/18
Postgame
Box
N
Mountain Dew Invitational
Gainesville, Fla.
1st Place
10/02
Postgame
Box
H
FSU XC Invitational
3rd Place
10/16
Postgame
Box
N
UAB Blazer Classic
Hoover, Ala.
3rd Place
10/30
Postgame
Box
N
ACC Championship
Cary, N.C.
9th Place
02/05
Postgame
Box
H
FSU Winter XC Classic
7th Place
03/05
Postgame
Box
H
FSU XC Last Chance
3rd Place
03/15
Postgame
Box
N
NCAA Championship
Stillwater, Okla.
 
EOY Stats Ref

                Overall   Home    Away   Neutral
------------------------------------------------
FSU record is    0- 0     0- 0     0- 0     0- 0


2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Results
 1  Notre Dame             40
 2  North Carolina State   54
 3  Wake Forest            86
 4  Virginia               92
 5  Duke                  134
 6  Syracuse              135
 7  North Carolina        196
 8  Virginia Tech         222
 9  Florida State         225
10  Pittsburgh            282
11  Clemson               335
12  Georgia Tech          342
13  Louisville            384
14  Boston College        457
15  Miami                 472

2020 EOY Stats

Team Overall Name Races Top 7 Top 10 Wins =============================================== Gabe Curtis 6 6 2 0 Zach Leachman 6 5 0 0 Paul Stafford 5 5 3 1 Jacob Holmes 5 5 1 0 Caleb Pottorff 5 5 1 0 Anderson Denton 5 3 1 0 Harrison Martingayle 4 1 0 0 Bert Freire 3 3 1 0 Adriaan Wildschutt 3 2 3 1 Ahmed Muhamed 3 2 1 0 Jay Brown 3 1 0 0 Connor Phillips 3 1 0 0 Colby Otero 3 0 0 0 Sam Field 2 2 0 0 Matthew Newland 2 1 0 0 Zach Cloud 2 0 0 0

Mountain Dew Invitational, 1st place
09/18/2020, Gainesville, Fla.

From the FSU website, seminoles.com.

Stafford, Noles Win Titles in Gainesville.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Florida State cross country teams started the 2020 season with a bang at the Mountain Dew Invite, which was held at the Mark Bostic Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.

Junior Paul Stafford brought home his first career collegiate victory, winning the men's 8K with a time of 24:44.85 followed by redshirt freshman Gabriel Curtis in second at 24:51.29.

The duo led the Seminoles to the team title with 19 points, winning by a margin of 34 points over Georgia Tech (53) and 49 points ahead of Florida (68), in third. Miami finished fourth with a total of 110 points. It was the lowest point total for the Seminoles since a perfect 15-point performance at the FSU Invitational in 2016.

"This was one of the best openers we've ever had," FSU head coach Bob Braman said. "It was a really good effort and they had a good focus. You worry about that after not racing for seven or eight months. I was really pleased with our effort. Our first race is typically low key and not that good since our goal is to peak at the end of the season and we usually do a good job of that, but today we did a great job, went into our rivals' course and brought home the win."

As a team, the Noles executed their plans, keeping as many runners together at the top to start the race, as junior Caleb Pottorff (6:08.3), freshman Zach Leachman (6:08.6), Stafford (6:08.7), senior Harrison Martingayle (6:08.7) and sophomore Jacob Holmes (6:09.1) turned in the five fastest splits at the first checkpoint.

The Noles stayed together as they approached the third checkpoint. Curtis had made his move, jumping up seven spots to take the slight edge over Stafford (18:58.8) at the 6K. At this point, both runners began to distance themselves from the pack, leading by just under four seconds.

Down the stretch, Stafford pulled ahead of Curtis in order to win his first career collegiate race, crossing the finish line at 24:44.85. Curtis followed at 24:51.29 for silver, and Holmes (25:09.22), Pottorff (25:15.42) and rookie Anderson Denton (25:17.64) placed fourth, fifth and seventh respectively.

"For a large portion of the race, it really was a sea of Garnet in Gainesville," Stafford said. "Everyone worked so well in every aspect, and this team in my mind is only going to get better as this season goes on."

Bert Freire (25:24.16) placed ninth and Leachman (25:27.04) was 13th in his collegiate debut.

"Some of our young guys did well," Braman added. "They didn't let the moment swallow them up and they handled their business. Bert was a great surprise this morning. He's a fifth-year senior, and he's more of a track guy and he decided to come and be elite in cross country and he had a great summer and that's the best cross country race he's ran in his career."

The women also had a strong start to the season, finishing in second place in the 6K with a total of 30 points, just five behind Georgia Tech.

"I thought we also had great effort today," FSU women's head coach Kelly Phillips said. "It's early in the year but it was great to get out there and race. We had some freshmen get their feet wet and do really well in their first collegiate race."

Florida State was led by sophomore Rebecca Clark, who took silver with a time of 20:57.11, ahead of junior Addi Coggins in third at 21:00.27. The performance was the highest finish for both student-athletes in their collegiate careers.

Clark and Coggins held second and third place for the majority of the race, hitting each checkpoint at 7:01.0 and 14:13.5 together in stride until Clark pulled ahead near the finish.

Junior Ella Swigler (21:15.97) placed sixth, followed by freshmen Alyson Churchill (21:36.29) in ninth, Caitlin Wilkey (21:39.48) in 10th and Rebecca Bergnes (21:54.35) in 15th place. Sophomore Erin Phelps crossed the finish line in 16th place with a time of 21:55.01.

MEN 8K RACE
Place  Name                       Points   Time
=====  =========================  ======  ========
   1   Paul Stafford                  1   24:44.85
   2   Gabe Curtis                    2   24:51.29
   4   Jacob Holmes                   4   25:09.22
   5   Caleb Pottorff                 5   25:15.42
   7   Anderson Denton                7   25:17.64
   9   Bert Freire                    9   25:24.16
  13   Zach Leachman                 13   25:27.04
  17   Harrison Martingayle               25:55.34
  20   Colby Otero                        25:59.25
  21   Jay Brown                          26:00.49

FSU XC Invitational, 3rd place
10/02/2020, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU website, seminoles.com.

FSU Women Claim Team Title at FSU Invite.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - On a picture perfect morning at the Apalachee Regional Park, the Florida State women's cross country brought home the team title in the 5K at the annual FSU Invitational, while the men finished third in the 8K.

The Seminoles won the event for the first time since 2017, tallying 38 points ahead of Alabama (51) in second and Georgia Tech (97) in third, who defeated the Seminoles two weeks ago at the Mountain Dew Invite in Gainesville, Fla.

Running together, the Noles were carried by junior Addi Coggins (16:59.8), freshman Alyson Churchill (17:04.9) and sophomore Rebecca Clark (17:04.9), who finished in fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively.

"The plan was to run in more of a pack," FSU women's head coach Kelly Phillips said. "We didn't do that so much two weeks ago. As we roll into championship time and we're learning how to run with your people. I think by doing that it was a lot easier for them to just relax and run and have fun."

All three ladies turned in their personal best course times including Churchill, who has been racing at the Apalachee Regional Park since middle school as a local standout.

"It was really cool for the whole team," Churchill said. "It was obviously nice to be here running on our home course and it just made this (win) more special."

Coggins took a slight lead at the 4K split (13:41.7) over the field, just ahead of Churchill (13:42.7) in fifth place and Clark (13:44.1) in seventh.

Juniors Elizabeth Funderburk (17:18.9) and Ella Swigler (17:22.5) secured the victory for the Noles by finishing in 11th and 12th place, outlasting Alabama's final two scoring runners in 18th (17:33.2) and 24th (17:43.6).

The men's team took on the day without a few key runners due to injury, but still battled to finish in third place with a total of 74 points behind Georgia (56) and Georgia Tech (73). Florida was fourth (96) and LSU took fifth (127).

"It was a really great meet," FSU head men's coach Bob Braman said. "There was great competition on both sides. We weren't really deep, but we're good and we're young and I think by the end of the year we can get that mojo going again."

Florida State was led by redshirt freshman Gabriel Curtis (24:11.9) and junior Paul Stafford (24:23.3), who ran together for the majority of the race, finishing in the third and fourth place.

Curtis turned in his best time and was also a near 40 seconds faster than his performance at the Mountain Dew Invite two weeks ago, where he took silver behind Stafford on an easier course.

"I was happy with the team performance today," Curtis added. "Paul and I were up front leading and we had some other guys together back there. Coach was just telling us to keep our composure in these big meets when they go out fast and that's just something we're working on right now, but I'm very confident in the team to get it down."

Junior Caleb Pottorff crossed the finish line in 18th place (24:57.2) and freshmen Connor Phillips (25:06.9) and Zach Leachman (25:09.6) stepped up and scored the final points for the Seminoles, placing 24th and 25th.

MEN 8K RACE
Place  Name                       Points   Time
=====  =========================  ======  ========
   3   Gabe Curtis                    3   24:11.9 
   4   Paul Stafford                  4   24:23.3 
  18   Caleb Pottorff                18   24:57.2 
  24   Connor Phillips               24   25:06.9 
  25   Zach Leachman                 25   25:09.6 
  35   Harrison Martingayle          32   25:21.6 
  48   Jay Brown                     42   25:40.7 
  69   Anderson Denton                    26:06.1 
  87   Matthew Newland                    27:02.4 

UAB Blazer Classic, 3rd place
10/16/2020, Hoover, Ala.

From the FSU website, seminoles.com.

Noles Finish Third at Talent-Packed Blazer Classic.

HOOVER, Ala. - In ideal weather conditions and on a fast track, the Florida State cross country teams both finished in third place among a stacked field at the Blazer Classic on Friday morning, which was held at Veterans Park.

The fourth-ranked women's team took bronze in the 6k with a total of 115 points behind top-ranked Arkansas (42) and No. 15 Georgia Tech (104). The Noles edged three ranked teams, finishing ahead of No. 5 Ole Miss by three points (118), No. 14 Tennessee (121) by six and No. 11 Kentucky (126) by 11.

The (RV) men's team tallied 97 points in the 8k for third, ahead of No. 13 Tennessee (110) and No. 12 Kentucky (202), ACC foe Georgia Tech (138) and Florida (196). Fourth-ranked Arkansas (29) took home the title ahead of No. 5 Ole Miss (50).

Juniors Addi Coggins and Paul Stafford led the way for each team, crossing the finish line in fifth place in their respective races behind personal best times.

"Addi has really stepped into a new runner this year," FSU head women's coach Kelly Phillips said. "She's really strong and powerful. She went out with the leaders and was right in there running with some good student-athletes. She's put herself in a good position to be an All-American cross country runner."

Coggins led the Noles for the third time this season, clocking 20:22.80 in the 6k, while Stafford posted his best at 23:30.06 in the 8k. Both Coggins and Stafford have finished in the top five in all three races this season.

"It was a fantastic race for Paul," FSU men's head coach Bob Braman said. "He was in the middle of a bunch of All-Americans from Arkansas and Ole Miss and held his own. That's one of the better 8k races that's been run at Florida State. It was an elite-level 8k that Paul ran."

The women's 6k green flight started off the day, as Coggins and junior Elizabeth Funderburk stuck together in the front half of the race. Coggins made her move at the 3k, breaking away with the leaders.

"It was really fun to compete against some of the top teams and ladies in the NCAA," Coggins said. "The competition was stiff, so I wanted to put myself in a position where I could get in and run with the lead pack. I felt strong the whole way and was able to hang on in the last 1K. Overall, I'm happy with the result, but now we're ready to gear up and get ready for ACCs."

Funderburk finished in 15th place with a time of 20:40.32, followed by seniors Jennifer Lima (21:09.28) with her personal best time in 29th place, Maudie Skyring (21:16.31) in 35th and Jodie Judd (21:20.32) right behind in 36th (21:20.32).

"We had some good performances," Phillips added. "But as a team we had an average day. We'll have to gear up and get it back together for ACCs."

In the men's race, Stafford along with redshirt freshman Gabriel Curtis started out in the lead pack. Stafford claimed the lead at the 3K checkpoint and kept up the fast pace throughout the race before finishing a few seconds behind the winner from Arkansas (23:25.46) in a very tight field.

"We focused on leaning on each other this race and competing for each other rather than letting what other teams dictate how we feel," Stafford said. "This mindset brought us closer together and made us realize that the result really depends on our focus as a unit."

Curtis also turned in his personal best race at 23:55.45, finishing in 13th place. It was the first time under the 24-minute barrier for both Stafford and Curtis.

Redshirt sophomore Jacob Holmes (24:17.47) finished in 19th place, ahead of freshman Zach Leachman (24:37.63) in 29th place. Senior Matthew Newland (24:41.11) bounced back from his outing at the FSU Invite in order finish in 34th place. All three Seminoles contributed personal best times.

"I was really pleased," Braman added. "Top to bottom, we had really good mental efforts. If you fight hard, and you believe, that's all I can ask of you. We graded in the 90-plus percentile in that today. The mission was to get up here and compete hard and I thought we could finish third and beat some good teams, and we did. But more importantly, we have some great momentum heading into ACCs."

MEN 8K RACE
Place  Name                       Points   Time
=====  =========================  ======  ========
   5   Paul Stafford                  5   23:30.06
  13   Gabe Curtis                   13   23:55.45
  19   Jacob Holmes                  19   24:17.47
  29   Zach Leachman                 28   24:37.63
  34   Matthew Newland               32   24:41.11
  37   Bert Freire                   35   24:42.16
  50   Anderson Denton               46   24:56.23
  57   Harrison Martingayle               25:05.85
  60   Colby Otero                        25:11.10
  68   Zach Cloud                         25:21.70
  69   Connor Phillips                    25:21.92
  77   Jay Brown                          25:39.95

ACC Championship, 9th place
10/30/2020, Cary, N.C.

From the FSU website, seminoles.com.

No. 21 Noles Take Third at ACC Championships.

CARY, N.C. - The No. 21 Florida State women's cross country team finished the 2020 season with a third place finish at the ACC Championships on Friday.

Despite preparing for rain, wind and a muddy track, the Seminoles ran in ideal conditions on a fast and hilly course at the WakeMed Soccer Complex, finishing with a total of 109 points behind No.4 NC State (47) and No. 25 Georgia Tech (99).

FSU edged out Duke (114), No. 12 Notre Dame (116) and No. 27 North Carolina (116).

"We were good today, just not great," FSU head coach Kelly Phillips said. "We were a solid second place with a mile to go. We didn't pack up well early, but had a lot of good things happen today."

The women were led by junior Addi Coggins who turned in a fifth place finish with a time of 20:22.3 ahead of junior Elizabeth Funderburk in 15th at 20:36.9, as both Seminoles secured All-ACC honors.

Funderburk joins Vicky Gill (2001-03), Pilar McShine (2008-10), Colleen Quigley (2011-14) and Susan Kuijken (2006-09) with three All-ACC honors, while Coggins brought home her first nod.

"Addi has been phenomenal all season," Phillips added. "She's just been a rockstar this fall and she has a mission. I'm excited for her, and for Funderburk, being All-ACC three times, on a pretty short list that features Olympians is incredible."

As in the previous races of the season, Coggins jumped out with the leaders and solidified herself in fifth place at the 4.7k split. Funderburk ran close to Coggins through the 3k mark, and held steady through the finish.

Also scoring for the Noles was sophomore Rebecca Clark, who turned in a time of 20:48.4 for 24th place, just ahead of senior Maudie Skyring (20:54.2) in 29th. Senior Kayla Easterly rounded out the top five, clocking 21:01.6 for 36th place.

"I'm very happy for Kayla Easterly," Phillips said. "This was the first ACCs she's been to and she really did something. She showed what it's like to be a senior. She did a nice job."

The men's team finished in ninth place with a total of 225 points. FSU was led by junior Paul Stafford, who finished in 32nd place with a time of 23:54.0 followed by junior Caleb Potorff in 34th at 23:56.0.

In the front half of the race, Stafford and redshirt freshman Gabriel Curtis took to the front of the pack, with Curtis near the leaders. Curtis held steady near the top 10 until the final mile before fading to 43rd place (24:12.2).

"It was a tough day for us," FSU head men's coach Bob Braman said. "The thing that hurts the most was Gabe Curtis. He was near the top 10 the whole race and just hit a wall. I really hurt for Gabe. Just like he did all season, he gave a great effort. He put himself right in it, ran himself as hard as he could."

Senior Bert Freire was the fourth Seminoles across the line, placing 62nd (24:27.6) ahead of freshman Zach Leachman (24:28.6).

"The rest of the guys got a little intimidated by the course," Braman added. "Caleb ran a solid race. Overall, it's disappointing end to a what was a really good Fall season. I feel for the guys because they trained so hard and they didn't respond well to the course. We've got to be better. Hopefully we can learn from this for indoor and winter season."

MEN 8K RACE
Place  Name                       Points   Time
=====  =========================  ======  ========
  32   Paul Stafford                 31   23:54.0 
  34   Caleb Pottorff                33   23:56.0 
  43   Gabe Curtis                   42   24:12.2 
  62   Bert Freire                   58   24:27.6 
  65   Zach Leachman                 61   24:28.6 
  79   Jacob Holmes                  69   24:39.3 
  87   Anderson Denton               73   24:54.9 
  99   Harrison Martingayle               25:13.3 
 108   Colby Otero                        25:38.5 
 118   Connor Phillips                    26:14.7 

FSU Winter XC Classic, 7th place
02/05/2021, Tallahassee, Fla.

MEN 8K RACE
Place  Name                       Points   Time
=====  =========================  ======  ========
   3   Adriaan Wildschutt             3   23:16.7 
  46   Caleb Pottorff                44   24:24.1 
  49   Ahmed Muhamed                 47   24:26.1 
  52   Sam Field                     50   24:29.7 
  54   Gabe Curtis                   52   24:30.6 
  65   Jacob Holmes                  63   24:45.6 
 115   Zach Leachman                112   25:48.7 

FSU XC Last Chance, 3rd place
03/05/2021, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU website, seminoles.com.

Noles Paced By Best Average, Finish Third.

by Ian Bolger

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Junior Adriaan Wildschutt brought home his first career victory as a Seminole, as the Florida State men's cross country team finished third in a very tight, top-heavy field at the FSU XC Last Chance meet.

On a picturesque Friday morning at the Apalachee Regional Park, the Seminoles had two runners in the top five and four in the top 15, completing the race with a total of 49 points ahead of Temple (117) and South Florida (153). RV Syracuse (31) took home the team title ahead of No. 17 Michigan (42).

"If today was a regional meet, we would be through to nationals after that performance," FSU head coach Bob Braman said. "We ran really well. We didn't leave a lot of meat on the bone, "Our first, second and third runners were great. Our fourth and fifth runners ran very hard, but it wasn't a perfect day for them. They gave it everything they had and that's all I could have asked for."

Wildschutt's first place finish in this event is his second top-three finish in as many races this season since arriving in January. He also ran the eighth-fastest men's 8K in APR history.

Senior Ahmed Muhumed placed in the top five, making a late charge at the end to come in at fourth overall with a personal-best 8k time of 23:50.0. He came back from as low as 18th to find his way back into the top 10 and stretched his way from seventh to fourth between the final two checkpoints.

Redshirt sophomore Jacob Holmes also had a career performance, placing 13th behind a personal best 8k time of 24:17.2.

"That was a great race for Ahmed," Braman added. "Aside from nationals in 2019, that was his best cross country race. And Jacob was on his best. He had a gutsy finish and picked a guy off at the end to try and get every point possible for the team."

Redshirt freshman Sam Field (24:22.5) finished closely behind Holmes in 15th and junior Paul Stafford (24:23.6) finished alongside him at 16th.

Wildschutt, Muhamed, Holmes, Field and Stafford averaged 24:04, which is the fastest average for the Noles at the Apalachee Regional Park in school history.

Redshirt junior Caleb Pottorff (24:50.5) placed 22nd and redshirt freshman Gabriel Curtis (25:05.2) finished 24th. Freshman Zach Leachman (25:20.2) and Anderson Denton (25:23.9) placed side-by-side in 28th and 30th, while redshirt freshman Zachary Cloud (26:21.6) finished in 38th to round out the men's group for the Seminoles.

"We were really flat at (ACC) indoors last week," Braman said. "All of us were concerned about how tired and flat we were there, I told them that it was my fault and that we trained too hard. But we rebounded really well."

Members of the No. 18 Florida State women's team ran unattached in the 6K race.

The individual runners for the Seminoles were led by freshman Caitlin Wilkey for the second straight meet, who finished in 11th overall with a time of 22:02.4.

Freshman Rebecca Bergnes was right behind Wilkey, finishing 12th with a time of 22:28.6. This was Bergnes' best time running the 6k since competing in the Mountain Dew Invitational on Sept. 18 earlier this season.

Freshman Kate Tugman (22:44.0) was the third Seminole to finish with a sub-23 minute time at 14th, while sophomore Abby Schrobilgen (23:03.0) finished alongside Tugman at 15th. Freshman Quinn Wilson rounded out the top 20 for the Noles placing 17th , clocking in at 23:32.5.

Freshman Melanie Castro (23:55.9) finished in 22nd and junior Alondra Reyna-Lopez (24:14.7) followed in 25th. Sophomore Rachel Johnson (24:31.5) and junior Kaia Stevenson (24:58.1) placed back-to-back at 29th and 30th.

"The weather was phenomenal and they took advantage of it today," FSU head coach Kelly Phillips said. "Many seasonaland personal bests today. It's really fun to watch how competitive they all were for the last cross country meet ofthe year. Now, we're excited to get the outdoor season started."

MEN 8K RACE
Place  Name                       Points   Time
=====  =========================  ======  ========
   1   Adriaan Wildschutt             1   23:30.8 
   4   Ahmed Muhamed                  4   23:50.0 
  13   Jacob Holmes                  13   24:17.2 
  15   Sam Field                     15   24:22.5 
  16   Paul Stafford                 16   24:23.5 
  22   Caleb Pottorff                20   24:50.5 
  24   Gabe Curtis                   22   25:05.1 
  28   Zach Leachman                      25:20.2 
  30   Anderson Denton                    25:23.9 
  38   Zach Cloud                         26:21.6 

NCAA Championship
03/15/2021, Stillwater, Okla.

From the FSU website, seminoles.com.

Noles Capture Three All-American Honors at NCAA XC.

STILLWATER, Okla. - The Florida State cross country teams took home three All-American honors on Monday at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships that were held at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Junior Adriaan Wildschutt won silver in the men's 10K, producing the highest finish by a Seminole in school history at an NCAA meet. He became the first FSU All-American since 2012. It was also the second-best performance by a runner from the ACC in conference history.

The 18th-ranked women's team was fueled by a pair of All-American finishers for the first time since the 2012 meet, led by senior Maudie Skyring in 23rd place (20:40.5) followed by sophomore Rebecca Clark in 40th (20:59.3).

Skyring, Clark, along with senior Kayla Easterly, freshman Alyson Churchill and senior Jodie Judd averaged 21:21.90 for 15th place with a total of 363 points. The performance marks the 10th top 15 finish at the meet in school history.

"I couldn't be happier with how they competed," FSU head coach Kelly Phillips said. "They ran really tough and came in seeded 18th and ended up 15th with two All-Americans after being at Indoor Nationals."

Skyring's finish was the highest at the meet since Colleen Quigley also took 23rd in 2014. The Australian took home her third All-American honor in three days, after anchoring the distance medley relay to a third place finish and she placed eighth in the 3,000M at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

"Maudie is a beast," Phillips said. "She anchored the distance medley relay that got third place and scored in the 3K. Then came back for a 23rd place finish and is an All-American in cross country. Three All-American honors in three days for one girl is amazing."

Facing one of the toughest courses in the country under near-perfect running conditions at 59 degrees with light wind, the Seminoles stayed close together until the 4k split where Skyring and Churchill were 51st and 52nd respectively and had a slight edge over their teammates.

Skyring continued to climb up the ranks as the grueling hills of the course claimed many of its competitors.

Skyring was at her best during the hardest part of the course, passing 28 runners in the final 2k of the race, crossing the line at 20:40.5 for 23rd place.

Clark also made her move in the final 1k, maneuvering from 62nd all the way to 40th in order to take the final All-American spot at 20:59.3, edging out McKenna Lee from BYU (20:59.9).

"Clark really surprised me," Phillips added. "She was another one that came in here and got All-American. It was just an incredible weekend for her and the Noles."

Easterly was the next Seminole across the finishing line, clocking 21:31.60 for 106th place, followed by Churchill (21:43.3) in 127th and Judd (21:54.8) in 154th.

Senior Jennifer Lima (22:30.0) and sophomore Yasmin Abbes (23:46.7) rounded out the seven FSU runners, placing 204th and 248th respectively.

After setting an ACC, FSU and South African national record in the 5,000M on Friday at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, Wildschutt battled fatigue in the first 1,000M and went out with the leaders and held steady in fourth place for the front part of the race.

Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State and Alex Masai of Hofstra established the early lead and looked to make it a two-man race, but Wildschutt along with BYU's Conner Mantz, closed the gap to two-seconds at the 6K split.

"We were gaining and gaining," Wildschutt said. "At this point, no one wants to run alone so I pushed and encouraged him. I said we could catch them."

After those words of inspiration, Mantz and Wildschutt made it a four-man pack and looked to take the lead and near the 8k mark.

Wildschutt picked up the pace at the most challenging part of the course and passed Kiptoo in the final 2k of the race, while Mantz had a big burst and built a big lead.

"The last 1k of that race was so hard," Wildschutt said. "But I thought about what I did; my hardest training to get me here, my teammates and coaches at FSU and I wasn't going to give up and everyone was screaming for me at the finish line and it was amazing."

Wildschutt crossed the line in second place behind Mantz, but ahead of Kiptoo (29:54.9) with a time of 29:48.2.

"That was an incredible race for Adriaan," FSU head coach Bob Braman said. "He ran with the lead pack the entire race and had a shot to win with a half mile to go. What's most impressive about this performance is that he did it on only two days of rest after breaking the ACC 5,000M record on Friday night.

"It blows my mind that he could handle the hills so well. This was the hilliest course I've ever seen in my 40-plus years in the sport, and of course there was no way to prepare for hills like that in Tallahassee. A truly great performance!"

Senior Ahmed Muhumed also competed in the men's 10K, finishing in 123rd place with a time of 31:53.1.

MEN 10K RACE
Place  Name                       Points   Time
=====  =========================  ======  ========
   2   Adriaan Wildschutt                 29:48.2 
 123   Ahmed Muhamed                      31:53.1