Florida State University Athletics
Florida State
Nuttycombe Invite
Noles Finish in Top 20 of Nuttycombe Invitational
9/27/2024 5:54:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
MADISON, Wisc– The Florida State cross country teams secured top 20 team finishes at the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wisconsin.
As one the most prestigious regular season meets, the Seminoles battled against 32 of the 60 teams ranked in the USTFCCCA National poll.
"It was a great performance by the women's team today highlighted by Bieke Schipperen," said FSU Director of Cross Country Matt Kane. "She showed a tremendous amount of improvement over last year, improving her time on the same course by over a minute and a half. Overall, I feel like it puts us in a really good position as we head into the second half of the season."
"I was really proud of how the women raced today," said FSU women's head coach Cody Halsey. " Last year at this race we were 30th as a team, today we finished 16th. All a testament to the work our returners and new people have been putting in day in and day out. I'm really excited for the rest of their season together."
"Bieke led the way finishing 17th overall with a time just under a minute and a half faster than last year," added Halsey "It was so rewarding to see what we both knew she was capable of come to fruition. I couldn't be more excited about the rest of her season. It was really incredible to see her take charge and run with poise and aggression from the start."
The Noles placed 16th as a team (409), securing a win over ranked opponent Iowa State (No.30). and Michigan (RV).
Racing in a field that contained 190 student-athletes, Bieke Schipperen led the women's 6k, crossing the line in 17th with a time of 20:30.2, marking the first top 20 individual finish in her career.
Elizabeth Barlow followed at 20:52.2 (39th), while Anna Sentner followed in 102nd with a time of 21:27.4. Brooke Mullins made her Seminole debut placing 105th at 21:29.5. Emily Brown was the fifth FSU scorer at 21:59.7 (152nd).
On the men's side, for the second straight meet, Kidus Misgina turned in the top time for the Noles crossing the line in 16th at 23:45.9.
Matthew Neill followed in 37th with a career best time of 24:03.2. Zach Leachman was the third Seminole to cross the line at 86th with a time of 24:35.4. Joe Farley clocked a career best of 24:40.2, placing 99th. Coleman Cronk rounded out the scoring for FSU in 118th at 24:59.1.
In a field that featured 15 teams that were ranked or receiving votes, the Seminoles placed 15th (356).
"Overall, really satisfied with how the men executed the race in Wisconsin today, "said assistant coach Ian Frazier. "Today was all about learning the course and seeing where we stack up against the nation's best, and I think we did just that. Highlights include a very smart run by Kidus and a big finish from Matt Neill."
"Not only that, but nearly every guy out there had a big PB on the course over last year," Frazier added. "We still have a few things to clean up late in the race, but once we do that, I'm confident that we will be in exciting spot heading into pre-nationals."
Florida State will host their first home meet of the season for the FSU XC Invite at Apalachee Regional Park on October 11th.
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