Florida’s cross country squads saw some new faces step up Friday at the South Florida Invitational in Tampa, as the No. 26 Gator men claimed a first-place team finish (39 points), while the No. 22 women checked in fourth in the 13-team women’s field with 107 points. Freshman Phil Duncan (Orlando, Fla.) posted the best finish for the Gators in the men’s 8K with a fourth-place mark of 26:02.74, while junior Mandy Perkins (Ormond Beach, Fla.) turned in a third place, 17.58.97, 5K run to lead the Orange and Blue on the women’s side. Florida’s men placed all five runners in the top 11, while three UF women’s runners clocked top-11 finishes as well. The home team USF Bulls claimed the overall team title on the women’s side, with FAU (99) and Tampa (102) in second and third, respectively.

"We saw some very positive things from some of our younger runners today,” Gator assistant track and field and cross country coach Todd Morgan said. “By running a different line-up, some people had to respond to different pressures put on them and they responded well. Mandy (Perkins), Tenley (Godfrey), and Grace (VanDeGrift) are improving every week. It was also a much more focused effort by our freshmen guys. It was good to have Alex Schanen back with us today as well. He is coming along nicely, and is going to give us some solid depth."