Florida Gateway College Cross Country teams prepare for 23-24 season
Florida Gateway College Women's Cross Country is ready to continue their success in 2023-2024 as Men's Cross Country hits the course for their inaugural season. Both teams will compete in their first meet of the season this Saturday, August 26, in Tallahassee, Florida.
After last season saw FGC Women's Cross Country finish 11th nationally, with the second-highest GPA in the nation among NJCAA women's XC teams, and with four runners being named to NJCAA All-Academic Teams, the team is ready to aim even higher with a mix of returning and new members.
"The team has deep shoes to fill," said women's head coach April Morse. "All of our seven athletes have either run a sub-24-minute 5K, sub-6:30 1600m, or sub-2:40 800m. We've never had a lineup that quick at those distances before."
As women's XC seek to continue their success, 2023-2024 will be the inaugural season for the newly reestablished FGC Men's Cross Country team.
"We look to have a very strong team this year," said men's head coach Dr. Ed Morse. "We recruited most of our runners from local counties around us. Even though this is our first year, I believe the runners will do very well as a team, and we hope to place well in the region.
"We have a tough program to match following the women's team's success in running and academic achievements."
2023-2024 FGC Women's Cross Country Roster:
Josie Gunter FR – Baxley, GA
Coach: Sub 6:30 in the 1600m after just two weeks of track last spring. She is a multi-sport athlete, running XC to get in shape for soccer, then running track after bass fishing season is over. Yes, she was on her high school bass fishing team. She loves to run! She has the potential to go under 21 minutes as she continues to work hard!
Emma Jeffers FR – Lake Butler, FL
Has never run a XC 5K but ran/won the Olustee run last spring in 24:25 with hardly any training for it. She holds the Union Co. school records in the 1600m (6:04 at her district meet this spring) and 800m (2:39 also at districts). She has the 2nd fastest recent 1600m time. She should be in the low 21s if not under 21 by Nationals.
Roxxi Ottum FR – Mt. Dora, FL
Has a XC 5K PR of 20:33 on the Florida High School State meet course which is also our NJCAA Region 8 course. She also loves to run, the longer the better. She is typically pushing the pace with Josie & Morgan, but also hangs back and runs with me at the back of the pack on the easy days. That's the hardest thing to teach XC athletes!
Sarah Simpson FR – Lake City, FL
Has run XC 5K PR of 21:15 as a 9th grader at CHS. I coached her at LCMS when she was in 6th grade, where she ran a sub-6-minute 1600m. She is a much stronger runner now, and we look for her to go under 21 minutes by the National meet.
Ashley Speigner SO – Crawfordville, FL
Co-Captain with Morgan Wilson. She is a big reason the '22 team had the 2nd highest GPA of any NJCAA Women's XC team, and is a stabilizing factor for the team, helping keep the team gelled together and focused on our goals.
India Williamson FR – Sylvester, GA
Impressive XC times last fall of 20:36 and low 21s at meets I attended. She ran in the 22's at GA's tough state meet course last fall, placing in the top 30. She has also pole-vaulted 8'6", 61 seconds in the 400m, and 2:38 800m split on her 4 x 800m relay team that placed 7th at the GA state meet.
Morgan Wilson SO – Tallahassee, FL
We look for her to break FGC Women's XC records this fall. Currently that record is 20:16 by Ariel Anderson in 2021. We are counting on a sub-20 performance by the NJCAA National Meet in Huntsville, AL, in November. She is our 2023 Team Captain.
2023-2024 FGC Men's Cross Country Roster:
Jarrett Davis FR – Bell, FL
Kaden Reed FR – Bell, FL
Coach: Both Jarrett and Kaden have run in the 19–20-minute 5K range. Even though most of their running has been low mileage throughout their high school training, they are doing well after the first two weeks of our program.
Peyton Dube FR – Sanderson, FL
Peyton has been at FGC for a year. He is also doing well with his training for the first two weeks.
Caleb Tilford FR – Titusville, FL
Randall Luke FR – Inverness, FL
We have two recruits that are coming from the space coast and Inverness areas: Caleb, a low 17-minute 5K and Randall, an 18-minute 5K runner; they have both trained with higher mileage programs and are excelling with our program.
Justin Hernandez SO – Branford, FL
Justin was a late transfer from Thomas University. He graduated from Branford High School. He is fitting in well with the team after his first week of practices, and he appears to be our top runner at this time, having run an 8K in the 26-minute range.
2023 Men's & Women's Cross Country Meet Schedule:
Saturday, August 26 Thomas University Dual Meet 2 Mile Time Trial
Friday, September 1 Valdosta State University Border Clash
Friday, September 15 Southern Showcase
Friday, September 29 Florida State University Invitational
Friday, October 13 Florida Gateway College Invitational – HOME MEET –
Tuesday, October 24 NJCAA Region 8 Championships
Saturday, November 11 NJCAA DII Cross Country National Championships
Tuesday, November 14 NJCAA Half Marathon National Championships
For more information on FGC Cross Country and FGC Athletics, rosters, schedules, news, and more, visit www.fgcwolves.com.