USF Women's Cross Country Take Top Spot In NCAA South Region Rankings

Tampa, Fla. – After finishing second at the Indiana University Open in Bloomington, on August 30, and taking the title at the Bulldog Stampede in Athens, GA on September 14, it is no surprise to find the University of South Florida women’s cross country team at the top of another list … the NCAA South Region cross country rankings. USF sits No. 1 in the region in the season’s first ranking ahead of Georgia Tech, whom is defeated at this past weekend’s event at the University of Georgia.

“It’s always good for the athletes to get acknowledged by their peers,” said head cross country/track and field coach Greg Thiel. “It’s good for the kids to get this kind of exposure since they are running well and have started the season so strong. We just need to make sure that we keep this going.”

Christa Benton (St. Petersburg, FL/Keswick Christian) paced the Bulls this past weekend winning the 5K race – and earning her first career collegiate cross country meet – in a time of 17:54. Benton led four South Florida runners in the top nine for the second consecutive race. Kristy Fuller (Lutz, FL/Land O’Lakes), Jessica Hellender (Cooper City, FL/Cooper City), and Cori Kill (Powell, OH/Dublin Scioto) also joined Benton among the meet’s top runners.

The Bulls will have an off week, there second off week in the last three weeks, before traveling to The Great American Cross Country Festival in Charlotte, NC on September 28.



NCAA South Region Women’s Cross Country Rankings

1. South Florida

2. Georgia Tech

3. Tennessee

4. Vanderbilt

5. Mississippi State

6. Chattanooga

7. Florida State

8. Florida

9. Auburn

10. Belmont