North Florida Men Finish Second at the ASUN Cross Country Championship, Led by Tomer Mualem in 10th
The Ospreys scored 66 points at the conference championship in Richmond, Kentucky, putting seven runners in the top 25 behind champion Lipscomb — and five of them came home with ASUN honors.
The University of North Florida men's cross country team finished second at the ASUN Cross Country Championship, held October 30 at The University Club at Arlington in Richmond, Kentucky. North Florida scored 66 points in the eight-team field, behind champion Lipscomb, which scored 16, and 28 points ahead of third-place Bellarmine, which scored 94. The Ospreys also finished ahead of Stetson, Florida Gulf Coast, Queens, Jacksonville and West Florida.
Redshirt sophomore Tomer Mualem led North Florida, finishing 10th in the men's 8K in 25:15.7. Redshirt sophomore Alejandro Romagosa placed 14th in 25:23.8 and freshman Samuel Freas was 15th in 25:33.7, giving the Ospreys three runners in the top 15. Redshirt senior Paul Lespasio finished 16th in 25:34.6, senior Colton Lawson was 21st in 25:48.1, redshirt junior Andrew Mahorner was 23rd in 25:58.3 and freshman Oliver Dempsey was 24th in 26:02.2 — seven North Florida runners inside the top 25 in all.
The honors followed the depth. Mualem and Romagosa earned Second Team All-ASUN recognition for their top-15 finishes, and Freas, Dempsey and freshman Demetrie Meyers — 27th in 26:20.9 — were named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team, five conference honors for the Ospreys on the day. Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Jeff Pigg credited the young team's experience afterward, saying the runner-up finish on both sides was a solid result for two young squads that competed hard and produced strong individual performances.
North Florida now turns to the NCAA South Regional Championship on November 13 in Tallahassee, carrying a conference runner-up finish — and a scoring pack that put four runners in the top 20 — into the regional field.
