LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University cross country teams competed Friday evening at the FLRunners.com Invitational, which has held at Holloway Park in Lakeland. The women's team posted a top five finish in a field that included 4 Sun Conference schools and three NCAA Division II programs. The men's team finished in seventh, above conference rival Warner and NCAA Division II Lynn.

The women's team was led by sophomore Mary Goetz, who finished in fifth place in a time of 19:59.3. Goetz, two runners from Southeastern, and two runners from non-collegiate programs were the only runners in the field to break 20 minutes. Goetz's time was nearly 40 seconds faster than her time from Ave Maria's race at Holloway Park in September of last season.

Following Goetz for the Gyrenes was Grace McKillip, who placed 27th in a field of 80 runners with a time of 22:14.4. AMU's team score was rounded out by Madeline Rublee (22:30.0), Isabella Schlitz (23:03.4), and Hannah Francis (23:10.9). Ave Maria's team score topped both Warner and Lynn, as well as the Florida Running Club, to finish in the top five.

On the men's side, Gabriel Hogan was the top finisher for the Gyrenes, and was third among the NAIA runners in the race. Hogan's time of 28:02.4 was good for eighth place in the field, which consisted of more than 100 runners. The senior finished ahead of the entire rosters of Florida Southern and Lynn, who both compete at the NCAA Division II level.

Jonathan Kohr (29:43.3) was the number two finisher for Ave Maria, and was followed by Joseph Mullally (31:04.7) and David Adamitis (31:05.2), who finished within a half second of one another. DJ Mason rounded out Ave Maria's team score, crossing the finish line in a time of 31:33.6. 

AMU's season continues on October 11, when the Gyrenes travel to North Carolina for the Royals Cross Country Challenge. The event, which is hosted by Queens University of Charlotte, will be the penultimate regular season meet of the season for Ave. The women's race in Charlotte is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., with the women following at 5:00 p.m.