TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Ave Maria Cross Country team raced Friday morning in the state's capital as the Gyrenes took on the FSU Invite for the second year in a row. In a field full of schools from all levels of competition, including NCAA Divisions I and II, NAIA, and Junior Colleges, the Gyrenes put up a good fight. The men placed 12^th out of 23 teams in the 8k race and the women placed 17^th out of 28 teams in the 6k race.

In the 8k, the men finished in 12^th place between Nova Southeastern in 11^th and Bethune-Cookman in 13^th. All five scoring Gyrenes finished in the top 105 out of a field of 221 runners.

David Giles led the group with a time of 25:57.7, followed by Donavon Mattson at 26:10.3, Utah Gusa at 26:26.5, John Murphy at 26:48 and Michal Donahue at 27:00.8. As a team, they averaged a time of 26:28 seconds over an 8k race.

Host Florida State won the race with all five of their scoring runners placing in the top 10. Florida Southern took second place and fellow Southwest Florida school Florida Gulf Coast took third. A Florida State runner was the individual winner with a time of 24:28.2.

Only one other Sun Conference team competed in the men's race as New College finished in 21^st place, nine spots below the Gyrenes. All of the Mighty Banyans' racers finished between 143^rd place and 191^st place individually.

In the 6k, the women took 17^th place between Jacksonville in 16^th and Lynn in 17^th. All five scoring Gyrenes finished between 103^rd and 161^st individually out of a field of 247 runners.

Catalina Schwab led the team with a time of 24:00.4, followed by Miriam Murrell at 24:06.2, Lily Hynds at 24:15.5, Maria Gutierrez at 24:16.7 and Elise Huegerich at 25:25.2. As a team, they averaged a time of 24:23 over a 6k race.

Like in the men's race, host Florida State won the meet as they had five of the top six runners, including the individual winner with a time of 20:39.2. Southern Mississippi took second place and Miami finished in third.

Only one other Sun Conference team competed in the women's race as New College finished in 24^th place, seven spots below the Gyrenes.

The Gyrenes will take a few weeks off before their next race on October 9. It is the Gyrenes' turn to host as they bring in teams from far and wide to compete in the Ave Maria Invite. The course is a one mile loop around the athletic fields. Both the start and finish line will be right at the 50-yard-line of Gyrene Field. At a solid two kilometers, the men will do four laps for an 8k, and the women will do three. The course is also a spectator friendly loop, with great views of the course from the stands at Gyrene Field.

The women's 6k race will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the men's 8k race scheduled for 7:15 p.m.