Chepkoech wins Nuttycombe as Gators women take second, now No. 4 in the nation

Florida's women's cross country team finished second with 111 points at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wis., on Oct. 9. West Virginia won with 66.

Junior Judy Chepkoech won the 6K individual title by 0.1 seconds in 19:19.5. That's the second-fastest time ever on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, behind former Gator Parker Valby.

Claire Stegall was ninth (19:24.6) in her season debut, and Desma Chepkoech was 12th (19:30.3). Maggie McCormick (40th) and Isobelle Jones (49th) rounded out the scoring. The Gators finished ahead of 14 ranked teams, including then-No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 4 New Mexico and No. 5 Iowa State.

The men were fifth with 221 points. Kelvin Cheruiyot led them, finishing sixth in 22:39.6.

Moving up the poll

In the Oct. 13 USTFCCCA coaches' poll, the women jumped nine spots from No. 13 to No. 4. The men moved from No. 10 to No. 9.

Next up

Both teams run next at the SEC Championships on Oct. 30 in Columbia, Mo.

Sources: floridagators.com, floridagators.com