Women's 5k Results
Men's 8k Results


By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, OCT. 13, 2017 – Cross country fans from all over the state headed to The Claw to catch the action at the USF Invitational on Friday.

The Bulls' home meet featured nearly 20 programs and drew a large crowd that included USF System President Judy Genshaft at the home of the USF golf teams.

Dena Reif's cross country programs put on a show for the home fans with both squads placing three runners in the top 25.
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Rania Samhouri (Tampa) led the women's team for the fifth consecutive meet with a 5k time of 19:28.4, which earned the talented freshman a 20^th-place finish.

Sophomore Claire Farnsworth (Lecanto, Fla.) was right behind in 21^st place with a personal-best time of 19:28.6. Junior Yaranel Abreu (St. Augustine, Fla.) also got a loud applause for finishing 24^th with a time of 19:33.5 in a highly competitive race that featured nearly 200 runners.  

Junior Cash Tampa (St. John's, Fla.) shined with an eighth-place finish among nearly 100 runners in the men's 8k. Tampa led the Bulls for the second straight meet with a time of 26:25.9.

Junior Sam Geiman (West Palm Beach, Fla.) placed 19^th with a time of 27:28.8. Freshman Matt Neeley (St. Johns, Fla.) joined his teammates in the top 25 with a 21^st-place finish that clocked in at 27:35.4.

Quotable
Head coach Dena Reif on the home meet and her teams' overall performances:
"We love having a home race, so we can have all the parents and friends come out and watch them. We also perform really well here. On the men's team, they mixed it up again in the top five. It's always good to see that competitiveness and it's looking really good with our young runners. Rania was our No. 1 again on the women's side and has been all year long, a freshman from Wharton High School. I'm happy to have a local around here. Her whole team came out to watch with her high school coach."

Freshman Rania Samhouri on leading the women's team all season:
"It's really exciting to me because it motivates me to be able to help and know that I'm making a difference and impacting the program I'm with."

Notable

• The meet featured dual scoring by Half-Mile Timing. There was no team scoring for this event.
• Other USF women's 5k results: Sarah Hartman, 29^th place, 19:41.4; Nicole Taggart, 20:29.3; Sara Bowden, 20:46.4; Annie Allmark, 20:50.8; Alicia Buck, 20:55.1; Brianna Rischar, 21:02.9; Keschel Hernandez, 21:14.6; Maggie Ford, 21:14.9; Joy Jackson, 21:16.4; Sofia Padron, 21:20.3, Kate Ott, 21:44.9; Nicole Bello, 21:54.5; Madison Stahler, 22:16.7; Emily Petrus, 23:24.8; Kiersten Denny, 24:33.5; Carolyn Van Zile, 24:35.6.
• Other USF men's 8k results: Evan Babatz, 26^th place, 27:56.1; John Weaver, 28^th place, 27:58.5; Austin Camps, 31^st place, 28:01.6; Sebastian Gazda, 29:29.7; Ricardo Reyes, 29:51.3; Daniel Eagan, 30:07.7.

Up Next
USF travels to Philadelphia for the American Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday, Oct. 28.
 
About USF Cross Country
Dena Reif is in her sixth season as the head coach of USF cross country. The history of USF's women's program consists of five conference and two region championships as well as five NCAA qualifying teams. The USF men's program has produced seven conference championships and three NCAA qualifying teams.