Boston University
Florida State
Terriers to Open 2018 Season Friday against Florida State
September 13, 2018 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
The Boston University men's and women's cross country teams will open their 2018 seasons on Friday morning against Florida State at Franklin Park, with the women racing at 10 a.m., followed by the men at 10:30.
Second-year head coach Paul Spangler will be in charge of a men's team that has high expectations heading into 2018. The Terriers are currently fifth in the USTFCCCA Northeast Region poll, which is where the prognosticators placed the squad in the preseason edition of that poll. BU returns four of its five scorers from both the Patriot League Championship and NCAA Northeast Regional, including conference champion and NCAA qualifier Paul Luevano. The junior finished fifth at the NCAA Northeast Regional last year, one of his four top-10 and three top-five finishes in 2017.
Senior Alexander Seal, who joined Luevano as a USTFCCCA All-Region honoree last year, will look to close his cross country career on a high note. Seal was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team and finished the year with four top-20 and two top-10 efforts. Also returning is redshirt sophomore Brett Davidson, who missed both postseason meets last year but had been one of the Terriers' top three harriers in each of the first two events of the season.
On the women's side, BU returns 14 letter winners from last year's squad, including three scorers from last year's Patriot League Championship. Junior Abigail Gugel leads that returning contingent, having posted a personal-best 6K time of 22:10.35 to finish 27th at the conference meet. The Terriers will also see sophomore Veronica Kriss and senior Alicia Huerta, who were ECAC 10k qualifiers during the 2018 outdoor track season, on the course this season after both harriers did not compete in cross country a year ago. Spangler also expects freshman Jessica Kellar to make an immediate impact in the Terriers' top five.
Both Seminole squads are in the top five of their respective USTFCCA regional polls. The women are currently second in the South region and received votes in this week's national poll while the men enter Friday ranked fourth in the South.
Following Friday's races, the Terriers will remain in Boston for next weekend's Battle of Beantown at Franklin Park.
Players Mentioned
