A Tale of Two Teams: Women’s and Men’s Cross Country
As the rankings come out this week, Florida’s men’s and women’s cross country teams find themselves in two different places. On one hand, the women’s team has dominated nationally. On the other hand, the men have struggled out of the gate.
In their first meeting of the season, the Gators Women’s Cross Country team earned a first-place victory in the 5K race at the Florida Intercollegiate Invitational in Jacksonville, where freshman Desma Chepkoech placed first in the 5K in her debut.
The Men’s team received second-place honors in the 8K race. Sophomore Jonathan Leon finished in first place in the men’s 8K race and earned fourth place overall. The team finished with a total of 54 points at the Invitational.
Women’s Cross Country
Florida’s Women’s Cross Country team has continued to sprint up the rankings since the season started. This week, the team now ranks No. 1 in the USTFCCCA South region and No. 3 in the national rankings.
The Gators were able to rise nine spots in the national rankings following their commanding performance at the Gans Creek Classic at the University of Missouri. There, Florida earned first-place honors, finishing ahead of nine nationally ranked schools.
Additionally, four Gators placed in the top-10: sophomore Judy Chepkoech at seventh, senior Tia Wilson at eighth, senior Hilda Olemomoi at ninth, and freshman Desma Chepkoech at tenth.
Chepkoech is also coming off SEC Freshman Runner of the Week honors. She became the second SEC freshman in the Women’s Gold 6K to finish with a time of 19:34.80.
Florida will be looking to retain its spot at the top of the USTFCCCA South region during its third and final meet of the season, as the athletes return to Columbia, Missouri, to wrap up the regular season at the Pre-Nationals Invitational.
Men’s Cross Country
Despite a successful season opener for the Gators –where they placed second in the Intercollegiate Invitational– the team quickly struggled, finishing 23rd in the Gans Creek Classic.
Unlike the Women’s team, Florida’s Men’s Track and Field team is currently ranked as No.8 in the USTFCCCA South region and is unranked nationally.
Similar to Desma Chepkoech, Freshman Kelvin Cheruiyot had himself an excellent outing as he finished 16th in the 8K race, which earned him SEC Freshman Runner of the Week on Oct. 1, 2025.
Chepkoech was the only male runner who competed in the 8K to place in the top 100 and the only male Gator to place in the top 20 in the 8K. His race performance earned Florida a measly five points.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Cross Country, Gators Track and Field, SEC, University of Florida
