Friday, October 9
Madison, WI
W: 11:30 a.m. | M: 12:10 p.m.
Florida Gators
at
Nuttycombe Invitational
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Tops Several Ranked Teams in Regular Season Finale
Friday, October 9, 2026 | Cross Country
Judy Chepkoech’s first place time of 19:19.5, the second-fastest time ever at the Nuttycombe Invitational, powered the women to a second-place finish as the men finished fifth.
MADISON, Wis. – The Florida Gators Men's and Women's Cross Country teams finished their regular season strong on Friday at the Nuttycombe Invitational, as the Men's fifth-place finish (221 points) and the Women's second-place finish (111 points) put them above multiple ranked teams.
Judy Chepkoech captured the women's championship individual title with her time of 19:19.5. Judy Chepkoech's time is the second-fastest ever at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, behind former Gator Parker Valby's time of 19:17 set in 2023.
WOMEN
The No. 13 Gator women started the day with the 6k Championship race and were led by Judy Chepkoech, who would capture the individual title with a late surge across the finish line to finish with a time of 19:19.5 and take the title by 0.1 second. Florida would finish with three runners in the top 15 as Claire Stegall, in her season debut, would cross the line second for the Gators with a time of 19:24.6, good for ninth and Desma Chepkoech would cross the line at 19:30.3 for 12th place.
Maggie McCormick (40th; 20:11.7) and Isobelle Jones (49th; 20:17.0) would round out the scoring for the Gators on the day as Keeghan Edwards crossed line with a time of 21:22.6 for 170th.
The Gators would finish second with 111 points, topping 14 ranked teams, No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 4 New Mexico No. 5 Iowa State, No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Stanford, No. 14 Utah, No. 16 Colorado, No, 17 Washington State, and No. 19 Missouri, No. 20 Toledo, No. 21 Minnesota, No. 22 Northwestern, No. 23 Washington, No. 24 Providence, No. 29 Penn State, and No. 30 Boise State,
Florida had two women race in the B race at 1:45 ET, as Mary Nesmith finished 27th with a time of 21:27.0 and Ashley Fitzgerald finished 45th with a time of 21:46.1
MEN
The No. 10 Gator men followed the women's championship race and were led by Kelvin Cheruiyot who crossed the line at sixth overall with a time of 22:39.6 and climbed ten spots after crossing the 2K checkpoint in 23rd. Geofrey Ronoh and Josh Ruiz would cross the finish line next for the Gators, with Ronoh finishing 40th overall with a time of 23:22.0 and Ruiz (50th) finishing with a time of 23:29.6.
Oussama Allaoui and Eliud Muchiri, who made his collegiate debut, rounded out the scoring for the Gators. Allaoui (59th) finished with a time 23:35.6 and Muchiri (66th) with a time of 23:37.9. Ian Sanchez Lopez and Jonathan Leon would finish in 71st and 88th, respectively, giving all the Gator men a finish in the 100, in a race that featured 234 runners.
The Florida men's finish of fifth place with 221 points put them above No. 2 Iowa State, No. 8 Wake Forest, No. 11 Northern Arizona, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 15 Stanford, No. 17 Washington State, No, 18 Michigan State, No. 19 Harvard, No. 21 Butler, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 23 EKU, No. 26 Georgia, No. 27 Michigan, No. 29 Missouri and No. 30 Georgetown.
UP NEXT
The Gators set their sights on the SEC Cross Country Championship, which will take place in Columbia, Mo. on Oct. 30
RESULTS
Judy Chepkoech captured the women's championship individual title with her time of 19:19.5. Judy Chepkoech's time is the second-fastest ever at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, behind former Gator Parker Valby's time of 19:17 set in 2023.
WOMEN
The No. 13 Gator women started the day with the 6k Championship race and were led by Judy Chepkoech, who would capture the individual title with a late surge across the finish line to finish with a time of 19:19.5 and take the title by 0.1 second. Florida would finish with three runners in the top 15 as Claire Stegall, in her season debut, would cross the line second for the Gators with a time of 19:24.6, good for ninth and Desma Chepkoech would cross the line at 19:30.3 for 12th place.
Maggie McCormick (40th; 20:11.7) and Isobelle Jones (49th; 20:17.0) would round out the scoring for the Gators on the day as Keeghan Edwards crossed line with a time of 21:22.6 for 170th.
The Gators would finish second with 111 points, topping 14 ranked teams, No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 4 New Mexico No. 5 Iowa State, No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Stanford, No. 14 Utah, No. 16 Colorado, No, 17 Washington State, and No. 19 Missouri, No. 20 Toledo, No. 21 Minnesota, No. 22 Northwestern, No. 23 Washington, No. 24 Providence, No. 29 Penn State, and No. 30 Boise State,
Florida had two women race in the B race at 1:45 ET, as Mary Nesmith finished 27th with a time of 21:27.0 and Ashley Fitzgerald finished 45th with a time of 21:46.1
MEN
The No. 10 Gator men followed the women's championship race and were led by Kelvin Cheruiyot who crossed the line at sixth overall with a time of 22:39.6 and climbed ten spots after crossing the 2K checkpoint in 23rd. Geofrey Ronoh and Josh Ruiz would cross the finish line next for the Gators, with Ronoh finishing 40th overall with a time of 23:22.0 and Ruiz (50th) finishing with a time of 23:29.6.
Oussama Allaoui and Eliud Muchiri, who made his collegiate debut, rounded out the scoring for the Gators. Allaoui (59th) finished with a time 23:35.6 and Muchiri (66th) with a time of 23:37.9. Ian Sanchez Lopez and Jonathan Leon would finish in 71st and 88th, respectively, giving all the Gator men a finish in the 100, in a race that featured 234 runners.
The Florida men's finish of fifth place with 221 points put them above No. 2 Iowa State, No. 8 Wake Forest, No. 11 Northern Arizona, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 15 Stanford, No. 17 Washington State, No, 18 Michigan State, No. 19 Harvard, No. 21 Butler, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 23 EKU, No. 26 Georgia, No. 27 Michigan, No. 29 Missouri and No. 30 Georgetown.
UP NEXT
The Gators set their sights on the SEC Cross Country Championship, which will take place in Columbia, Mo. on Oct. 30
RESULTS
| WOMEN (A) – 2nd (111 Points) | MEN – 5th (221 Points) | WOMEN (B) – No Score | ||||||
| Place | Name | Time | Place | Name | Time | Place | Name | Time |
| 1 (1) | Judy Chepkoech | 19:19.5 | 6 (6) | Kelvin Cheruiyot | 22:39.6 | 27 | Mary Nesmith | 21:27.0 |
| 9 (9) | Claire Stegall | 19:24.6 | 40 (40) | Geofrey Ronoh | 23:22.0 | 45 | Ashely Fitzgerald | 21:46.1 |
| 12 (12) | Desma Chepkoech | 19:30.3 | 50 (50) | Josh Ruiz | 23:29.6 | |||
| 40 (40) | Maggie McCormick | 20:11.7 | 59 (59) | Oussama Allaoui | 23:35.6 | |||
| 49 (49) | Isobelle Jones | 20:17.0 | 66 (66) | Eliud Muchiri | 23:37.9 | |||
| 170 (170) | Keeghan Edwards | 21:22.6 | 71 (71) | Ian Sanchez Lopez | 23:42.4 | |||
| 88 (88) | Jonathan Leon | 23:50.6 | ||||||
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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