FSU sports information:
The No.13/NR Florida State Cross Country teams competed in the ACC Championship on Friday morning at WakeMed Park in Cary, North Carolina.
Agnes McTighe and Bieke Schipperen captured All-ACC honors for the women’s team in the 6k by finishing in the top 21 of the race.
“I think we walk away from today with mixed feelings,” said FSU head coach Cody Halsey. “Watching Agnes and Bieke finish All-ACC was a massive bright spot. Bieke was 79th this time last year and Agnes was still progressing from a knee surgery. Having a front row seat to their glow up has been incredibly rewarding. Those two gave everything they had for themselves and for our team. They both had their highest individual finish in an unprecedented deep conference meet. That’s all you can ask for.”
The 13th-ranked women’s team has now crowned at least one All-ACC runner in every race since 2008, and at least two in four of the last five.
McTighe secured her second conference honor of her career after finishing in ninth with a career best time of 19:40.6.
Schipperen finished 16th with a time of 20:02.5, collecting All-ACC for the first time in her career. Elizabeth Barlow followed in 32nd with a time 20:22.8. Brooke Mullins competed in her first ACC Championship placing 52nd with a time 20:40.3. Anna Sentner was the fifth FSU scorer in 85th with a time 21:06.1.
The women’s team placed seventh with a total of 190 points, improving from finishing 11th in 2023.
“As far as a full team, I think we are better than what we showed today,” added Halsey. “Not every race will be your best. Not every day will go the way you want. All you can do is try and make some adjustments, lean on each other and get back to work. I believe we will get it right in two weeks. This is one of the best teams in the NCAA. I wholeheartedly believe that. I’m looking forward to our next opportunity at home.”
The men’s team was led by Joe Farly, who finished just outside of All-ACC honors placing 25th with a career best of 23:06.9. In his third ACCs, Zach Leachman placed 62nd with a career best time of 23:40.3. Zachary Cloud was the third FSU runner, clocking a time of 23:41.3. Lucas Bouquot added a personal best time of 24:03.2. Kaden Levings rounded out the scoring for the Seminoles in 90th with a career best time of 24:06.8.
"It was a solid day for the Seminoles today out at ACCs," said assistant coach Ian Frazier. The guys did a great job of executing a conservative first half of the race before putting a big press home to the finish. Joe Farly was the highlight of our crew, as he nearly tabbed an ALL-ACC finish after DNFing the year prior. He's been a pillar of consistency for our team this year and I'm so excited for him to continue to lead our crew into the South Regional meet in two weeks."
The Noles placed 10th as a team with 296 points.
"I'm hopeful we can use this positive momentum to our advantage before we return to ARP. Go Noles," Frazier added.
FSU will host the NCAA South Region Championships in Tallahassee at Apalachee Regional Park in two weeks on November 15 before the NCAA Cross Country Championships on November 23 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship course.