The women’s cross country team found itself in an unfamiliar place this week as they rose to the top spot in the South region rankings. Tampa took home first place in the Disney Classic in Orlando.

“It’s really cool especially since we’re up against Harding, who has a great reputation,” said sophomore runner Paige Williams.

Williams placed 15th overall, and third for UT. Laura Woznicki finished first overall in a time of 17:41.40. A total of 45 teams competed in the meet in Orlando.

Jessica Forrester finished 12th overall with a time of 18:24.27 in the 5K race.

Initially, the scorekeepers failed to count Woznicki’s first place finish.

“It was weird,” said Williams. “They messed up our scores at first and even without Laura’s score we came in third.”

Woznicki has carried Tampa, placing first in two of her three races this year, and finishing third out of 175 at the Gator Invitational.

“I think the team is really coming along,” said Williams. “All of our times are coming closer and closer. [Laura] just went out there and gave it her all.”

Tampa next competes in the SSC championships on Oct. 20. After that, they travel to Huntsville, Ala. for the regional tournament. The top three teams go on to Nationals in Joplin, Mo.

“We’ve all been working a lot harder,” said Williams. “We’re excited. The next three meets are the most important and what we train for all season.”