TALLAHASSEE – The cross country postseason is at hand and based on their performances at Saturday’s Under Armour Pre-National Invitational, Florida State’s Elizabeth Funderburk and Kasey Knevelbaard are poised for breakouts.

Funderburk, a sophomore, placed 11th overall in a field of more than 250 runners which included 10 nationally ranked teams – four of the top eight – including six ACC schools.

The Moultrie, Ga. native recorded a personal-best time of 20:29.1 in her first 6,000-meter race of the season.

Knevelbaard was equally impressive in the men’s 8,000-meter race, finishing 15th overall while recording the fastest time of his career (23:47.3) over that distance. Against a field of more than 250 and including 10 nationally ranked teams – three of the top four – he was the first of 35 ACC runners across the finish line. Among those he beat were defending ACC champion Peter Seufer of Virginia Tech and Louisville standout Emmanuel Cheboson; recording the highest finish by a conference runner competing at either the Pre-National or Nuttycombe Invitational meets.

With their prelude performances to the Nov. 1 ACC Championships, Funderburk and Knevelbaard were recognized Wednesday as ACC Performers of the Week.

Funderburk shared the honor with Notre Dame’s Anna Rohrer, who placed 10th at the Nuttycombe Invitational.

“She ran really well, but like she said, she told me she was going to,” FSU women’s coach Kelly Phillips said of Funderburk, who paced the No. 10 Noles to a fifth-place team finish. “I loved that answer…It’s cool. I like her confidence. Her confidence is coming back. After she got E. coli this summer, she was a little nervous about being able to come back in time.

“I kept saying that it was going to be a blessing to be [fit] later. She’s strong right now.”

It is Funderburk’s first career ACC Performer of the Week honor.

She was a two-time Freshman Performer of the Week in 2018, when she went on to finish 15th at the ACC Championships and eighth at the NCAA South Regional, helping the Noles return to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2014.

Funderburk heads into the postseason with sights set on her own significant achievements.

“She’s talked about wanting to be All-American and what it’s going to take,” Phillips said. “She’s had Militsa [Mircheva] to follow. Whatever Militsa did last year she said she wanted to do her sophomore year, which is a pretty big thing to bite off, but she means it.”

A determined performance in Terre Haute, Ind. provided further validation of a fitness level capable of achieving that goal.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen her race in a big field like that,” Phillips said. “Fom early on in the race, you could tell, she knew she belonged. That’s a different face. It is one thing to try it, but it’s another to know it. She knows it now. That’s pretty exciting. I can’t wait to see her at nationals.”