November 22, 2014
Tampa Charges to Eighth Straight NCAA South Region Title
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The University of Tampa women's cross country team won its eighth consecutive NCAA Division II South Region championship on Saturday, qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the 12th straight season.
UT's men narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships, finishing fourth as the top-three teams advanced.
On the women's side, Tampa finished with 63 total points, edging Saint Leo (73). Union (Tenn.), a member of the Gulf South Conference, also qualified with a third-place finish and 82 points.
Sunshine State Conference opponent Florida Southern won the men's race, with the Mocs tallying 74 points. Saint Leo was second with 105 points, followed by West Alabama with 106. UT's men totaled 132 points in the race.
Tampa's women had a pair of top-10 finishers, including Clauydia Cancello (fifth, 22:37.53) and Chantalle Blundell (seventh, 22:47.75). Elaina Cancello was 14th (23:23.95) while Aislinn Sroczynski was 18th (23:37.86).
Also running for the Spartan women were Kayla Sullivan (29th, 23:58.06), Danielle Kissel (33rd, 24:08.13) and Rachel Higgins (54th, 24:58.90).
The trio of Matt Hoffman, Geremy DeWitt and Cory Munsch led UT's men, finishing 25th, 26th and 27th respectively. Hoffman was timed at 33:47.80, while DeWitt was clocked at 33:49.17 and Munsch at 33:51.20.
Other Spartans included Tyler Blackburn (29th, 33:54.29), Joey Maus (30th, 33:58.32), Jake Poore (32nd, 34:07.78) and Lars Benner (37th, 34:18.74).
The Spartan women will now head to the NCAA Division II Championships, which is scheduled for December 6 in Louisville, Ky., at the Fall Festival. Please visit TampaSpartans.com for complete information on UT cross country.