Tampa, Florida Southern Take 2008 SSC Cross Country Titles

BRANDON, Fla. - The University of Tampa and Florida Southern College each claimed a team title at the 2008 Sunshine State Conference championships, which was hosted by UT at Brandon Trails. In men's action, FSC took their 12th straight title while UT won the women's race for the second consecutive year.

The Spartans, who have won five of the past six SSC titles, took six of the top eight spots among individuals. Jessica Forrester won the top prize, claiming her first SSC individual title with a time of 21:33.

Florida Southern's Carolyne Kwambai finished second with a time of 22:05, followed by UT runners Heather Nicolosi (22:18) and Alysha Duffy (22:24). Nova Southeastern's Krystal Porter rounded out the top five in a time of 22:58.

In addition to Forrester, Nicolosi and Duffy, the top five for the 2008 champion Spartans also included Katie O'Brien (6th, 23:15) and Sarah Nelson (7th, 23:18). Dara Fox finished just outside Tampa's top five with an eighth place overall finish of 23:33.

The women's top 10 also included Florida Tech's Nicole Clarke (9th, 23:36) and Nova Southeastern's Tara Haddock (10th, 23:50).

In men's action, Florida Southern's Scott Mackley took the top prize after a time of 25:01. Nova Southeastern's Jefferey Palmer (25:07) finished second, followed by Tampa's Tony Nicolosi (25:09). Florida Southern solidified their first place performance with the fourth through sixth finishes in Eric Larson (25:13), Ben Martucci (25:23) and Drew Martucci (25:27).

Florida Tech's Myles Garza finished seventh in a time of 25:32, followed by Saint Leo's Javier Beauzeville (25:37) and Nova Southeastern's Eskender Abdalla (25:55). UT's Chris Catanach rounded out the top 10 with a 26:00 time.

Florida Southern then sealed its victory with a 13th place finish by Jason Patchett-Wills (26:16). For the host Spartans, Kevin Lane (11th, 26:09), Jeremy Lautzenheiser (12th, 26:10) and Matt Altimari (15th, 26:31) joined Nicolosi and Catanach to comprise its top five.

The top two teams for both the men and women now advance to the NCAA South Regional. The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 8, in Searcy, Ark.