Heather Nicolosi Leads Tampa Women To Fourth Straight Regional Title
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Heather Nicolosi led The University of Tampa women's cross country team to the program's fourth straight and fifth overall NCAA Division II South Regional championship. Nicolosi also shattered the course record at Shannon Johnson Park. UT's men also competed, placing third.
Nicolosi's first-place time in the 6K was 20:50.1 as the Spartans won the regional title with 42 points. A total of 15 teams competed with the top-five consisting of UT, Alabama-Huntsville (89), Harding (109), Nova Southeastern (122) and West Florida (151).
Lindsay Edwards was the second Spartan to cross the finish line, earning a fourth-place finish with a time of 21:58.6. Kaia Hampton rounded out the top-10 while posting a time of 22:56.5 as Chanelle Cox (14th, 23:08.9) and Iolani Scanlon (17th, 23:27.3) rounded out the Spartan scorers. Kelly Hagan (20th, 23:34.1) and Hailey Smith (94th, 28:10.3) also ran for Tampa.
Tampa's men recorded 89 points, with South Region champion Harding (46) and Florida Southern (50) finishing ahead of the Spartans. UT, West Florida (120) and West Alabama (134) made up the top-five in the 13-team field.
Tony Nicolosi led all Spartans with a third-place finish following a time of 32:04.0 in the 10K. Charles Toledo was 12th (32:57.3) as Lewis Price placed 19th (33:21.3) to put three UT runners in the top-20.
Also competing for the Spartan men were Jeremy Lautzenheiser (30th, 34:07.3), Kevin Lane (34th, 34:20.0), Tory Webb (61st, 35:42.5) and Ben Hilton (77th, 37:22.8).
Tampa returns to action at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Dec. 4. The finals will take place in Louisville, Ky., as part of the 2010 NCAA Division II Fall Festival.
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