Tampa Wins Seventh Consecutive SSC Women’s Cross Country Crown
SAINT LEO, Fla. - The No. 23 Tampa Spartans continued their conference success by winning their seventh-straight Sunshine State Conference Women's Cross Country Championship on Saturday morning at the Abbey Golf Course in Saint Leo, Fla. The UT men also competed to a fourth-place showing.
The Spartan women have now won 11 of the last 12 conference titles. Tampa claimed the 2013 championship with 31 points, finishing with five of the top-10 runners.
Nova Southeastern took second-place for the second-straight year with 42 points. The host team, Saint Leo, finished third with 86 points. Rounding out the championship were Florida Tech (112 points), Florida Southern (137 points), Lynn (169 points) and Rollins (181 points).
For the second consecutive year, Nova Southeastern's senior Alexandria Palm was crowned individual top finisher in the 6K event with a time of 21:50.
The top-10 runners are designated as the All-Championship Team.
Saint Leo's freshman Jelena Tancic finished second in her first-ever conference championship with a time of 22:04. Tampa's sophomore Chantalle Blundell crossed the finish line first for the Spartans, third overall, in a time of 22:07. Blundell was the first of five Spartans to finish in the top-10.
The Sharks' senior Peri Bowman came in fourth in a time of 22:12, while Tampa's sophomore Danielle Kissel was fifth in a time of 22:31. Kissel's teammate, freshman Claudia Cancello, was steps behind in sixth place with a time of 22:33.
Lynn's senior Gabriella Wuyke finished seventh in a time of 22:35. The Spartans' seniors Kelly Hagan (22:38) and Vanessa Righeimer (22:39) crossed the finish line one after the other for eighth and ninth place, respectively. Nova Southeastern's junior Rose Howell came in 10th with a time of 22:57.
In men's action, the No. 25 Florida Southern Moccasins were back on the podium for the first time since 2010 after they claimed their conference-leading 16th Sunshine State Conference Men's Cross Country Championship.
The Moccasins had won 14-straight conference titles from 1997-2010. Florida Southern claimed the 2013 title with a total of 34 points, having four runners finish in the top-10.
The host team, Saint Leo, took second-place with 43 points. Nova Southeastern finished third with 86 points. Rounding out the championship were Tampa (87 points), Florida Tech (96 points) and Rollins (190 points).
Saint Leo's sophomore Carl Dunne was the top individual finisher in the men's 8K race with a time of 25:37.
The top-10 runners are designated as the All-Championship Team.
Saint Leo's sophomore Valentin Lenz finished in second with a time of 25:45. Florida Southern had the next three finishers with senior Chris Yanicko (26:00), senior David Tomchinsky (26:07) and freshman Bobby Ormsby (26:11) finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectfully.
Florida Tech's junior Justin McMaster came in sixth in a time of 26:15, while Nova Southeastern's senior Long Tran was seventh in a time of 26:17.
The Moccasins' sophomore Jose Perez finished eighth in a time of 26:18. Saint Leo's freshman Niclas Bez was ninth with a time of 26:19, and Nova Southeastern's freshman Wade White was 10th in a time of 26:22.
Tampa was led by freshman Matt Hoffman, who crossed 13th overall with a time of 26:47. Geremy DeWitt and Mike Zwijacz finished 15th and 16th respectively as Lars Benner was 19th to place four Spartans in the top-20.
The conference teams will now prepare of the NCAA South Regional in Dover, Fla on Saturday, November 9. The University of Tampa will host the South Regional.