Tampa Wins Seventh Straight NCAA Regional to Advance in NCAA
DOVER, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's cross country team continued its NCAA South Region dominance with its seventh consecutive and eighth overall title, winning the team 6K title. The Spartan men were seventh in the 10K.
Both races were held at Sydney Dover Trails, with the University of Tampa serving as the host institution.
Tampa finished with 37 points, edging the University of Alabama in Huntsville (49) and Nova Southeastern University (80). The top three teams all earned a spot in the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23 in Spokane, Wash.
Vicky Winslow from Alabama-Huntsville earned the women's individual title, winning in a time of 22:04.10. Nova Southeastern's Alexandria Palm was the runner-up, being clocked at 22:44.30. Lynn's Gabriella Wuyke and Saint Leo's Jelena Tancic were third and fourth respectively, each earning a bid to nationals as individuals.
For UT, freshman Claudia Cancello was fifth with a time of 22:57.20 as Danielle Kissel turned in a sixth place showing at 22:59.20. Chantalle Blundell was eighth (23:04.80) as Vanessa Righeimer was 11th (23:12.50) and Kelly Hagan 12th (23:18.20) were each named All-South Region. The top 25 finishers in both races were named all-region by the USTFCCCA.
In the men's race, Florida Southern will represent the field as the South Region champion as the Mocassins finished with 65 points in a race that saw eight points separate the top three teams. Puerto-Rico-Rio Piedras was second (71) as Saint Leo (73) became the third representative to earn a trip to Spokane.
UPR-Rio Piedras' duo of Fernando Ojeda and Diego Rosario claimed the top two men's spots, posting respective times of 32:13.30 and 32:37.90. The two individuals who earned an invitation both came from UAH as Blaise Binns was fourth overall (32:54.90) and Jose Ortega was seventh (33:01.30).
The host Spartans were led by Geremy DeWitt, who became an all-region performer with a 34:06.60 finish.
The NCAA Championships will be held on Nov. 23 in Spokane, Wash. Please visit ncaa.com for complete information on the championships.