Spartans Finish Fourth at SSC Championships
Final tuneup for Tampa before NCAA competition.
BOCA RATON, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's cross country team finished fourth as Florida Southern College claimed the 2017 SSC Cross Country Championships. The 2017 races were hosted by Nova Southeastern University at South County Regional Park on October 21.
Brent Turner was the top Spartan runner, finishing 11th in the 8K race with a time of 26:34-72. The Spartan top-five also included Michael Wilson, Joe Weber, Mitch Arnold and Tyler Roberts.
Florida Southern finished with 42 team points to capture the programs 17th SSC championship, first since 2013. Led by the individual runner-up, Bobby Ormsby, the top five Moccasins finished No. 2, No. 5, No. 6, No. 9, and No. 20. FSC dethrones a Saint Leo University program that had won three consecutive titles.
Men's Team Scores:
1. Florida Southern - 42
2. Saint Leo - 61
3. Embry-Riddle - 65
4. Tampa - 89
5. Florida Tech - 106
6. Nova Southeastern - 156
7. Palm Beach Atlantic - 200
8. Rollins - 25
Ronald Cheserek of Saint Leo repeats as SSC champion, finishing the 8,000-meter race with a time of 25:33.41, edging out Ormsby of Florida Southern (25:39.46). Cheserek is the sixth SSC men's runner to repeat as champion and the first since current FSC coach Ben Martucci (2009, 2010). Ormsby also finished second in 2016. Anthony Deleva of Saint Leo rounded out the Top-3 finishers with a time of 25:43.42. Deleva moves up one spot from a fourth-place finish last year.
SSC Men's Cross Country Championship Team
1. Ronald Cheserek, Saint Leo
2. Bobby Ormsby, Florida Southern
3. Anthony Deleva, Saint Leo
4. Matt Graves, Embry-Riddle
5. Dean McGregor, Florida Southern
6. Mason Jones, Florida Southern
7. Noah Kemp, Embry-Riddle
8. Tucker Melles, Florida Tech
9. Warran Grajalez, Florida Southern
10. Lukas Hassler, Florida Tech
Florida Southern College will host the regional competition on Saturday, November 4th at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Florida. NCAA Finals will be held Saturday, November 18th at Angel Mounds in Evansville, Indiana. Southern Indiana University and the Evansville Sports Commission are co-hosts for the championship.
