Tampa Women Run To Fourth Straight SSC Crown

MELBOURNE, Fla. - On a cold Saturday morning, the University of Tampa women's cross country team won the 2010 Sunshine State Conference Championship. The title marks the fourth straight and eight of the last nine conference crowns for UT.

On the men's side, Tampa finished second to Florida Southern College, who won its 14th straight title.

In the women's 6K race, Tampa tallied 27 points en route to victory. Nova Southeastern placed second with 72 points. Host Florida Tech came in third with 89, while Saint Leo was fourth with 98. Florida Southern (5th, 113) and Rollins (6th, 120) rounded out the standings.

Tampa's Heather Nicolosi (20:39.98) crossed the finish line first to lead a parade of five Spartans who claimed all-championship honors for finishing in the top-10. Nicolosi's time was just four second shy of a UT school record as Allison Macsas had a 20:35 showing in the 6K. Lindsay Edwards (21:40.42) finished second, while teammate Chanelle Cox (22:18.37) was fifth. Kaia Hampton (22:40.82) recorded a ninth-place finish, and Iolani Scanlan (22:43.80) was 10th.

Rounding out the top-10, Nova Southeastern's Alexandria Palm (22:03.20) posted a third-place finish. Tech's Nicole Clarke (22:11.59) was fourth. Florida Southern's Emily Labarbera (22:29.95) placed sixth. Saint Leo's Andrea Maxwell (22:32.29) finished seventh. Rollins' Lauryn Falcone (22:33.72) came in eighth.

In the men's 8K event, Florida Southern posted 23 points for the championship. Tampa placed second with 44. Nova Southeastern was third with 87. Florida Tech finished fourth with 97. Saint Leo (5th, 142) and Rollins (6th, 163) completed the standings.

The Moccasins had five runners finish in the top-10, led by Ben Martucci (24:26.43), who placed first. Twin brother Drew Martucci (24:43.96) came in second. Eric Larson (25:06.03) was fifth, while Jason Patchette-Gillis (25:21.01) was seventh. Zach Kovacik (25:41.62) rounded out the All-Championship Mocs with an eighth-place finish.

Also posting top-10 performances, Tampa's Tony Nicolosi (24:52.73) was third. NSU's Augustin Rey (25:02.50) finished fourth. UT's Charles Toledo (25:14.03) placed sixth. NSU's John Besharat (25:50.44) was ninth, while Tampa's Kevin Lane (26:02.20) was 10th.

The Spartans will return to competition on Saturday, Nov. 20 at the NCAA Division II South Regional in Huntsville, Ala. Both teams will compete as the Tampa women are looking to capture its fourth South Regional title in a row.

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