Spartans Complete Season Opener at Florida Tech

MELBOURNE, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's and women's cross country teams each competed at the Pre-Conference race, which was hosted Saturday by Sunshine State Conference opponent Florida Tech.

UT's women turned in a second-place effort in the 5K, trailing only Saint Leo. The Lions took first-place with 37 points. The Spartan men completed the 8K sixth overall with 119 points. Florida Southern won the team title with 49 points.

Sophomore Thea Ramsey was the first Spartan to cross the finish line, placing 11th overall with a time of 19:29.44. Joining Ramsey in the UT lineup were Lexi Bible (13th, 19:38.69), Claudia Cancello (15th, 19:44.57), Jasmine Garrett (17th, 19:53.96) and Vera Rae Swardstrom (18th, 19:54.21).

Also running for Tampa's women were Ryleigh Donegan (21st, 19:58.05), Kayla Sullivan (22nd, 20:03.92), Caitlin Whetstone (30th, 20:21.35), Eliana Ochoa (34th, 20:36.44), Alexa Fotopoulos (39th, 20:53.15), Rachel Higgins (50th, 21:08.10), Mollie Pierson (51st, 21:13.00), Elaina Cancello (52nd, 21:13.38), Aislinn Sroczynski (60th, 21:22.33), Natalie Cortes (64th, 21:33.62) and Sophia Gullo (82nd, 22:19.40).

Senior Cory Munsch was the top runner for Tampa's men, finishing 14th overall with a time of 26:24.15. Also placing in the UT top-five were Joe Weber (16th, 26:34.18), Lars Benner (24th, 26:53.98), Mitch Arnold (27th, 27:06.07) and Eddie Keenan (41st, 27:56.42).

Others who ran for the Spartan men were Nick Morfesi (42nd, 28:01.62), Tyler Roberts (46th, 28:20.17), Joey Maus (49th, 28:25.03), Hunter Slater (76th, 30:16.06) and Sam Schaeffer (82nd, 31:00.43).

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday at Florida Southern. The men's race is slated for 7:15 a.m., followed by the 8 a.m., women's contest.

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