Both the men's and women's Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) cross country teams made impressive showings at the Division II Florida College System Activities Association/National Junior College Athletic Association (FCSAA/NJCAA) Region 8 Cross Country Championships on Friday morning at Apalachee Regional Park.
Neither team is new to this course as they competed in the FSU Invite just two weekends ago. The late October morning presented very humid conditions causing race times to be slower overall but head coach Cristy Snellgroves expressed that she was very happy with the performances from both teams.
The No. 9 ranked men ran first in field of 58 runners from seven schools among NJCAA Divisions I and II. The Lakehawks were led by sophomore Colton Berquist as he established himself with a pack of opposing Daytona State runners early on.
Berquist eventually finished third within 30 seconds of the Falcon runners at a time of 26:04.7, his second best 8,000-Meter time to date. Sophomore Cooper Krug led a chase pack of runners from Daytona State and Eastern Florida posting a time of 27:02.2 finishing at seventh.
Finishing within the top-seven earned Berquist and Krug All-FCSAA/All-NJCAA Region 8 Team recognition, first-time honors for both sophomores. As a team, the men posted a second place finish for the second consecutive year after Daytona State, who captured the team title for the fourth time in the last five years.
The women ran second this meet in a field of 58 runners from seven Region 8 schools in Division I and II. As a team they finished sixth among the Division II programs.
Lily Novac continues to be a leader for the Lakehawk women finishing with a 5,000-Meter time of 22:51.4. Following closely behind was AnnaGrace Weathers with a new personal record (PR) time of 23:02.1.
Alexis Doll, Meridith Richemond and Katelyn Lopez ran in a pack the entire race pushing each other the entire race. Doll posted a time of 23:34.0, followed by Richemond at 23:40.1, just two seconds off from her PR, and Lopez with a 23 second PR at 23:47.4.
"Every week they are getting closer to our nearest rival (Daytona State) and to their individual goals. They are training and competing with purpose and heart" said Coach Snellgroves. "The women's team has great potential moving forward into next year and they aspire to keep moving up in the rankings."
Up Next for the Lakehawks
The men's team will prepare to travel back to Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee for the2022 NJCAA Division I/II National Championship meet on Saturday, November 12.
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