Cross Country Competes at Nationals

Richmond, VA – The Lake-Sumter State College men's and women's cross country teams competed in the NJCAA Nationals for the third consecutive year.

Colton Berquist was the top finisher for the Lakehawks. The freshman finished 35^th among the 220+ runners competing with a time of 27:07.8. Nicholas Atkinson, who was making his third appearance at Nationals, ran in 27:51.2 and finished just ahead of his teammate, Zachary Paladino by 00:00.1. The pair finished 52^nd and 53^rd respectively. Cooper Krug and Julio Rojas rounded out the top five Lakehawks with Rojas running a personal best, 29:09.3.

As a whole, the men's team finished ninth overall and were the second highest ranked Region 8 member behind Daytona State college (2).

"This team has worked so hard and really competes for 'The Team'," said Head Coach Cristy Snellgroves. "We have a very young cohort of runners this year that have bonded and competed well. We have a bright future ahead of us."

Kyja Williams fell just shy of a top 15 performance coming in 22^nd in the pool of 195+ runners. The sophomore came across in a time of 20:00.0, finishing second among all Region 8 competitors. Williams earned USTFCCCA All-America award for the second consecutive year, an exclamation point on a brilliant career.

Alexis Doll ran a personal best time of 22:14.1, coming in second for the Lakehawks. Erica Bunk also finished inside the top 125. The team finished 20^th overall.

"This is the first year we have taken a team of women to Nationals," said Snellgroves. "The women are continually growing and improving and are establishing a culture of inclusion and success. I am so proud of these young women and how they represent the school on and off the track."