Lakeland, Fla. – After a week off, the Lake-Sumter State College men's and women's cross country teams were back on the course for the FLRunners.com Invitational Friday.
More than 75 runners competed in the men's event that started at 7:20 am. With seven teams participating in the race, LSSC was the only JUCO among them. Excluding unattached competitors, Lake-Sumter placed three runners in the top five. Alexander Croy completed the course in 27:53.50, a mere 00:00.38 behind the first place finisher from Southeastern University. Adolfo Saucedo Flores came in third running 28:29 with teammate William Troupe coming across 10 seconds later.
The event marked the first time the men ran an 8k this season. Aaron Gomez ran a conversion equivalent of a 5k personal best in his first collegiate 8k. LSSC missed first place by just five points behind Southeastern University. "The men ran well as a pack and anytime you can produce 3 top 5 finishers, it's a good day," said Head Coach Cristy Snellgroves. "I'm very happy with this groups dedication and work ethic and look forward to another great week of training."
Kyja Williams continues her excellent sophomore season on the women's side, finishing 12th overall in the field of 60+ runners. She came in first amongst NJCAA runners with another personal best time of 21:27.95 Victoria Bell was the second Lakehawk to come through at 26:53.47 edging out her competitors with a sprint down the final leg. Michelle Dudley also ran a personal best in the event with a time of 28:56.88.
"It is very exciting to see the improvements our women's team has made," Snellgroves said. "They have been working extremely hard and their progression has been impressive to see."
Cross country will be back at it Friday at the B3R Sports Invitational in Ocala, FL.