DADE CITY, Fla. (Cross Country) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) men's and women's cross country teams battled a tough course at the Saint Leo Abbey Invitational on Saturday morning. Both teams secured top-10 team finishes.
Sophomore Colton Berquist had an outstanding race, keeping focus and holding his form through the sprint at the finish to become the top finisher for the Lakehawks, placing 13th overall and second among all NJCAA runners. Berquist's 8,000-Meter time of 26:36.5 was good for a new program record, beating alumni Alex Croy's time of 26:37.0 from 2020.
Assistant Coach Karen La Rosa weighed in on the course's rough terrain and Berquist's accomplishment, "Colton set the goal of breaking the school record and went out with the front pack. He was focused, maintaining his form and rhythm to come home in a school record time on a very difficult course."
Cooper Krug who posted a time of 28:12, good for a seventh-place mark among the NJCAA runners. He was followed closely by Caleb Melendez at 28:55.7, Santos Aguilar at 29:05.6, Julio Rojas at 29:23.6 and Tavin Bradshaw at 30:40.2.
The women kicked off at 8 a.m. and were led by Lily Novac, once again, finishing 11th among the NJCAA runners in attendance. Novac posted 5,000-Meter time of 22:52, improving her career-best time for the third weekend in a row.
Novac was followed by Meridith Richemond at 24:34.6, Alexis Doll at 24:55.3, Katelyn Lopez recorded a new career-best at 27:13.6, Stacey Clark at 27:26.4, and Carley Carrol at 35:26.3.
The men posted a sixth-place team finish and second in NJCAA teams and the women finished 10th overall, fourth among NJCAA teams.
Up Next the for Lakehawks
Friday's scheduled meet at South Florida State College is awaiting an update from the path of Hurricane Ian. Visit www.lakehawksports.com and follow @LakehawkSports on Twitter for the most up-to-date news on LSSC Athletics.