DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Cross Country) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) cross country teams traveled to Daytona Beach, Fla. over the weekend for the Embry Riddle Cross Country Classic. The men placed sixth overall while the women took ninth.
Embry Riddle's course is full of hills with a mix of terrain: grass, sand and mulch. The morning of the race was hot and humid, but both teams prevailed with 10 new personal records (PR) of the 19 Lakehawks racing.
The men's race kicked off at 7:20 a.m. Sophomore Lash Bradshaw ran a strategic race to help the Lakehawks to a sixth-place team finish overall and first among National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) teams.
In a field of 112 runners, Bradshaw posted a 23rd place finish, first of NJCAA runners, with an 8,000-meter (8K) season-best time of 29:29.7.
Santos Aguilar had a strong performance as well, leading the team throughout most of the race. He took 28th, second of NJCAA runners, with an 8K time of 29:53.0.
Dylan Royal, Connor Parrish, Caleb Melendez, Logan Shaw, and Rosendo Manuel Tovar rounded out the top-seven Lakehawk runners. Parrish, Shaw, Tovar, and Jovanni Matos posted new PRs.
The women's race followed immediately after the men. Lily Novac continues to lead the Lakehawk charge finishing seventh among NJCAA runners with a 5,000-meter (5K) season-best time of 24:52.5
Freshman Demaris Soto finished seconds behind Novac posting her second-consecutive PR 5K time of 24:58.1. Emma Santiago, Victoria Silva, Madeleine McKenna, Nasjai White, and Rubianna Novac rounded out the top-seven for the Lakehawks.
Silva, Soto, R. Novac, McKenna, Andrea Morales-Moncada, and Lorelei Teninty all ran collegiate PRs on Saturday morning.
Head coach Cristy Snellgroves shares her thoughts on the teams' performances in the meet, "The athletes on both the men's and women's teams have made huge improvements over the last couple of weeks, with many of them achieving personal best times.
"It is a privilege to coach a team full of dedicated and hard-working athletes. We are looking forward to our next meet at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee," said Coach Snellgroves.
Final Results – Men
23. Lash Bradshaw, 29:29.7
28. Santos Aguilar, 29:53.0
Dylan Royal, 30:41.5
Connor Parrish, 31:36.4 (PR)
Caleb Melendez, 31:57.1
Logan Shaw, 32:40.6 (PR)
Rosendo Manuel Tovar, 33:59.4 (PR)
Jovanni Matos, 34:04.8 (PR)
Joshua Cargill, 28.23.1
Final Results – Women
Lily Novac, 24:52.5
Demaris Soto, 24:58.1 (PR)
Emma Santiago, 28:11.4
Victoria Silva, 29:38.2 (PR)
Madeleine McKenna, 30:59.6 (PR)
Nasjai White, 31:46.1
Rubianna Novac, 32:35.5 (PR)
Andrea Morales-Moncada, 33:04.9 (PR)
Carley Carrol, 33:52.3
Lorelei Teninty, 35:14.3 (PR)
Up next for the Lakehawks
The Lakehawk men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. on Friday, Sept. 29 for the Florida State University Invitational at Appalachee Regional Park. The men will race first starting at 7:40 a.m. and the women will follow at 8:10 a.m.
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