TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Cross Country) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) cross country teams traveled to Tallahassee, Fla. over the weekend to compete in the Florida State University (FSU) Invitational. Eleven of the eighteen Lakehawks that competed recorded new personal records (PR) on Friday morning.
After several days of rain, the weather was a humid, yet cool mid-70s temperature presenting good race conditions for September in Florida.
The men ran first at 7:40 a.m. Six of the nine men ran PRs with the other three remaining coming within a few minutes of their previous bests.
Santos Aguilar continues to lead the Lakehawks with impressive performances posting a new 8,000-Meter (8K) PR of 27:52.2. Aguilar's previous PR came at this course in the 2022 season at the FSU Invitational.
Dylan Royal, Caleb Melendez, and Connor Parrish ran as a pack pushing one another throughout the race. Royal and Melendez crossed the finish line with just half a second separating the two, while Parrish finished shortly after.
Royal posted a two-minute PR with Parrish's three-minute PR. Melendez shaved off three minutes from his current season-best 8K time.
Head coach Cristy Snellgroves shared her thoughts about the men's latest performance, "I am really proud of this team. They are all working hard individually and as a team.
"Santos is a natural athlete and continues moving the 'goalposts' performance. Dylan, Connor, Jovanni, and Logan are all extremely talented and motivated and I am excited about their progress and our future with them growing on and off the track," said Coach Snellgroves.
In a field of 342 athletes from 31 teams, predominantly National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisions I and II, the Lake-Sumter men took a 24th overall team finish with an average 8K time of 28:48.
The women's race followed immediately at 8:10 a.m. Seven of the 10 Lakehawk women posted new PRs.
Lily Novac continues to lead the Lakehawk women posting her third-consecutive season-best time.
Demaris Soto and Emma Santiago worked together throughout, finishing within 20 seconds of one another, coming in second and third for the Lakehawks. Santiago posted a two-minute PR. Madeleine McKenna finished fourth for the team with a new PR as well.
Victoria Silva and Nasjai White came in fifth and sixth for Lake-Sumter with only 0.1 seconds separating the two. Silva and White each recorded new PRs.
"I am proud of their hard work and perseverance. I look forward to the next couple weeks of hard training and to seeing the results reflect their dedication.
"It is such an honor to coach these strong and resilient young women, who are embracing challenges and working together to create something special," said Coach Snellgroves.
In a field of 335 runners from 35 teams in competition, the Lakehawk women finished 34th overall with an average team 5K time of 26:36.
Final Results – Men
Santos Aguilar, 27:52.2 (PR)
Dylan Royal, 28:38.0
Caleb Melendez, 28.38.5
Connor Parrish, 28:58.6 (PR)
Lash Bradshaw, 29:52.6
Jovanni Matos, 31:29.5 (PR)
Logan Shaw, 31:42.4 (PR)
Rosendo Manuel Tovar, 34:23.6
Joshua Cargill, 35:08.7
Final Results – Women
Lily Novac, 23:24.2
Demaris Soto, 25:13.9
Emma Santiago, 25:32.8 (PR)
Madeleine McKenna, 29:15.7 (PR)
Victoria Silva, 29:33.3 (PR)
Nasjai White, 29:33.4 (PR)
Rubianna Novac, 30:04.0 (PR)
Lorelei Teninty, 31:46.0 (PR)
Carley Carrol, 31:53.1
Andrea Morales-Moncada, 32:54.0 (PR)
Up next for the Lakehawks
The Lakehawk men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Oct. 13 for the SSC Preview at Holloway Park. The men will race first starting at 5:00 p.m. and the women will follow at 6:00 p.m.
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