Lake City, Fla. – The Lake-Sumter State College cross country teams competed at the Alligator Lake Invitational Friday with the women's team making program history.
With nine teams competing on the women's side, the Lakehawks put up one of their best performances in the program's short history. Kyja Williams finished second overall at the meet. However, the first place runner ran unattached, making Williams the first place finisher among college runners with a new personal best time of 21:39. Victoria Bell was the next to cross the finish line for LSSC with a time of 27:42. Isabel Panganiban, Chloe Grozdanich and Michelle Dudley all finished in the top 50 crossing the line in that order. The team placed seventh.
After an amazing weekend, Williams was tabbed as the Region 8 Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week. The first such accomplishment for any runner on the women's team. "Kyja has been focused on staying consistent and that has paid off week to week," said Head Coach Cristy Snellgroves. "She ran a very controlled and strategic race, but I still think the best is yet to come for this one."
The men's team went into the weekend ranked sixth in the latest national poll. They competed against three other schools and finished second behind the No. 5 team in the nation, Daytona State College.
William Troupe was the Lakehawks top finisher at the invitational with a time of 17:31. Good enough for sixth place. Alexander Croy and Adolfo Saucedo Flores both ended up inside the top 15, finishing 11th and 14th respectively. Nicholas Atkinson along with teammate, Ernesto Velasquez were able to place inside the top 20.
"I believe our emphasis in the upcoming weeks needs to be running closer as a team," Snellgroves said. "They have been training extremely hard and I think they are right on the cusp of doing something great this season."
The runners will hit the trails again this Friday at the Florida Runners Invitational in Lakeland, FL.