Gainesville, Fla. – Heading into the second week of action for the Lake-Sumter State College men's and women's cross country teams, the latest USTFCCCA poll has both squads inside the top 20.
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) put out their first national poll in early September with both teams represented. The men's team opens up at No. 11, the second highest Region 8 institution behind Daytona State College (No. 2). After opening up some eyes at the end of 2020, the women's team came in at No. 18. All Region 8 programs made the initial poll, including Pasco-Hernando State College (No. 8), Florida Gateway College (No. 9), Daytona State College (No. 14), South Florida State College (No. 16), Florida State College – Jacksonville (No. 22) and Pensacola State College (No. 23).
Week number two of the season took the teams to Gainesville for the University of Florida Mountain Dew Invitational where the men's team finished sixth overall, but second among NJCAA programs. Colton Berquist followed up his excellent performance last week with a fourth-place finish in 20:10.1. Berquist was the only runner in the top five not from Daytona State.
Nicholas Atkinson came in less than a minute behind his teammate for seventh among Junior College runners. The final Lakehawk to finish inside the top 10 was Jockyll Davis with a time of 21:08.3. Four more members of the LSSC team ended up in the top 25 with Zachary Paladino (14), Cooper Krug (16), Nicholas Gibson (20) and Julio Rojas (23).
"The goal for the men this week were to run as a pack and push themselves at a faster pace," said Head Coach Cristy Snellgroves. "I felt they all were successful and I look forward to a solid two-week training block with two weeks before our next meet at Embry Riddle."
As for individuals, Coach Snellgroves said, "Colton continues to impress and I look for his speed to improve as he works on strength and technique. Nic Atkinson has been working on mental strength and ran with focus and determination. Zach Paladino had a great second half of the race moving past many competitors for a strong finish."
The women's team ended the day in fourth place among Junior College teams. Kyja Williams was the top finisher for the Lakehawks crossing the line with a time of 17:01.1, good enough for fifth place. Erica Bunk was the next Lake-Sumter runner to finish, coming in just inside the top 20 at 19th.
Alexis Doll was the third Lakehawk to end the day in the top 25 with a time of 20:03.7. Meredith Richemond and Stacey Clark finished shortly behind Doll to round out the top five. "The Women's team ran well," Snellgroves said. "We will be working on improving endurance over the next couple of weeks."
Snellgroves went on to say, "I am very proud of all these young women and the progress they are making. They are all working together as a team and have great attitudes. We are looking forward to Embry Riddle!"
Lake-Sumter will indeed be headed to Daytona in two weeks for the Embry Riddle Invitational at Embry Riddle University.