Eastern Florida State College Cross Country Teams Place at FCSAA Championships

women's team will compete in the National Championships Nov. 8

BREVARD COUNTY • FLORIDA – The Eastern Florida State College men’s cross country team finished fifth in the FCSAA Division II Championships at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

Freshman Jaiden McKee finished 14th overall in the race with a season-best run, finishing in 27 minutes and 16.4 seconds. McKee steadily made his way up through the field to cross the line in the top 15.

Teammate Morgan Vici also ran a strong race finishing in 26th place overall with a time of 28:17.7 which was almost a minute faster than what he ran in the pre-Region meet at Apalachee Regional Park in September.

Joshua Torres finished in 38th with a time 29:16.1 with teammates Noah McMann (29:19.8) and Brandon Faris (29:20.0) right behind him. Wyatt Pittman finished the race in 29:56.3 and Toby Grissom ran the 8K in 30:40.3. Wenn Gilbertson finished in 33:01.1, while Michael Quint crossed in 33:13.6 and Gabriel Nix finished in 33:40.9.

Daytona State College won the team title and freshman Hayden Clark won the individual title with a time of 26 minutes and 8.7 seconds.

The Eastern Florida State College women’s cross country team finished third in the FCSAA Division II Championships Friday morning at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

Sophomore Rori Pandolfini finished 10th overall in the 5K race and posted a time of 20 minutes, 34.7 seconds which was a season best for the Verona, Italy native.

“I definitely ran better than I did in my previous race so I feel good, I feel proud,” Pandolfini said after the race. “I definitely had a goal of being in the top 10, the first hill on the course definitely killed me but there was a girl ahead of me that helped me so much, we were both just motivating each other, staying together helped me stay consistent in the race.”

Pandolfini dropped 20 seconds off her season best.

Teammate Malinda Underwood was with Pandolfini for the first part of the race but settled in behind her and finished 15th overall. Underwood finished the race in almost 21 minutes flat. Maddison Lusk finished 22nd overall with a season best 21:50.7 while teammate Aubrey Orcutt was 24th in 21:56.6 and Ember Michaels finished 26th in 21:59.5.

“We had a goal coming in of top two, but I think finishing third gave us hope that we can do even better at nationals, we all feel great,” Pandolfini said. “We accomplished a lot and I think we all did our best. I believe we can do even better at nationals but I am very happy with the finish today.”

Kyla Grace Waymire crossed in 23:34.5 while Liz Morales finished in 24:21.9 and Abigail Derisme finished in 26:25.8.
Daytona State College won the team title with Gulf Coast State College second. Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Mei Chiang tied a meet record, winning the individual title in 18:46.4.

The women’s cross country team will compete in the NJCAA Division II National Championships on Nov. 8 in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

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