WOMEN'S RESULTS | MEN'S RESULTS
ST. LEO, Fla. – Alexandria Palm (Sr., Winnebago, Ill.) won her second straight Sunshine State Conference title Saturday at the SSC Cross Country Championship meet at the Saint Leo Golf Course. Overall, the men's team claimed third place, while the women finished in second place.
Palm finished with a time of 21:50, once again breaking her own 6K record at NSU. She topped her best 6K time from last season's conference meet by one second. She is the first runner to win the conference meet in back-to-back seasons since 2005. The previous repeat winner, Allison Macsas, has already been inducted into the SSC Hall of Fame. Palm will be in the running for SSC Runner of the Year, which will be voted on this week.
"I am super proud of Alex for becoming a two-time conference champion" said head coach Bryan Hagopian. "This win did not come easy, she had to work to win this race. Peri Bowman (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) led for much of the race, with Alex sitting third. At the 3.5K mark, it became a two-person race. at the 5.5K mark, Alex took the lead and opened it up down the stretch. It was one of the most exciting races I've ever witnessed as a coach, watching all of these girls battle it out for first place. Peri was incredible today, this is the best she's ever raced at conference. I could not be prouder for the ladies' team."
Leading the pack for the men was Long Tran (Sr., Saigon, Vietnam), who finished seventh overall with a time of 26:17. Also finishing in the top 10 was Wade White (Fr., Bangor, Pa.) with a 10th-place finishing time of 26:20.
For the women, Bowman claimed fourth place with a career-best race. The reigning Peach Belt Track and Field Runner of the Year clocked in at a career-best 22:12, the fourth best 6K time in program history. The Sharks' third runner in the top 10 was Rose Howell (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.), who came in 10th place with a time of 22:57. Howell is the fifth runner in program history to finish under 23 minutes in the 6K.
Rounding out the women's point scorers were Katey CoDyre (So., Bowmanville, Canada) and senior Brittaney Smash (Sr., Arlington, Texas). CoDyre claimed 13th with a time of 23:32 and Smash finished one place behind her with a time of 23:34. The only other school to have its entire team in the top 15 was Tampa, the meet winners. No other school had more than two top-15 runners.
Timo Kilp (Sr., Tallinn, Estonia) ran in his final SSC Championship meet and claimed 21st place with a time of 27:14. Right behind him in 28th place was freshman Benjamin Manuel (Willemstad, Curacao) with a 27:19 finish. The final runner to score for NSU was Nicholas Hogan (Jr., Peoria, Ariz.), clocking in at 27:26 for 26th place. The men's squad finished behind champions Florida Southern and second-place Saint Leo.
"Our men competed but we didn't have a full team," admitted Hagopian. "We were missing key runners, which prevented us from defending our title. I'm still very proud of the guy's team. They had some challenges this season with injuries, but they've dealt with the pressure well. Overall, I was extremely proud of how they performed."
The Sharks will look to secure a spot at the NCAA National Championship with a strong showing at the 2013 South Region Championship on Nov. 9 in Tampa, Fla.
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