The 2010 cross country team fared well at the SSC Championships on Nov. 6. The women placed first, claming their fourth consecutive title, while the men finished in second. | Andy Meng/Sports Information
As teams bundled up and raced on a cold Saturday morning, the University of Tampa’s women’s cross country team won their fourth consecutive Sunshine State Conference title.
The Spartan men finished second to Florida Southern, who won its 14th straight title.
Leading the women in impressive fashion was junior Heather Nicolosi, who posted a first place finish along with the second fastest race time in UT women’s history at 20:39.98. The UT women’s 6k record is held by 2005 alumni Allison Macsas with a time of 20:35.
With Nicolosi leading the way, the Spartan women finished the race with four other girls claiming all-championship honors.
Lindsay Edwards (21:40) finished second, while teammate Chanelle Cox, (22:18.37) was fifth. Kaia Hampton (22:40) recorded a ninth-place finish, and Iolani Scanlan (22:43) was 10th.
Rounding out the top-three for the women’s race were Nova Southeastern and host Florida Tech.
As the women impressed, the Spartan men’s cross country team finished in second place in the SSC Championships to advance to the NCAA Division II South Regional.
Florida Southern won the race with 23 points as UT finished with 44 points and Nova Southeastern finished out the top-three with 87 points.
Finishing in the top-three in the Championships was Tampa’s Tony Nicolosi with a third place showing with a time of 24:52.
As Nicolosi shined for the Spartans, so did UT’s Charles Toledo and Kevin Lane, who finished in sixth and 10th place, respectively.
As the Spartan women and men finished in first and second respectively, both squads have advanced to the NCAA Division II South Regional, which will take place in Huntsville, Ala.
The women go into the South Regional looking to capture their fourth consecutive title.
The men finished the South Regional in fifth place in 2009.
With star runner Jess Butler suffering from a season long injury, the women have rallied and supported each other with open arms throughout the year.
Though the Spartans have competitive and talented teams each and every year when it comes to cross country, one runner believes the current women’s team differs from the past.
“I don’t believe we are as great as past seasons, but there is no doubt in our mind our team has the heart and talent to compete and hopefully pull off another South Regional win,” stated senior Heather Nicolosi.
The NCAA Division II South Regional in Huntsville, Ala. will take place on Nov. 20 at 8 a.m.
Michael Paonessa can be reached at mpaonessa@spartans.ut.edu.
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