Region 8 fares well at XC Championships

Pasco-Hernando State College's women's team finished eighth at the NJCAA Cross Country Championships (photo courtesy of Steve Winterling)
Pasco-Hernando State College's women's team finished eighth at the NJCAA Cross Country Championships (photo courtesy of Steve Winterling)
Posted: Nov 15, 2021

Official Results: Men | Women

RICHMOND, Va. (November 15, 2021) – Region 8 had, arguably, its best showing ever at the NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Saturday. 

Men's Recap

Four of the region's five men's teams participated, led by Daytona State College, who finished as National Runners-up. The Falcons' 102 points was comfortably ahead of third-place Heartland Community College. 

Daytona State's finish was bolstered by three runners who placed in the top 12 – Andy Martinez, who finished fifth with an 8K time of 25:29.6; Sebastian Hernandez in seventh with a time of 25:38.2; and Christian Ruocco, who placed twelfth with a time of 25:55.4. 

Those three runners, along with Tallahassee Community College's Leo Rutledge, who finished ninth (25:48.3), earned NJCAA All-America honors, which goes to the top 15 individual finishers overall. 

In the team standings, Daytona State was followed by Lake-Sumter State College in ninth, Florida State College at Jacksonville in 17th and Tallahassee in 18th. 

Women's Recap

On the women's side, Pasco-Hernando State College led six Region 8 teams with an eighth-place finish (301 points). 

Daytona State and Florida Gateway College were next in line behind the Bobcats, finishing 10th and 11th, respectively. 

South Florida State College placed 14th and Lake-Sumter State, 20th, to give Region 8 five of the nation's top 20 teams. 

Florida State College at Jacksonville finished 24th. 

Daytona State's Harleigh Crist was the region's top finisher in 17th with a time of 19:47.4. Lake-Sumter State's Kyja Williams was next in 22nd with a time of 20:00.0. 

Pensacola State College and Tallahassee Community College did not have a team score but did participate in the women's 5K. 

Pensacola State's Maria Tibbetts placed 108th (22:13.1), two spots ahead of Tallahassee's Arielle Valdes, who was less than a second behind with a time of 22:13.7.

Many of the Region 8 participants will remain in Richmond for Tuesday's NJCAA Half Marathon.

The 2022 NJCAA Division I/II Cross Country Championships will take place in Tallahassee, Fla., at Apalachee Regional Park.