FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Championships Top 25 Times
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (October 28, 2022) – For the sixth time in seven years, Pasco-Hernando State College proved to be the FCSAA's top women's cross country team. The Bobcats, behind a quartet of top ten finishes, won the Division II FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Women's Cross Country Championship on Friday morning at Apalachee Regional Park.
Meanwhile, Eastern Florida State College claimed the Division I NJCAA Region 8 team title thanks to four runners in the top seven and five of the top ten overall.
Division I
Eastern Florida State, a first-year program under the direction of head coach Doug Butler, finished with 27 points in the team scoring, just one point ahead of Seminole State College, who tallied 28.
Despite falling short in its quest for the team championship, Seminole State claimed top individual honors with Carly Holadia placing first with a time of 20:14.0. By virtue of winning the individual title, Holadia was named NJCAA Region 8 Women's Runner of the Year and headed the All-NJCAA Region 8 team, comprised of the top seven individual runners.
Rachel Starr (20:42.7) was Eastern Florida State's top runner in second place, followed by Allison Downie (21:05.8) in third and Julie Hannah (22:03.9) in fifth. Nicole Dombal (22:25.7) placed seventh.
Seminole State's Karis Guilbeau (21:38.1) placed fourth and Kate Ulmer (22:06.0) was sixth.
Division II
Pasco-Hernando State's strong finish inside the top ten resulted in 31 total points, well ahead of second-place Daytona State College (61 points) and third-place Florida Gateway College (73 points).
The Bobcats' Gabrielle Marshall (20:19.2) placed second in the individual standings while teammates Shelby Viseur (20:40.50) tied for fourth and Alexi Amer (20:48.8) finished sixth. All three made the All-FCSAA/All-NJCAA Region 8 team, comprised of the top seven individual finishers.
Sara Ashley (21:01.1) rounded out Pasco-Hernando State's top ten finishers, placing eighth and propelling the Bobcats to their second straight championship.
Florida State College at Jacksonville, South Florida State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Tallahassee Community College, first-time participant College of Central Florida and Pensacola State College finished fourth through ninth, respectively. Chipola College participated in the event but did not post a team score.
Individually, Daytona State's Shannon Jones ran a Championship 5K record time (19:25.7) to claim the individual title and FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Women's Runner of the Year honors.
Jones' time bested the 19:37.3 of teammate and two-time defending champion Harleigh Crist, set a year ago. Crist ran a 20:30.4 on Friday to finish third.
Jones, Crist and seventh-place finisher Giovana Meade (20:48.9) represented the Falcons on the All-FCSAA/All-NJCAA Region 8 team.
Florida Gateway's Kyla DesMartin, who matched Viseur's time of 20:40.5 to finish in a tie for fourth, rounded out the All-FCSAA/All-NJCAA Region 8 team.
By virtue of the team win, Pasco-Hernando State's Jacki Wachtel was named FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Coach of the Year for the sixth time.
In total, a record 78 runners lined up for Friday's race at the ARP, which was hosting its seventh consecutive FCSAA Championships.
The teams will now get ready for a return trip to the ARP for the 2022 NJCAA Division I/II Cross Country Championships on November 12. The NJCAA Half Marathon will also run in Tallahassee, along Miller Landing Road, on November 15.
