The Daytona State women's cross country team rose to the occasion Friday in Huntsville, Alabama at the John Hunt Cross Country course, site of the 2023 NJCAA National Championships.  The team finished 22nd out of 36 teams, with 19 of those teams being NCAA Division I and II.  The Falcons finished just ahead of Central Arizona, an NJCAA Division I team ranked 15th in their preseason poll, and five other junior college teams.  The Falcons were led by sophomore Giovana Meade, an Oviedo High School graduate, who spent her senior year of high school running the 400 meters.  In only her second season of cross country, Meade ran 18:28 on the John Hunt course and set a new school record.  Meade was followed by two time All American Shannon Jones who again broke the 19 minute mark for the second time this season.  Jones returned to college after an 18 year gap to complete a bachelor's degree at Daytona State and run for the Falcons.  Sophomore Lauren Schaudel was DSC's third runner and has had a rejuvenated love for running after struggling with injuries during her freshman season.  "I'm really happy to see Lauren happy with her running.  She is a talented athlete and when you are sidelined, it can be tough to work through," Coach Judy Wilson said.  Within 30 seconds of Schaudel were fourth and fifth Falcon runners, Brooke Gerrits and Molly Burt.  "We had runners take of 30 to 90 seconds off their times from our first meet, and we are still working on race strategies. It's an exciting group to work with and I think they are seeing what the group can do by season's end." Other Falcons running personal bests were Alexis Mills, Kaitlyn Harding, and Francesca Azzollini.     

Check out the results at: https://live.xpresstiming.com/meets/26976   Up next for the Falcons is the Florida State Invitational on September 29^th in Tallahassee.