Falcons Finish Runner-Up in FCSAA Region 8 Championships

Daytona State's women's cross country team came within 20 points of taking home the top spot at the 2024 Region 8 Championship on Friday in Tallahassee.  The Falcons finished second out of ten teams by having a strong pack of five runners finishing eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and sixteenth, only 32 seconds apart from their first to fifth runners.  Led by freshman Tiffany Cox, the Falcons next three runners would come in within 8 seconds of each other.  Fran Azzollini has consistently improved this season, after coming off of a six month injury.  Cheyenne Hulsey has been the consistent Falcon, running in the top group all season.  They were joined by Maya Horel who just recently worked her way up to the top group.  "This team has really improved. It's been a great group to coach. Our team average at the beginning of the season was 23:30 for a 5k and we have improved that to 21:37 with this race.  That's a remarkable achievement in 12 weeks," commented Coach Judy Wilson.  Rounding out the Falcon top five was sophomore Kaitlyn Harding who has stepped up from her freshman year to make this year's national top seven.  Brianna Crawford and Sofia Azzollini worked their way to personal record performances in the Region meet and Wilson credited their tenacity.  "Bri was struggling with some low iron issues which is like running with a 50 pound weight on your back, and Sofia missed almost a year of running due to an ankle injury. I'm really happy for them both."commented Wilson.  

Next up for the Falcons is the NJCAA Division II National Championship in Richmond,VA on November 9th.