The men’s and women’s cross country teams will take on teams from across the state of Florida on Friday in the 2022 FCSAA Region 8 Championships. The meet will be held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, the site of the NJCAA nationals to be held in two weeks on November 12th.

The men will run first at 8:30am and are the favorite of the field, with a national ranking of 4th in NJCAA Division II cross country. The Falcon squad is led by a trio of sophomores in their top five, Sebastian Hernandez, Christian Ruocco, and Mitchell Curtis. Their experience, along with a talented group of freshmen in Jared Falchook, Jayven Garcia, and Julian Pomales has made for a strong 2022 squad. Coach Judy Wilson, now in her fifth year with the Falcons, commented on the team’s depth, “Right on the heels of our front group are three more sophomores: Jonathan Reyes, who has made a big improvement from last year, Richard Lebron who is always a late season big racer, and Christian Pastrana who has already made a 40 second improvement over his prior personal best. Ivan Marin-Padilla, Brendan Hamilton, Aaron Mercado, and Jacob Bormet, our other four freshmen, have all run under 30:00 for the 8000 meter (4.97 mile) race distance.” This is the fastest and deepest group of runners Daytona State has had in program history.

The women’s race follows the men at 9:30 am and will be a tight competition for the Falcons who are nationally ranked 7th, right behind the 2021 champs Pasco Hernando State College. The Falcons won the 2020 Region 8 meet by 2 points, and hope to recapture the title. With newcomer Shannon Jones, the favorite in the field, combined with sophomore Harleigh Crist, two time Region 8 winner, the Falcons could have a nice group at the top of the field. “We are just going to go out and run the best race we can and hope the chips fall the right way for us. Winning a title takes a little bit of luck sometimes,” commented Coach Judy Wilson. A nice surprise this year has been first year runner Giovana Meade, who ran only the 400 meters in her senior year track season. Meade has already broken the 20 minute barrier for 5000 meters, and Wilson sees a bright future for her. Sophomore Kennedy Arterburn, who has the most experience on the Tallahassee course with two high school state team titles, will be looked upon to help freshmen Jonna-Maria Kirk, Alexis Mills, and Sofia Azzollini to pack up and go after spots in the top 15. The women’s race features 10 schools from around the state.