Daytona Beach, Fla. (Sep. 6, 2019) – The Daytona State College men's and women's cross-country teams head north tonight for the Border Clash, hosted by the Valdosta State University cross country program.  The men will line up on the start line at 6:20pm for the unique distance of 7.25 kilometers, which is roughly 4.5 miles.  Lead by returning runners Andrew Guillory, Jesse Barral, and David Phillips the Falcons look to start the 2019 season strong with the addition of a talented freshman class.  Coach Judy Wilson, in her second season with the Falcons and 23rd in her career, is excited to get the season off to a good start.  " This team has a lot of promise and we are going to take it one meet at a time.  We were fortunate not to have too many injuries last year and that resulted in a Region 8 championship.  We're going to pace ourselves all the way through the season."  Wilson said.

The women will be running the traditional distance of 5 kilometers, or 3.1 miles.  Start time is 7 pm and the Falcon women will use this race opportunity to blend their returning runners of Kristine Gray, Kylie Dedeo, Moriya Patsch, and Jenny Enslin with new runners Hannah Offenback, Ashley Gonzalez, and Sara Mott, and Shannen Brooks.   "This is a great opportunity for the women to go out and see where they are at this time of year.  When the temperature is in the 90's, times might not be where you want them, but cross country is all about where you place in the race."  Wilson said. 

In both races, the field of teams competing is a mix of NCAA Division II, NAIA, and NJCAA teams from Florida and Georgia.  Aside from the usual team scores, the top five runners from Georgia and the top five runners from Florida are scored to see who will win the Battle for the Border.