Tampa Men's Cross Country Second at SSC Championships
LAKELAND, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's cross country team raced to a second-place finish behind team champion Florida Southern College at the 2024 Sunshine State Conference Men's Cross Country Championships. The 2024 championships were hosted by Nova Southeastern University at Holloway Park in Lakeland on Friday.
Florida Southern finished with 27 team points to capture the program's 19th SSC championship and second title in a row. The Mocs finished first and second, put three runners in the Top 5, four runners in the Top 10, and had their fifth runner finish 11th. Tampa finished second with 60 points, putting three runners in the Top 10. Embry-Riddle finished third with 73 points, with three runners in the Top 15.
FSC's Christian Giller earned the title of SSC Cross Country Individual Champion after completing the 8,000-meter race in 24:44.1. Giller finished 18 seconds ahead of his teammate, Christopher Colavita, to snag FSC's 16th individual title. PBA's Pierre Mercier finished third with a time of 25:06.1. UT's George Alexander finished fourth, completing the course in 25:20.2. He finished just over two seconds ahead of FSC's Cole Summers, who rounded out the Top 5 with a time of 25:22.8.
Top Tampa Runners
- George Alexander (4th place overall) – 25:20.2
- Aaron Engelhardt (7th place overall) – 25:28.1
- Ace Estevez (10th place overall) – 25:33.5
- Philip Coleman (17th place overall) – 25:51.9
- Gabe McConville (22nd place overall) – 26:07.3
Men's Team Scores
- Florida Southern - 27
- Tampa - 60
- Embry-Riddle - 73
- Palm Beach Atlantic - 108
- Florida Tech - 137
- Nova Southeastern - 180
- Lynn - 181
- Barry - 224
- Saint Leo - 285
SSC Men's Cross Country Championship Individual Champion
Christian Giller, Florida Southern
SSC Men's Cross Country Championship Top Freshman
Benjamin Peck, Florida Tech (9th Place)
SSC Men's Cross Country Championship Team
1. Christian Giller, FSC
2. Christopher Colavita, FSC
3. Pierre Mercier, PBA
4. George Alexander, UT
5. Cole Summers, FSC
6. Nick Scarangelli, ERAU
7. Aaron Engelhardt, UT
8. Elijah De La Cerda, FSC
9. Benjamin Peck, FT
10. Ace Estevez, UT