VALDOSTA, Ga. – Guided by a one-two finish from
Mason Jones and
Joshua Wagner, the Florida Southern College men's cross country team cruised to victory in the 2021 season-opener at Valdosta State's Border Clash on Friday evening.
The race, which measured 7.25 kilometers in total, was won by a wide margin. The Moccasins accumulated just 21 points, as all five counting runners finished inside the top 10. FSC beat out second-place Flagler College by 49 points, as the Saints put two inside the top 10 and amassed 70 points in all.
Stealing the show was Jones, the reigning Sunshine State Conference (SSC) spring champion, who took the individual title out of a field of 122 runners with a Freedom Park course record of 23:05.6. The senior from Titusville, Florida, edged his teammate and runner-up, Wagner (23:25.8), by 20.2 seconds.
Mitchell Kozik (23:47.8) and
Brady Zimmerman (23:53.8) both placed inside the top 5 by crossing the line in fourth and fifth, respectively. Southern's fifth counting runner,
Alex Guy, was ninth with a time of 23:58.9.
In Their Own Words...
Head Coach
Matt Levassiur on starting the season with a big win at Valdosta...
"Course record, team dub, it doesn't get much better. The boys wore through some shoes and sweated enough this summer summer to fill up a few swimming pools. They're itching to mix it up with some of the best D-I competition at FSU in two weeks."
Florida Southern Individual Results
1.
Mason Jones – 23:05.6
2.
Joshua Wagner – 23:25.8
4.
Mitchell Kozik – 23:47.8
5.
Brady Zimmerman 23:53.8
9.
Alex Guy – 23:58.9
12.
Bryson Yamnitz – 24:16.3
14.
Noah Ellenback – 24:18.7
20.
Adam Berriz – 24:36.8
35.
Seth Augustynowski – 25:11.4
43.
Caden Kwiatkowski – 25:25.2
48.
Aiden Champagne – 25:35.7
49.
David Pautienus – 25:36.4
62.
Luke Dickinson – 26:28.2
94.
Jaylen Caneus – 27:32.8
Team Results
1. Florida Southern – 21
2. Flagler – 70
3. Valdosta State – 83
4. Daytona State – 100
5. Tampa – 137
6. West Alabama – 180
7. Lake Sumter State – 207
8. Tallahassee C.C. – 238
9. Central Georgia Tech – 273
10. Georgia College – 283
11. Seminole State – 299
12. Thomas (Ga.) – 334
13. Georgia Southwestern – 387
Up Next
The Florida Southern men's cross country team will look to build off of Friday's victory on Friday, September 17, when the Mocs compete in the Florida State University XC Open.
