Mocs Capture Victory in Dominant Fashion at Falcon Classic

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Florida Southern College women's cross country team had nearly a perfect performance Friday night at the Falcon Classic in Montevallo, Ala., site of the 2023 NCAA South Region Championships, as the Moccasins picked up their first victory as a team since 2018. The Moccasins top five runners all finished within the top-six with junior Emma Mussante leading the way, earning her first career individual victory.
 
It was a night to remember for the Moccasins as they took home the team championship, the first team victory since the opening meet of the 2018 season. In 2018, the Mocs finished first among just three teams, but Friday night FSC took down 16 teams including South Region foes UAH, Montevallo, Valdosta State, West Georgia, Delta State, Shorter, Tuskegee, West Alabama and Miles. The win also marked just the 13^th team victory in program history dating back to 1980. Mussante also became just the 12^th individual in program history to earn an individual victory and first since 2013.  
 
FSC finished with 18 total points, just three shy of the perfect score of 15. Mussante paced the field as she won the 5K event in 18:04.63, which ranks as the seventh fastest time in program history. Mussante also became the second fastest individual in program history as Jael Koech (2003-06) holds the top-six 5K times.
 
Redshirt junior Ellie Fluman finished just behind Mussante to take second overall after completing the distance in 18:14.63, which ranks as the 10^th fastest time in program history. Fluman also became the fourth fastest individual in program history ranking behind Koech, Mussante and Rachel Anderson (2003-06).
 
The lone non-FSC runner in the top-six came in third and that was Amelia Brady from UAH. The next three spots were occupied by the Mocs as graduate transfer Cheyenne Young took fourth, followed by freshman Grace Reed in fifth and junior Mya Stam in sixth. Young traversed the course in 18:34.10 while Reed clocked in at 18:51.57. Stam rounded out the FSC scorers in 18:53.53.
 
Freshman Emma Pfeiffer just missed out on the scoring five as she captured a top-15 finish after crossing the line in 14^th with a time of 19:20.33. Fellow freshman Ashley Girouard came in two spots back in 16^th after clocking in at 19:23.97. Junior Karah McElhone finished just inside the top-20 as she took 19^th with a mark of 19:33.51. The final Moccasin on the course was freshman Emma Nales-Torchio who placed 24^th after completing the distance in 19:50.77.
 
Florida Southern took home the team title with 18 points followed by UAH in second with 51 points while the hosts Montevallo took third with 100 points. The field featured 17 teams and 133 runners all from throughout the southeast.
 
The Moccasins will next be in action Friday, Sept. 29 as they travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to compete in the FSU Invite.