LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College men's cross country team captured its 19
th Sunshine State Conference Championship Friday morning at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Fla. The championship marked the second for head coach
Matt Levassiur and second-straight for the Mocs. Juniors
Christian Giller and
Chris Colavita finished one-two in the overall standings with Giller winning his first career Conference Championship after being named the SSC Runner of the Year just one day ago.
The Moccasins have not gone back-to-back since the 2009 and 2010 seasons which were the 13
th and 14
th-straight SSC Championship for the Mocs who dominated the early 2000s, winning the first 11 championships of the millennium.
The Mocs entered the event as favorites and did not disappoint. Giller won the race by nearly 20 seconds as he crossed the finish in 24:44.1. Giller became the 12
th individual in FSC history to capture an SSC men's cross country individual championship while capturing the 16
th individual title for the program. Giller has a chance to be the fifth Moccasin in program history to repeat as champion as he returns in 2025.
Colavita completed the 8K course in 25:02.9 to take second overall and earn both All-Championship Team status as well as First Team All-SSC honors. Giller also took home both All-Championship and First Team All-SSC honors as well. The final member of the FSC squad to earn both All-Championship and First Team All-SSC honors was sophomore
Cole Summers who finished just three spots behind Colavita in fifth. This was Summers first time this season finishing in FSC's top-three as he stopped the clock at 25:22.8.
Graduate student
Elijah De La Cerda was the final Moc on the All-Championship Team as the top-10 individual finishers earn All-Championship Team honors. De La Cerda took eighth overall which also earned him a spot on the All-SSC Second Team. The graduate crossed the finish in 25:29.0. The final scorer for the Mocs was redshirt senior
Joshua Kraver, who only made one appearance in the Mocs scoring five prior to today's championship. The Merritt Island, Fla. native just missed out on All-Championship Team honors with an 11
th-place showing but earned Second Team All-SSC honors in the process. He finished the course in 25:36.6.
Junior
Caleb Brady was the sixth-place finisher for the Mocs as he took 14
th overall which is good for Second Team All-SSC honors. The Orlando, Fla. native had not missed out on a scoring five position this season. Brady battled down the final stretch out-kicking Andrew Stowe from Embry-Riddle who took 11
th.
The next two Moccasin finishers went 19
th and 20
th, respectively. Senior
Aiden Redmond finished just under three seconds ahead of his teammate sophomore
Dylan Bailey. Redmond stopped the clock at 25:56.7 while Bailey came across in 25:59.6.
FSC had an additional 11 competitors in the race who placed between 22
nd and 78
th.
The Moccasins captured the team title with 27 total points, one point better than last season's championship team. Tampa took second with 60 points followed by Embry-Riddle who came in with 73 points.
Florida Southern will now turn its focus to the 2024 NCAA South Region Championship which will take place in Huntsville, Ala. on Saturday, Nov. 9.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE FINISHERS
