LAKELAND, Fla. – The 17
th-ranked Florida Southern College men's cross country team, fresh off its third-straight Sunshine State Conference Championship, hosts the 2025 NCAA South Region Championship Saturday morning at Holloway Park. The Moccasins are in search of their fourth NCAA South Region Championship in program history and first since 2014. The Moccasins enter the weekend as the No. 2 ranked team in the South Region according to the most recent USTFCCCA DII Men's Cross Country Regional Rankings.
The Moccasins, who picked up their third-straight Sunshine State Conference Championship two weeks ago, head into regionals feeling confident. The Mocs seek their second team trip to the NCAA Championship over the last three seasons.
Senior
Christian Giller will look to repeat his SSC Championship performance and once again lead the Mocs at the NCAA South Region Championship. The senior won his second-straight individual SSC Championship and will look to improve on his second-place NCAA South Region finish from last year and become the first Moccasin in program history to take home the regional individual crown. Senior
Chris Colavita and junior
Cole Summers were the second and third place finishers for the Moccasins at the 2025 SSC Championship as well as the 2024 NCAA South Region Championship. Colavita took 15
th overall last season while Summers earned 21
st. The pair, who went back-to-back at the SSC Championships two weeks ago, finished fifth and sixth, respectively at the 2025 SSC Championship.
Sophomore
Eli Zuppa will make his regionals debut after taking eighth overall at the SSC Championships while veteran senior
Anthony Matthew and sophomore
Andrew Nyland could battle for the fifth and final scoring spot. Matthew, who missed almost all of last season due to injury, placed third at the 2023 SSC Championship before taking 22
nd at the 2023 NCAA South Region Championship, helping the Mocs place second as a team. The senior also took 11
th overall at this season's SSC Championship. Nyland, who placed 15
th at the 2025 SSC Championship, will make his NCAA postseason debut.
The final two runners in contention for that final starting spot include juniors
William Canales and
Declan Ziomek who placed 21
st and 23
rd, respectively at the 2025 SSC Championship. Ziomek competed at both the NCAA South Region Championship and NCAA Championship in 2023 as he placed seventh on the team and 37
th overall at the 2023 regional before taking 227
th at the NCAA Championship.
The top three teams from each regional meet will automatically advance to the championship finals which will be held in Kenosha, Wis. on Nov. 22. Ten at-large teams from throughout the country will be selected by the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Committee based on a number of criteria found on NCAA.org. The top two individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will also automatically advance to the championship finals as well as all individuals who finish in the top five at a regional meet and are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championship finals. An additional eight at-large individual selections will be selected by the committee.
The Mocs took fourth overall at the 2024 NCAA South Region Championship, just missing out on a team trip to the NCAA Championship. Giller led the way with a second-place finish and advanced to the championship as an individual.
Lee enters as the favorite according to the most recent USTFCCCA DII Men's Cross Country Regional Rankings while Florida Southern (2
nd), UAH (3
rd), Embry-Riddle (4
th) and Mississippi College (5
th) round out the top five.
Tomorrow morning's race begins at 9:40 a.m. at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Fla.
