Freshman Record Falls in Men’s Track Outdoor Opener

TAMPA, Fla. – The Florida Southern men's track team opened the outdoor portion of its 2025 schedule Saturday night in Tampa at the Tampa Spartans Open. The Moccasins saw two top-10 all-time marks set in the 5,000m while freshman Eli Zuppa claimed a Freshman Record on the opening day of the season in the event while placing inside the top-five.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Location: Pepin Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• The final event of the night for the Mocs was the 5,000m where FSC sent four runners to the line. Graduate student Elijah De La Cerda led the group as he ran the sixth-fastest time in program history while claiming second overall at 14:31.15. Junior Chris Colavita came in right behind in third with the 10^th-fastest time in program history at 14:33.96. Zuppa rounded out the top three for the Mocs as he finished in fourth with a freshman record time of 14:34.58, breaking a five-year mark. Senior Aiden Redmond finished just outside the top-10 as he placed 11^th while crossing the line in 14:49.74.
• The opening event of the day was the 1,500m as junior Caleb Brady led six Moccasins in the event. Brady finished just inside the top-10 as he took ninth overall in 4:02.74. Freshman Daniel Welling finished two spots back in 11^th while finishing less than a second behind in 4:03.57. Junior Karl van Gelder claimed a top-15 finish in 14^th while clocking in exactly one second behind Welling at 4:04.57. Sophomore William Canales came in two spots back in 16^th at 4:06.84. The final two Moccasin finishers were sophomore Declan Ziomek (19^th, 4:08.62) and redshirt senior Joshua Kraver (24^th, 4:13.45).
• Junior Luke Reeves saw action in both the 200m and 400m. In the 200m, Reeves took 30^th while clocking in at 24.08. In the 400m, he took 11^th overall with a time of 53.69.
• Seven Moccasins competed in the 800m with sophomore Dylan Bailey leading the way in seventh. Bailey clocked in at 1:58.30. Freshman Andrew Nyland picked up a top-10 finish in 10^th with a time of 1:59.85. Just two spots back was Welling who took 12^th in 2:00.74. The final top-20 finisher was sophomore Cameron Raney who took 18^th in 2:02.44. The final three Moc finishers were sophomore Jaden Rapp (22^nd, 2:03.83), van Gelder (23^rd, 2:03.88) and sophomore Dillon Mantei (28^th, 2:06.03).
• Nine Mocs were in action in the 3,000m with Kraver claiming the top-finish for the Mocs in fifth at 8:44.97. Senior Seth Augustynowski earned a top-10 finish in 10^th at 8:46.79. Canales and Bailey went back-to-back in 12^th and 13^th, respectively. Canales stopped the clock at 8:50.02 while Bailey came in at 8:50.16. Freshman Tyler Gaines finished just outside the top-20 in 21^st while clocking in at 8:59.94. Rapp and Raney came in within two spots of one another with Rapp taking 26^th and Raney claiming 28^th. Rapp stopped the clock at 9:03.84 while Raney claimed a mark of 9:06.24. The final two Moccasin finishers were graduate student Luke Dickinson (38^th, 9:15.58) and Mantei (42^nd, 9:18.58).

 
 
UP NEXT:
The Moccasins will be back in action in two weeks as they return to Tampa for the Tampa Spartans Classic on Friday, March 7.