Florida Southern Women Capture Fourth Team Victory Under Head Coach Stephanie Bylander

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's cross country team earned its fourth team victory since 2018 when current head coach Stephanie Bylander took over the program. The Moccasins topped the field at the HOKA Nights of Thunder Cross Country Fest in Tallahassee, Fla. Friday night. FSC finished ahead of 13 teams including NCAA Division I programs Georgia Southern, who took second, and Florida A&M, which placed fourth. Fellow Sunshine State Conference member the University of Tampa took third.
 
Two additional SSC programs competed in the event including Saint Leo University which took fifth and Eckerd College which placed ninth.
 
Junior Grace Reed led the way for the Moccasins as she placed third overall in the 5K event. Reed was the top NCAA Division II finisher at the event as she completed the distance in 19:00.36. Just six seconds later, senior Rachel Hockenberry crossed the finish in fourth with a time of 19:06.57. Freshman Reagan Chambless continued her strong debut season with a fifth-place finish while clocking in at 19:16.09. Sophomore Alena Pezzoli and junior Emma Pfeiffer rounded out the scoring five for the Mocs as they both finished inside the top-10. Pezzoli took eighth overall after completing the course in 19:32.42 while Pfeiffer came across a second later at 19:33.62 in 10^th.
 
Sophomore Nika Gividen just missed out on being part of the scoring five and a top-10 finish as she placed 11^th with a time of 19:37.11. Senior Caitlin Beery was the final top-20 finisher for the Mocs as she took 17^th in the race after crossing the finish in 19:42.03.
 
The next three Moccasins finished back-to-back-to-back as freshmen Kira Simard, Jane Haight and Sindy Moncada took 26^th through 28^th. Simard crossed the line in 20:13.58 followed by Haight in 20:17.71 and finally Moncada at 20:27.01.
 
FSC had six additional competitors in the race who finished between 34^th and 59^th at the event.
 
The Moccasins will now have two weeks to prepare for the Lucian Rosa Invite in Kenosha, Wis., the site of the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championship. The event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27 at 9:30 AM.
 
FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE FINISHERS

3rd	Grace Reed	19:00.36
4th	Rachel Hockenberry	19:06.57
5th	Reagan Chambless	19:16.09
8th	Alena Pezzoli	19:32.42
10th	Emma Pfeiffer	19:33.62
11th	Nika Gividen	19:37.11
17th	Caitlin Beery	19:42.03
26th	Kira Simard	20:13.58
27th	Jane Haight	20:17.71
28th	Sindy Moncada	20:27.01
34th	Hope Schoenwetter	20:52.16
40th	Addison Sharp	21:24.62
42nd	Kira Casane	21:28.00
43rd	Ashley Girouard	21:31.65
44th	Mia Bartram	21:38.64
59th	Mackenzie Toms	22:39.06