Men's cross country team has solid day at national championships

The Eastern Florida State College men's cross country team finished 22nd overall in the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Richmond, Virginia.

The Titans were led by Region 8 champion Morgan Vici, who finished the 8K race in 26 minutes and 33.9 seconds which is 27 seconds faster than he ran in the Region 8 Championships. Teammate Ivan Floresta crossed the finish line in 26:42.3 which was almost a minute better than at regionals with Miguel Perez-Santiz finishing in 27:10.7 and Nick Hernandez finished in 27:18.4. Olmar Bartolon was four seconds behind Hernandez, finishing in 27:22.6 while Joey Coyle crossed in 27:33.5 and Wyatt Pittman finished in 28:41.1.

"Our guys ran great and had our best average of 27:02. Our goal was a sub 27 average so we came up just a little short," Eastern Florida State College men's cross country coach Doug Butler said. "The men's course was about 20 seconds long so Morgan's time would have been close to sub 26 which is huge for a freshman. Ivan, Nick, Miguel and Olmar all came through and Miguel didn't know he was racing until this morning, so hats off to him for a PR day."

Salt Lake Community College won the national title with Iowa Western CC second and Hutchinson CC third.

The team will compete in the NJCAA Division I Half Marathon Championships in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday.