VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. – (November, 8th 2019) – The Florida National University Men’s and Women’s Cross Country athletes competed at the USCAA Fall National Championship at the Military Aviation Museum late Friday morning. The men competed in their usual race length of 8 kilometers, while the women moved up to 6 kilometers for the championship compared to the regular season 5k race length.
Complete Results for the USCAA National Cross Country Championship can be found in the following links:
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- It was a cold and windy morning, with wind gusts up to 30 mph. However, the Conquistador spirit helped our athletes achieve a near perfect day of performances.
- The women’s 6k race kicked off at 10:00 am and FNU’s top female finisher was freshman Heather Castro. Heather finished in 27th place as she ran a new personal record and school record with her official time of 26:31.66.
- Following her in 44th place was freshman Hassell Zeledon who also ran a personal record time of 28:29.39.
- FNU’s final two female finishers, freshmen Sara Galindo and Mery Yanez, finished in 56th and 90th places while running times of 29:44.68 (personal record) and 38:40.78 respectively.
- These two women showed tremendous spirit over the course of the week as both are also members of FNU’s Women’s Soccer team.
- Sara and Mery competed in soccer games both the day before and after their cross country competition and they helped the FNU soccer team earn a USCAA National Runner-up.
- On the Men’s side, the 8k competition started at 11:00 am in the same cold and windy conditions.
- FNU’s top finisher was freshman Patrick Kemboi who finished in 33rd place as he ran a personal record and school record with his official time of 28:48.89.
- Patrick was followed by freshman Cameron Spielman who finished in 75th place, and also ran a personal record with an official time of 32:10.35.
Overall it was record setting day for the Conquistador athletes, and a great finish to the first cross country season for FNU. For more information, or to view the full cross country schedule, please visit FNU Website.
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Ruy Castelo Branco – FNU – Sports Information Director
About FNU: Florida National University opened its first class on January 4th, 1988, in the city of Hialeah, Florida, as Florida International Institute under the administration of Dr. José Regueiro, Dr. María C. Regueiro and Mr. Omar Sánchez. FNU Athletic Department has more than 250 student-athletes in 11 different sports. Established in 2013, FNU Athletics is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).
The mission of the Florida National University Athletic Department is to provide assistance within an athletic structure that promotes the development of a well rounded education through structured sport and competition, to develop life skills of discipline, integrity, leadership, philanthropy and social responsibility, to elevate ethnic and cultural diversity within the athletic programs, to assure equitable opportunity for all staff and student-athletes, and to make the athletic program a durable source of pride for the student population, student-athletes, alumni, university, and community of FNU.
