FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The 2011 Sunshine State Conference Cross Country Championships, hosted by Nova Southeastern University, concluded this morning at Markham Park with the Sharks' women and men finishing second and third, respectively.

The women’s championship favorite, No. 11 Tampa, won its fifth straight SSC women's cross country championship in the 6k event with a finishing time of 1:53:46.28, while Saint Leo freshman Tereza Novotna was the top individual finisher. Finishing right on the Spartans heals were the Sharks who had a very strong morning, finishing second overall with a total team time of 2:00:21.50.

Claiming the No. 1 spot for NSU was Alexandria Palm (So., Winnebago, Ill.), who finished sixth overall out of 53 competitors with a crossing time of 23:03.09, only 13 seconds behind the fifth-place finisher from Tampa.

Rounding out the remaining four point qualifiers were: Taylor Stokes (So., Advance, N.C.), who finished 10th overall, crossing the line at 23:37.87, following Stokes was Courtney McAuliffe (Sr., Holiday, Fla.), who placed 13th overall with a finishing time of 23:59.10, Brittaney Smash (So., Arlington, Texas) captured 18th overall with a time of 24:30.40 and finishing out the point qualifiers was Peri Bowman (So., Virginia Beach, VA.), who crossed the line with a time of 25:11.04, putting her in 23rd place overall.

Also competing for the women in this morning’s championship were:  Jessica Osteen (Jr., North Las Vegas, Nev.), who placed 28th with a time of 25:43.53, Daniela Abrante (Fr., Miami, Fla.), finishing 31st with a crossing time of 26:36.02, Brandi Nichols (So., Inverness, Fla.), taking 35th place with an ending time of 27:06.61 and closing up the women’s solid performance was Brittany White (Rf., Bangor, Pa.), who came in at 28:56.73, placing 44th overall.

The top-10 finishers earn a spot on the All-Championship team. The top-10 included first place Novotna, Tampa's Jess Butler in second with a mark of 21:48.06. Florida Tech's Nicole Clarke placed third in a time of 21:56.60. UT rounded out the top-five with Heather Nicolosi (22:08.69) and Kaia Hampton (22:50.17) finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Rounding out the remainig ranks were NSU's Palm in sixth, Tampa's Lindsay Edwards (23:14.86) in seventh, Rollins' Lauryn Falcone (23:17.11) in eighth, Tech's Stephanie Fonseca (23:31.32) in ninth, and NSU's Stokes in 10th.

In the men’s 8K race, Tampa won its first ever Sunshine State Conference men's cross country championship and Florida Tech's Moses Kirui was the top individual finisher.

The Sharks locked down third place with a finishing team time of 2:15:03.29, acquiring 70 total points and beating out Florida Tech in a tie-breaker.

Heading up the charge for the men were Kevin Meagher (Jr., Mansfield, Mass.) and Omar Hernandez (So., Rio Pic, Ariz.), who both finished in the top five overall out of 52 runners.  Meagher finished strong in fourth-place overall with an ending time of 25:59.90, only two seconds behind the third place runner from Florida Southern. Hernandez also came in strong, finishing only one second after Meagher capturing fifth overall with a finishing time of 26:00.00.

Closing out the final point qualifiers for the men were: Timo Kilp (So., Kose, Estonia), who crossed the line at 27:07.47 claiming 13th place overall, Craig Sulken (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio), finished the race in 24th place with a time of 27:51.75 and just two spots behind Sulken was Chris Jacob (Sr., Naples, Fla.), who rounded out the points with his 26th place finish crossing at 28:04.17.

Also running for the men were: Nico Crecco (Jr., Mendon, N.Y.), who placed 29th with a time of 28:28.26, Ryan Jerothe (Fr., New Port Richey, Fla.) placing 41st with a crossing time of 30:14.68, Nicholas Hogan (Fr., Peoria, Ariz.), who finished 47th with a time of 31:14:38, Ivan Almanza (Jr., Hollywood, Fla.), who finished 54th with a time of 33:00.32, Corey De Leon (Fr., Northvale, N.J.), finishing five seconds behind Almanza in 56th with a time of 33:05.08,  Erick Campbell (So., Miami, Fla.), who finished 57th with a time of 33:31.10 and Gerardo Santana (So., Odessa, Fla.) finishing up the event for the Sharks with a finishing time of 35:20.87 claiming 61st place.

The top 10 runners including Meagher and Hernandez all earn a spot on the All-Championship Team.

The Sharks next event will be Saturday, November 5 in Tampa, Fla., for the NCAA South Regional Championship where they will look to earn their spot in the NCAA Division II National Championship.

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