FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern's
Alexandria Palm (Sr., Winnebago, Ill.) has been named the 2013 Sunshine State Conference Runner of the Year for women's cross country. Teammates
Peri Bowman (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) and
Long Tran (Sr., Saigon, Vietnam) joined her on the All-SSC teams.
"I'm really excited to hear she has been announced as Runner of the Year," said head coach Bryan Hagopian. "She is an individual that puts lot of emphasis on herself and her teammates to work as hard as they can. This achievement not only rewards her for her hard work, but also sets the bar for our program for years to come."
Palm captured the SSC individual women's cross country title for the second consecutive year. This year, she finished the 6K race in a time of 21:50.Throughout the season, Palm had three top-10 finishes, including a sixth-place showing at the Florida Mountain Dew Invitational on Sept. 14, and a seventh-place finish at the Florida State Invitational on Oct. 11. She has also had to balance athletics with the grueling demands of her nursing program.
Palm adds this honor to her many accomplishments at NSU. She is the first women's cross country runner to be named SSC Runner of the Year and the first NSU cross country athlete to receive the award since Eskender Abdalla in 2007. Palm is currently on track to graduate with school records in both the 5K and 6K events.
Bowman continues her run of athletic excellence with her all-conference selection. A two-sport athlete, Bowman adds this honor to a mantle that includes the 2013 Peach Belt Women's Track and Field Runner of the Year. Bowman ran the best race of her career at the conference championship and clocked in at a career-best 22:12, the fourth best 6K time in program history. She finished fourth overall. Bowman will enter the track and field season in hopes of becoming the sixth athlete in program history to win back-to-back conference MVP awards.
Tran emerged this season as the men's cross country team's lead runner after helping his team win conference and regionals last season. At this seasons' conference meet, Tran was one of two Sharks to place in the top 10. He finished seventh overall with a time of 26:17. This is the first All-SSC honor of his career.
Both teams will look to book their trip to the NCAA National Championship with a strong showing at the South Region Championship in Tampa, Fla. on Nov. 9.
