LAKELAND, Fla. – With a top 25 finish, men's cross-country senior Brishen House earned All-South Region honors as he finished 20th at the NCAA Division II Regional Cross Country Championships in Lakeland, Fla., Saturday morning. The Blazer men's team finished ninth overall, while the women's team was 17th.
Brishen, a Valdosta, Ga., native, was the top Blazer finisher in the men's 10k race with a personal-record time of 31:46.4 to earn Guardian Bank Blazer Runner of the Race. His top 25 finish earned him all-region accolades, marking the first all-region honoree for the Blazer men's cross country team since Nicolas Schofer in 2014.
Following House was senior Logan Kraus, who finished 37th with a personal-record time of 32:35.2, while juniors Charlie Eaton and Adam Mastrobuono finished back-to-back with best times of 34:07.8 and 34:12.2, respectfully, for 75th and 76thoverall. Junior Dalton Pender finished 91st overall and was the fifth Blazer runner to break his PR with an overall time of 24:45.8. Junior Braedon Bensley and Alec Munger rounded out the Blazer runners in 102ndand 116th, respectively, with times of 35:23.4 and 37:07.6.
Overall, Gulf South Conference-member Lee took home first for the men with a total team time of 2:34:46 and 41 points. Mississippi College finished second (68), followed by Embry-Riddle (85), Alabama Huntsville (97) and Saint Leo (165) rounded out the top-five teams. Host Florida Southern was sixth (171) and Tampa (206) finished seventh, while Montevallo (258) finished eighth overall, just ahead of Valdosta State in ninth overall with a team time of 2:46:27 and 288 points. VSU's average time of 33:29 bested last year's average of 34:34.
Morehouse (321) followed VSU to round out the top 10 team finishers, while Auburn Montgomery (340), Christian Brothers (359), Palm Beach Atlantic (372), Nova Southeastern (388) and West Florida (396) completed the top 15. Lynn (410), Union (421) and Spring Hill (565) rounded out the table.
On the women's side, sophomore Caitlyn Koske finished as the top Blazer runner finishing 64th overall in the 6K race to earn Guardian Bank Runner of the Race with a total time of 23:40.8. Sophomore Kyleigh Rice followed Koske in 87th place with a time of 24:47.7, while sophomore Katie LaCroix finished eight seconds later in 90th with a time of 24:55.1. Sophomore Jaycie Anderson and freshman Emily Phillips rounded out the Blazer finishers with times of 26:17.5 and 27:45. 1, respectfully, good for 108th and 155th overall.
Lee (48) took first overall for the women's side with a total time of 1:49:31 and 48 points. Palm Beach Atlantic (84) was second, followed by Tampa (89), Saint Leo (140) and Mississippi College (145) rounded out the top five. Alabama Huntsville (147) took home sixth overall, while Nova Southeastern (152), Embry-Riddle (230), Florida Southern (241) and West Florida (325) rounded out the top 10. Benedict (337) was 11th, followed by Christian Brothers (346), Union (354), Montevallo (385) and Lynn (385) finished 15th. Auburn Montgomery (401) finished ahead of the Blazers for 16th, as VSU finished with a team of 2:07.26 and 460 points. Spring Hill (535) rounded out the table 18th overall.
