Falcons Head to NJCAA Nationals

The Daytona State Men's and Women's Cross Country teams will compete in the NJCAA National Cross Country Championships this Saturday, Nov 9th, at the University of New Mexico North Golf Course in Albuquerque.  Over 50 teams nationwide will be competing for top spots in the NJCAA Division I championship. The men's 8000 meter race starts at 11am (MST) followed by the women's 5000 meter race at 12pm.  The men's team will be led by sophomore Jesse Barral (Apopka HS) who was the top runner for the Falcons at the Region 8 meet two weeks ago in Tallahassee.  "Jesse has really started running well this past month.  He is much more confident in his abilities and his challenge is to finish as high as possible to attract attention from coaches of schools that he could move on to." commented Coach Judy Wilson.  The rest of the men's six man squad is loaded with local runners.  Mainland High School alums Tyler Gilber and Andrew Guillory, DeLand's AJ Williams, Port Orange Atlantic's Tyler Baker all hail from Volusia County and live within 30 minutes of the school.  Rounding out the squad is Adam Mastrobuono (Hagerty HS) who Wilson describes as the most inspiring guy on the men's squad.  "We offered Adam our last roster spot last May, and he has worked tirelessly to be in a position to make this trip." Wilson commented.  

On the women's side, freshman Hannah Offenback will once again be looked at to lead the Falcons through the 5000 meter course.  Offenback placed 4th at the Region 8 meet in Tallahassee two weeks ago and was followed closely by sophomore Kris Gray and freshman Trina Spinelli.  "The past two weeks since the Region 8 meet have been really good weeks of training.  We have a little bit of a gap between our top three and our 4th and 5th runners, but everyone is healthy and you never know who might step up. " Wilson said.  Freshman Sara Mott, sophomore Moriya Patsch and sophomore Jenny Enslin round out the squad that, aside from a generation gap, have great chemistry.  Patsch has overcome many obstacles this season as most of her workouts were confined to a treadmill or rowing machine.  "It's amazing that we have gotten Moriya to this meet considering the challenges that she has had with training." commented Wilson.   "This will be the last 5k cross country meet for Kris and Jenny as Falcons who, as many people know, took on a unique challenge to run for Daytona State College at a non-traditional age.  Their character, drive, and tenacity are truly unique."  Wilson said.  "I'm excited to see what both teams will do.  It's a great environment to run a personal best!"

Click on the link below and create an account to follow the team in live results:

https://racejackrabbit.com/

502  Jenny Enslin

503 Kristine Gray

504  Sara Mott

505  Hannah Offenback

506  Moriya Patsch

507  Trina Spinelli

508  Tyler Baker

509  Jesse Barral

510 Tyler Gilbert

511 Andrew Guillory

513 Adam Mastrobuono

514  AJ Williams