Falcons Finish Strong at Border Clash

The Men's Cross Country team finished fourth at the Border Clash, hosted by Valdosta State University Friday night.  The Falcons, led by sophomore Andy Martinez, finished 37 points ahead of the University of Tampa, and were just 30 points behind the runner-up team, Flagler College.  Martinez went out with the leaders and captured third place with a time of 23:39 for the 7.25 kilometer distance (roughly 4.5 miles).  Martinez led a strong freshmen contingent of Christian Ruocco (8th place, 23:58), Sebastian Hernandez (13th, 24:17), and Mitchell Curtis (37th, 25:14).  "This was a great start for these three guys.  None of them have raced over the traditional high school cross country distance of 5k, and it's just a different challenge to be out there for another 1.5 miles", commented Coach Judy Wilson.  The fifth man for DSC was freshman Christian Pastrana, running his first collegiate race.  "Christian did a nice job of running even splits after a fast first mile.  He is relatively new to distance running and he will only continue to develop", Wilson said.  Finishing up the line up for the Falcons was sophomore Tyler Baker and freshman Darnell Rooplal.