Daytona State Women's Cross Country Season Preview

Starting their 6th season, Daytona State Cross Country runners are gearing up for the 2023 campaign. The 2023 season begins with Run the Beach Relay on August 24 in Daytona Beach where runners are paired up with a partner from thier squad and compete against other teams form Region 8 in a 1 mile relay race. Starting off in September, the Falcons will go north to UNF on September 1st for a 4K for the women and a 6K for the men. Other meets include a trip to Huntsville, Alabama to preview the national meet course, a trip to FSU to preview the regional meet course. The Falcons will be finishing up in October and November with a trip to Holloway Park in Lakeland, Florida, then back to FSU for the Region 8 Championships, set for Tuesday, October 24. The grand finale of the season is the NJCAA Div. 2 Championships which will take place November 11 in Huntsville, Alabama followed by NJCAA Half Marathon Championships taking place on November 14. 

On the women's side, Daytona State has a strong core of returning runners led by Shannon Jones, Daytona State's All-American in Women's Cross Country. She is joined by Giovana Meade, who is coming into the season with a strong track season from the spring and a good summer base. Coach Judy Wilson anticipates that this duo will have a strong chance to claim All-American status this year. Other sophomores include, Sofia Azzollini, Jonna Kirk, Lauren Schaudel, and Alexis Mills add depth to the Falcon women that the program had been missing in recent years. And as is typical in the Falcon program, there is always an athlete who joins the program from another sport. This year, Fran Azzollini joins the Falcon Cross Country program after 2 years in the soccer program at St. Leo University. 

As for the newcomers, the Falcons gained valuable talent in Brooke Gerrits, Trinity Trett, Molly Burt, Ali Boyle, Cheyenne Hulsey, and Kaitlyn Harding. This group is the fastest freshmen squad to come to Daytona State yet. Coach Wilson sees the combination of depth and talent as a strong indication of the success that Daytona State could achieve this year. "As long as we can keep everyone healthy and get them to the starting line at the end of October, we can achieve our individual and team goals", Coach Wilson says.