#TCCXC: Eagles close season at FCSAAs, Flagler finishes top 5
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (October 26, 2018) – Tallahassee Community College's cross country season came to a close on Friday at the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Championships, held at Apalachee Regional Park.
The Tallahassee men, running in its inaugural championship 8K, finished second in the team standings while the women's squad brought home a third consecutive third-place finish in the championship 5K.
Today's event, which didn't even exist three years ago, featured 12 teams (eight women, four men) and 71 total participants (47 women, 24 men).
A steady rain accompanied the men's race, which kicked off the day's schedule. While a pair of Seminole State College runners pulled away early and battled for the top two spots, Tallahassee freshman Brandon Flagler stayed near the front throughout, eventually finishing fourth overall to earn FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 All-State honors.
Tallahassee has had at least one all-state performer in each of the program's three years of existence – 2016, Samantha Reilly and Mia Wiederkehr; and 2017, Meagan Giddens.
Flagler's time of 28:09.8 shattered the school record in the 8K, previously held by Joshua Guest (29:42.7). In fact, all seven men's runners posted personal-best times and ones that are now among the ten fastest in the program's brief history.
Freshman Gio Druan (31:10.2) finished 12th overall and was the second Eagle to cross the finish line, his best team finish of the season.
Freshman Simon Hodgson (31:56.8) finished 14th to lead five consecutive Tallahassee runners across the finish line.
Gannon Hundley (32:11.7), Jesse Boyd (32:35.5), Dalton Gray (32:42.0) and Andrew McMillan (32:50.4), all freshmen, finished 15th through 18th, respectively.
In the women's 5K, freshman Genevieve Printiss was the Eagles' top runner, placing seventh overall in a time of 21:00.1, her best time of the season by 27 seconds. She ran a 21:27 at the ARP one week ago in the TCC Eagle Invite.
Freshman Kendall Ward also logged her fastest time of the season, a 21:16, to finish 12th. Her previous best was a 21:53.7 at the VSU Border Clash in August.
Wiederkehr, running her final cross country race for the Eagles, posted a 21:30.9 to finish 14th and break her personal record by one second. She ran a 21:32.28 at the 2016 FCSAA Championships.
Freshman Dorcas Jepleting (21:54.9) finished 19th and sophomore Rachel Williams, also running in her final cross country event for Tallahassee, crossed the line 25th in a time of 22:34.4.
The team will compete in one final event – the NJCAA Half Marathon on November 17 in Gulf Shores, Ala.
