SSC Cross Country Championship Set For Saturday

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The 2011 Sunshine State Conference Cross Country Championship will be held on Saturday, Oct. 22, at Markham Park in Sunrise, Fla. Nova Southeastern is serving as host for this year's meet.

Florida Southern, Florida Tech, Nova Southeastern, Rollins, Saint Leo, and Tampa will participate in the championship. The event will kick off with the men's 8K race at 7:30 a.m. The women's 6K race will follow at 8:15 a.m.

Tampa enters the championship as a favorite on the women's side, having been ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) top-25 all season. Currently ranked No. 11, the Spartans have logged a top-five finish in all five races in which they have competed. UT won the Disney Classic. The Spartans also finished runner-up at the Lehigh Invitational and UT Early Bird Classic.

Should Tampa win, the Spartans would claim their fifth straight SSC Women's Cross Country Championship. UT has won eight of the last nine conference meets.

Host Nova Southeastern will look to dethrone the Spartan women. The Sharks are currently ranked No. 2 behind Tampa in the USTFCCCA South Region rankings. NSU has tallied a pair of top-five finishes this fall, placing fourth at UT's Early Bird Classic and fifth at the Disney Classic.

In the men's race, Florida Southern takes to Markham Park having won the last 14 SSC Men's Cross Country Championships. Nevertheless, the Moccasins will face tough competition from Tampa and Florida Tech, who have posted solid results this season. In the latest USTFCCCA South Region rankings, Tampa was slated No. 3, followed by Florida Tech at No. 4. Florida Southern was tabbed No. 6 in the poll.

Both Tampa and Florida Tech have notched three top-five finishes in five races. UT was fourth at both the Disney Classic and USF Invitational. The Spartans placed fifth at the UT Early Bird Classic. Tech registered a first-place finish at the Florida Tech Invitational, as well as third at the Early Bird Classic and fifth at the Florida State Invitational. The last time Florida Tech won an SSC men's cross country title was 1991. Tampa has never won a men's cross country crown.

The longtime defending champion Moccasins carry three top-10 performances into the conference meet. FSC was fourth at the UT Early Bird Classic, seventh at the Florida State Invitational, and eighth at the USF Invitational.

Markham Park is located at 16001 W. State Road 84, Sunrise, FL 33326. The park charges an admission fee on weekends. The fee schedule is as follows:

$1.50 per person (ages 6 and up),
$8.00 maximum charge per car or van with nine occupants or fewer, and
$20.00 maximum charge per commercial bus.

Click here for the official web site of the Sunshine State Conference