Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Cross Country Finishes Second Year in Sun Belt
11/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 20, 2007
BOCA RATON, FL - The Florida Atlantic University men's and women's cross country teams recently completed its second campaign in the Sun Belt Conference.
Head Coach Alex Smolka's squad finished its season at the NCAA South Regional. In their second campaign in the Sun Belt, the men finished 9th at the Conference Championships. The team's finish, two spots better than last year's, was validation of the huge improvement the men made over the course of the season. The squad ended the year by placing 19th at the Gainesville Regional.
"Of our top seven (men's) runners, three were sophomores and four were freshmen. We are not where we want to be yet, but we are taking steps to get there," said Smolka.
The women began the season ranked 14th in the South Region, the first time in program they had ever received a regional ranking. They finished 5th at the Sun Belt Championships, after finishing 3rd last year. However, the team had to recover from losing four of its top five runners from last season's squad. That fact was not lost on Coach Smolka.
"The women performed well under the circumstances. We knew we were going to face some challenges and we were able to meet most of them."
The team ended the campaign by finishing 17th at the South Regional. They are set to return to the upper tier of the conference next season as four of their top six runners still have cross country eligibility remaining.
