LAKELAND, Fla. - Saint Leo University finished first place at the 2015 SSC Men’s Cross Country Championship hosted by Florida Southern College. The race was held at Holloway Park & Nature Preserve in Lakeland.
Saint Leo finished with 28 team points to gain the their second consecutive crown. The Lions had three finishers and four of the top 10 runners in the race. Nova Southeastern University came in second after recording 38 points. Florida Southern finished in third with a score of 87.
Valentin Lenz of Saint Leo is this year’s individual champion. Lenz finished with a time of 25:27.20, besting his teammate Rafal Matuszczak by 12 seconds. Niclas Bez, the 2014 individual champion, from Saint Leo finished third with a time of 25:46.10. The top 10 individual runners were named to the 2015 SSC Cross Country Championship Team.
Team Scores
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
|
1
|
Saint Leo
|
28
|
|
2
|
Nova Southeastern
|
38
|
|
3
|
Florida Southern
|
87
|
|
4
|
Tampa
|
99
|
|
5
|
Florida Tech
|
120
|
|
6
|
Rollins
|
190
|
Individual Scores
|
Rank
|
Name
|
School
|
Time
|
|
1
|
Valentin Lenz
|
Saint Leo
|
25:27.20
|
|
2
|
Rafal Matuszczak
|
Saint Leo
|
25:39.30
|
|
3
|
Niclas Bez
|
Saint Leo
|
25:46.10
|
|
4
|
Wade White
|
Nova Southeastern
|
25:46.30
|
|
5
|
Christian Oppel
|
Nova Southeastern
|
25:48.10
|
|
6
|
Benjamin Manuel
|
Nova Southeastern
|
25:57.30
|
|
7
|
Anthony Pollizzi
|
Florida Southern
|
25:59.00
|
|
8
|
Tyler Blackburn
|
Tampa
|
26:01.00
|
|
9
|
Maximilian Sperl
|
Nova Southeastern
|
26:04.70
|
|
10
|
Anthony Deleva
|
Saint Leo
|
26:05.90
|
For full SSC Men's Cross Country Results, Photos, and further information, click here.