New Cross Country Team Places Fifth in National Championship

St. Louis, Mo. freshman Cameron Aly and Eden Prairie, Minn. freshman Jackson Wiley represented the Florida College cross country team at the USCAA National Championship.

Despite a setback, the new Florida College cross country team placed fifth overall in their first USCAA National Championship on November 2 in Buena Vista, Va.

"We had a disappointment at the national meet because our third runner was not there," Coach Roland Jones said. Due to tight scheduling, the missing runner did not catch his flight or make it to the meet. "In short, that fifth place should have been a second."

Teammates Cameron Aly and Jackson Wiley placed third and fourth respectively out of nearly 80 runners. "The race changed for the team after the third runner did not make it," Aly said. "It almost became more of an individual race."

Other obstacles included the brisk weather on the day of the race as well as the hilly topography of the area. "The cold mountain air irritated the lungs a little bit, but it wasn't too cold to run," Wiley said.

The team is looking forward to an even better season next year. "Our expectations are a lot higher for next season now that we've seen what we can do," Aly said. "We'll be a lot more confident now that we've seen our competition."