Mason Jones sets a school record as Florida Southern College men’s cross country finished 11th out of 53 teams at the Royals XC Challenge in Charlotte, N.C. Seven Moccasins recorded personal records in the race.
Mason Jones (24:14.5) led the Mocs with a season-high 7th place finish as he sliced 21.5 seconds off his personal best. Jones, who formerly held the third fastest 8K time in school history (24:36 at the Queens City Invitational on Sept. 28, 2018), moves above Bobby Ormsby’s 2016 time of 24:28.91 and Ben Martucci‘s 2010 time of 24:26.43. This is his first school record in cross country and his second overall (Track: 10,000 meter run).
Josh Wagner (25:13.7) finished in 49th while knocking 14.3 seconds off his best time. Freshman Troy Smith (25:41.6) finished third for Southern and 82nd overall as he obliterated his previous personal best time by 82.5 seconds.
Mitchell Kozik (26:07.8, 120th) finished fourth for the Mocs as he joined in on the personal record breaking performance, removing 14.7 seconds from his previous best while Warran Grajalez (26:38.5, 175th) was the fifth scoring member of the Mocs. Alex Guy (26:43.6, 186th), Bryson Yamnitz (27:01.9, 224th) and Nick Carpenter (27:14.8, 246th) all cut over a minute from their previous personal bests. Owen Allen did not finish the race.
Florida Southern finished with 356 points en route to their 11th place finish while Lee (Tenn.) won the meet with 75 points. Saint Leo (271 pts) was the only Sunshine State Conference team to edge out the Moccasins, taking 7th overall.
This race marked the end of the regular season for the Mocs, who now turn to the Sunshine State Conference Championships on Oct. 26 in Boca Raton, Fla.
COMPLETE FSC RESULTS
7: Mason Jones 24:14.5 PR
49: Josh Wagner 25:13.7 PR
82: Troy Smith 25:41.6 PR
120: Mitchell Kozik 26:07.8 PR
175: Warran Grajalez 26:38.5
186: Alex Guy 26:43.6 PR
224: Bryson Yamnitz 27:01.9 PR
246: Nick Carpenter 27:14.8 PR
DNF: Owen Allen