Runners make strides at TCC Eagle Invite

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (October 17, 2020) – Tallahassee Community College's cross country teams enjoyed a productive morning on Saturday when it hosted the TCC Eagle Invite at Apalachee Regional Park. 

Near-perfect weather conditions greeted runners from TCC, Florida Gateway College, Chipola College and Pensacola State College, as well as numerous unattached participants. 

Knowing they were the only team in the 8K race, the Eagle men set out to lower their team average and they accomplished just that at 29:12.2, behind four of the ten-fastest 8K times in school history. 

Mat Maier, who set a school record at the ARP in the October 2 FSU Invitational, was again the top runner on Saturday. His time of 28:41 didn't approach the 27:52 he ran two weeks ago, but it played role in what was happening immediately behind him. 

Bryce Bass shaved more than a minute off his time from October 2, finishing in 28:51, just ten seconds behind Maier. Will Stratton was 13 seconds faster than his previous finish, posting a 28:55. 

Shawn Marcum made the biggest jump on Saturday, posting a 29:43, an improvement of 1:49 over October 2. 

Rodolph Adonis completed the scoring for TCC with a time of 30:24, which was 57 seconds faster than his FSU Invite time. 

Elijah Oquendo (32:48) and Austin Erbaio (34:05) rounded out the Eagles' runners. 

In the women's 5K, Tallahassee had two runners cross the finish line and both Yesenia Rhoades and Lauren Sanders, who were running for the first time since September 18, clocked PRs.

Rhoades finished in 30:34, a 43-second improvement, while Sanders dropped 4:31 from her previous race, finishing in 39:32.