LAKELAND, Fla. – The 2024 Sunshine State Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships are slated for Friday, Oct. 25 at Holloway Park, and the Embry-Riddle squad will be running for the crown. The meet, hosted by Florida Southern is the first postseason race of the season, followed by the NCAA II South Region in two weeks (Nov. 9) in Huntsville, Ala., and the NCAA II National Championships on Nov. 23 in Sacramento, Calif.
ERAU has enjoyed a successful campaign, though marred by weather and schedule changes. After taking second place out of eight teams in the Holloway Collegiate XC Opener – the same course they will run on Friday – the Eagles wrapped up yet another win at the home ERAU Cross Country Classic on Sept. 21. ERAU then saw the FSU Invite canceled from Hurricane Helene, before taking another first place finish in the Georgia Tech XC Invite on Oct. 4. Due to Hurricane Milton, the team’s final tune-up before the SSC Championships, the UAH Invite in Huntsville, was canceled.
With a pair of team wins and a solid second-place finish in their back pockets, the Eagles have a lot to run for. On the season, Tayan Benson and Nicholas Scarangelli have each collected top-10 finishes in all three races to this point. Benson opened up the year with a school-record 6K run in Lakeland. The Gallup, N.M., native also finished eighth at the ERAU Classic, and fifth at the GT Invite. Scarangelli picked up a top-10 finish at the Holloway Opener, followed by a seventh-place finish at the ERAU Classic, and placed eighth at Georgia Tech…