FAMU men’s cross country shines in Gainesville

 

Florida A&M University’s men’s cross country team took fourth overall at the Mountain Dew Invitational that features over 1,600 athletes in Gainesville, Fla. 

According to men’s cross country head coach Wayne Angel, his team did an outstanding job. They set the standard for this year’s expectations.

“Before I came the cross country team hadn’t trained. I was able to change their work ethic, increase their mileage and recruit more talent,” said Angel.

The University of Florida was the only school to have its No.1 and No. 2 runners to finish in front of FAMU’s. The top four runners had only seconds between their finishes. 

Elias Cheshire and Shauaib Winters led the Rattlers to success. Cheshire ran 24:41.37 in the 8K, he earned fourth place overall in the collegiate division. Winters followed, taking fifth place overall in 24:49.33. New to the team, Kevin Marindich, took 19th overall with a time of 26:03.37. Team members Diemy Duclos’ time was 26:40.85 and Lamere Buchanon’s time was 27:18.75.  

Winters, a third year criminal justice civil engineering double major was proud of the team’s performance in Gainesville. He said that the team has been training and performing so it’s all about they believe they can do. 

“Once the nerves and and jitters get out of everyone’s system, we’re gonna lay it down on the track,” said Buchanon, a second year biology pre med student from Glassboro,NJ. 

FAMU placed fourth in the meet out of 17 colleges. The team was the highest placed HBCU in the tournament finishing six spots ahead of Morehouse. The Rattlers were only proceeded by three teams, Florida who finished first, University of North Florida who finished second and Embry-Riddle University who finished third. 

This is a big step for the FAMU men’s cross country team. This was a chance for the team to prove itself against ample competition. 

The next big meet for the men’s cross country team is Friday, Oct. 5, the Seminole Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. at Apalachee Park at 5 p.m.