#2 Ranked Men's Cross Country to race at University of Florida

The Daytona State Men's Cross Country team heads to the University of Florida this Saturday, September 11th, to measure themselves against NCAA Division 1 competition.  The men's 6000 meter race will begin at 7:55am and include various teams from the region, including NCAA Division 1 University of Florida and a list of teams from Div 2, NAIA, and NJCAA schools.  The Falcons were recently ranked #2 in the country in the first USTCCCA Coaches Poll of the season.  "Polls don't always reflect the whole story.  We do have a good group, but it is a long time until November 13th.  Our focus is on working hard, staying healthy and focused, and just taking one race at a time." commented fourth year head coach Judy Wilson.   The Falcons will be led by All American runner Andy Martinez, who finished fourth in last year's NJCAA National Championships, and received Runner of the Week honors for his 3rd place at the Border Clash at Valdosta State this past weekend.  Newcomers Christian Ruocco, Sebastian Hernandez, and Mitchell Curtis will be joined this week by second year runners Adolfo Castro, Richard Lebron, Jerdary Ayala, and Jesus Clemente.  Wilson sees her sophomore class as the backbone of the team.  "We need to mesh our freshmen in with our second year guys."  Along with veteran Tyler Baker and freshman Christian Pastrana, the Falcons have one of the deepest squads in the NJCAA Division 2 league.  The Mt Dew Invitational will take place at the Mark Bostick Golf Course on the University of Florida Gainesville campus.