By: Malcolm Shields / Staff Writer
Aided with an individual first place finish by Daniela Espino in the five-mile run, the Golden Panthers women’s cross country team finished in third place at the Florida Gulf Coast University Invitational in Fort Myers on Sept. 2. The Golden Panthers’ men’s team finished in third place in the four mile run portion of the invitational. Joshua Estrada led the Golden Panthers individually with a fourth place finish.
The Golden Panthers had to compete on a course that was not the most ideal for cross-country running. The runners had to deal with the humidity and some puddles from the rain earlier that day. “It wasn’t the fastest conditions in the world,” coach Drew Charles said. “The course was a little wet and a little hot, being in the afternoon like it was.”
On the men’s team, Estrada’s time of 20:54.60 was the best for the Golden Panthers. Coach Charles gave credit to Estrada’s training during the summer for his results in the meet. “He put in a great summer. It was kind of expected,” Coach Charles said of Estrada’s performance. “He looked good in the race. He looked relaxed, smooth. I was happy [with] the way he ran.”
Sebastian Castillo and Dyan Cook also placed in ninth and tenth place, respectively, for the Golden Panthers. Castillo finished with a time of 21:20.10. Cook finished with a time of 21:21.70. The tenth place finish at the invitational for Cook was in his first collegiate race.
“He did really well. He didn’t do bad for his first race,” said Charles. “It was a good way to start off the season. I think he is just going to keep improving when he gets a little bit more comfortable racing. It’s a jump for him to go from five miles to eight miles. It was a nice intermediate with the four miler.”
Julius Michael finished in 15th place with a time of 21:48.40. Kevin Castro and Miguel Delgadillo both finished in the top thirty for the Golden Panthers.
For the women, Espino’s first place time of 18:43 beat the next runner in the race by over nine seconds. “She was really good,” Charles said. “From a little over the mile, she kind of just took the lead and never really looked back. It was what we talked about. I was pretty excited about that.”
Samia Hdan also finished in the top ten for the Golden Panthers. Hdan’s time of 19:58 earned her sixth place in the five mile run. “She is coming back pretty close to where she was last year, which is real nice,” said Charles. Junior Tai Canady finished in 15th place with a time of 21:22. Desmika White also finished in the top 30 for the Golden Panthers.
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