Stetson's Women's Cross Country team will begin its 2022 season tonight, racing in a 5k at the University of Central Florida. The race is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start.
 
Due to the NCAA's recent passing of new legislation, the women's team was prohibited from participating in preseason meets over the summer.
 
"We were only able to start practice one day before the first day of class," head coach Bryan Harmon said.
 
With that being said, the team is super excited to build off the successes they gained last season. Success can be accomplished and shown in several different ways.
 
"One of the ways we defined success last year was taking a full team of seven for the first time to the Regional Championships," Harmon said. "There is a lot of excitement around building off of last year's season."
 
The team is looking forward to having two very impactful freshmen - Chloe Fernander and Deanna Bottino - join the team for this season.
 
"The freshmen have lots of potential and they are very dedicated," sophomore team captain Cheyenne Durda said.
 
Racing takes a team effort between an athlete and their teammates to be able to perform and compete in the course successfully.
 
"You are picking up your teammates and helping them to race better individually," Durda said. "You are racing for yourself, but also impacting the team's score."
 
This is just the beginning for Hatters this year. The Stetson runners will compete at North Florida next week before going to Pennsylvania to compete in an event hosted by Lehigh at the end of the month. The final tune-up for the ASUN championship will be at South Florida in mid-October.
 
The 2022 ASUN Championship race will be held in Huntsville, Ala., on Saturday, October 29, with the NCAA South Region race scheduled for the same course two weeks later.
 
"We are far from the finish line," Harmon said.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS. Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.