DELAND, Fla. – On Friday, March 22, 2024, Stetson cross country participated in the last track meet of the Hatters' Spring 2024 track season. Their track season featured four meets, two at the University of Tampa in Tampa and two at the University of Central Florida in Oviedo.
In the first race of the Hatters' spring campaign on February 17, both the men and women competed in the 3K race at the Tampa Spartans Open in rainy and windy conditions. Some standout performances from the women's 3K included Senior Juliet Tonkin finishing in 1st place with a school record time of 9:58.90 and Junior Blair Durda finishing 6th with a time of 10:19.98. While the Hatter men had two top 10 finishers in the 3K, Junior Patrick Pitts in 8th and Sophomore Eduardo Diaz Deandra in 9th, running times of 8:53.12 and 8:53.52, respectively.
The Hatters' next race occurred on March 1 at the Tampa Spartans Classic where the Hatters participated in the 5K. In the women's race, Durda was the top Hatter finisher with her 6th place finish in 17:36.78. In the men's race, Pitts finished in 14th place in 15:27.76 with Freshman phenom Seth Singer finishing close behind in 17th place with a time of 15:32.52.
Wrapping up the spring season, the Hatters visited the University of Central Florida where they ran the Black and Gold Invitational and the Knights Invite on March 15 and March 22, respectively.
During the Black and Gold Invitational, most of the Hatters ran in the 1500m where Juliet Tonkin and Seth Singer were the top women and men finishers, individually. Tonkin ran a 4:48.23 to finish 29th in the race, and Singer ran a 4:04.72 to finish 26th in the race. Later that night, Juniors Durda and Pitts ran in the 5K race where Durda placed 2nd clocking a 17:25.66 and Pitts finished 6th in 15:28.12.
Lastly, the Knights Invite on March 22 saw most of the Hatters back running the 5K where Seth Singer and Sophomore Conrad Voigt stood out in the Men's 5000m, finishing in 5th and 8th place with times of 15:29.72 and 15:33.79, respectively. On the women's side, Tonkin finished 3rd stopping her clock at 17:29.49.
Overall, the season featured many bright spots from a young, returning Stetson Hatter cross country squad.
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.
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