Not far from the Daytona 500 Speedway, eight Lady Patriots raced a hilly 5k at the Embry Riddle Invite in Daytona Beach.  Led by sophomore Brianna Carey, who ran a 23:52 (7:40 pace), freshman Magda Barcia covered the course in 24:59, followed by freshman teammates Erica Pickron (25:31) and Iraly Faria (25:44). Sophomores Madison Strickland (26:23) and Heidi Kearney (26:27) stuck together.  Freshmen Simone Hamilton (28:56) and Jensen Plante (29:34) made their collegiate debuts. While a tough course, the Pats lowered their average top five 5k team finish time by 29 seconds beating out last year's 25:47 team average set at the NJCAA National 5k in Tallahassee in November 2022. 

From this year's season opener on a shorter course, the Pats stayed on pace for the final 800 meters to run comparable times to their opener for a longer distance. Running with teammates and working together to tighten the team spread has led to quicker team finishes. 

CF will next head to the state capital and compete at the FSU Invite in Tallahassee on Friday, September 29 at Apalachee Regional Park which is the site home to the FCSAA Region 8 Championships later in the season. This month the Pats will run a 6k there while in October at the Region meet the distance will be a 5k.