LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College men's cross country team captured its 18th Sunshine State Conference Championship Saturday morning at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Fla. The championship marked the first for head coach Matt Levassiur and the first for the program since 2017. The Moccasins placed all five of their scoring runners in the top eight and finished with just 28 points.

One of the Florida Southern top five finishers was former Keystone Heights High School standout Alex Guy, a graduate student runner at FSC.

"It's been one of the pleasures of my career to coach 5th-years Alex Guy, Bryson Yamnitz, and Owen Allen," stated Levassiur. "These guys have come to SSC meets and come up short time and time again. Today's race shows what can happen when a team focuses on amplifying the collective energy of the group. Along with my seniors, the sophomore class made a statement today. This program is for real and will be for years to come. So proud of my guys, we can't wait to take a crack at punching a ticket to Joplin, Missouri in a few weeks."

The Mocs entered the event behind preseason favorites and three-time defending champions Embry-Riddle but FSC would not be deterred as sophomores Anthony Matthew and Christian Giller led the Mocs to the team title. Matthew crossed the line in 24:59.6 to capture third overall. Giller was right on his heels as he came across just three seconds later at 25:02.9 to take fourth.

The next trio of Moccasins finished sixth through eighth as senior Owen Allen led the pack with a time of 25:13.2. Allen was followed by sophomore Chris Colavita who took seventh after completing the 8K course in 25:16.4. Just over three seconds later graduate student Alex Guy wrapped up the scoring for the Mocs as he took eighth in 25:19.6.

All five Moccasin scorers will be named to the All-Championship team due to their top-10 finishes while Matthew, Giller, Allen and Colavita will be named First Team All-SSC and Guy will earn Second Team All-SSC honors for their efforts.

The Moccasins captured the team title with 28 total points to upend three-time defending champions Embry-Riddle who concluded the meet with 45 points. Tampa rounded out the top three with 51 points. ERAU's Brendon Shea took home the individual title as the Eagles had the top two individuals at the meet.

Florida Southern will now turn its focus to the 2023 NCAA South Region Championship which will take place in Montevallo, Ala. on Saturday, Nov. 4.