At the Sunshine State Conference Championships on Saturday, October 21, the Sailfish women’s team of Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) showed an impressive performance, led by Emma Hanstveit, who secured fourth place with a time of 22:05.2. Sadie Nordmeyer also excelled, achieving a ninth-place finish in 22:24.4; with Nordmeyer setting a new personal record during the race. Both athletes earned spots on the all-championship team. Hanstveit’s exceptional performance earned her the title of Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year, as well as first-team All-SSC honors. Nordmeyer was awarded second-team All-SSC honors.
Despite their strong showing, the Sailfish finished third place out of seven teams. Tampa earned the conference crown with a score of 32. Nova Southeastern barely edged out the Sailfish after finishing with a score of 56, just two points ahead of PBA. The Sailfish finished ahead of Embry-Riddle, Florida Southern, Lynn and Barry.
Ella Malone placed 14th with a time of 23:00.8 earning herself a spot on the all-SSC second team. She was followed by Allison Seng (23:08.1) in 15th and Anna Hanstveit (23:09.7) in 16th.
Angelina Baader (23:51.1), Margaret Myskowski (23:59.8) and Nella Peterson (24:29.4) finished 29th, 33rd and 37th, respectively. Hannah Parker (24:43.4), Chloe Smith (25:14.6) and Gwendelyn Shamel (25:28.8) also represented PBA in the race. Baader and Smith each set a new personal record at the meet.
The men’s cross country team also delivered a historic performance, securing their best-ever finish with an impressive fourth position among a competitive field of eight teams at the SSC Championships. PBA recorded a team score of 129. The conference title was clinched by Florida Southern, closely trailed by Embry-Riddle and Tampa. PBA notably outperformed Nova Southeastern, Lynn, Barry and Florida Tech at the SSC Championships.
Leading the charge for the Sailfish, Toinou Laigle delivered a commendable performance, securing the 14th spot with a time of 25:37.0. Laigle’s consistent excellence earned him second-team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season. Freshman talent Hayden Tank demonstrated promising potential, finishing 28th with a personal-best time of 26:12.6, while Haile Buck and Joe Basara exhibited determined efforts, securing the 45th and 47th positions, respectively.
The Sailfish will travel to Montevallo, Ala. on Saturday, November 4 to compete in the NCAA South Region meet to try to earn a trip to the NCAA Nationals.
To learn more about PBA Athletics or to follow them on social media, visit www.pbasailfish.com.
