William Battle III & Asher Gibbons
Staff Writer & Sports Editor
Hurricane Milton made landfall as a category three hurricane in mid-October sending students scrambling to evacuate Florida Southern campus a week before fall break. That shift in plan caused by Milton not only affected the student base, but the student-athlete population, as well.
Cross Country
Cross Country’s pre-regional meet in Tallahassee was canceled due to Hurricane Helene and soon after, their Ed Holloway Collegiate Classic was canceled in light of the incoming Hurricane Milton– which is important as it serves as their tune-up a week before the SSC Conference Championship meet.
“ …Not everything is going to go your way, there will be bumps in the road and slight hiccups during your training,” recently crowned SSC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year, Christian Giller said in light of the challenges to simply get out at play to begin the season. “When I heard the news of Hurricane Milton hitting and impacting our season, I can definitely say I was frustrated that we missed Chicago, but we then pivoted to a meet in Alabama … sometimes you just have to be pragmatic even if that means having to change plans last second to better fit the situation.”
And pivoted they certainly did as they took No. 1 the following week in the SSC Championships in Lakeland. There, Giller won first place overall, with three other Mocs in the five top spots.
Women’s Soccer
Conversely, for women’s soccer, the season has seen its share of ups and downs which Hurricane Milton contributed to. Inclement weather ended up postponing or canceling three games and about a week and a half worth of practices.
“Hurricane Helene and Milton affected me and my team in a variety of ways,” junior forward Jordan King said. “I know a lot of us appreciated the break mentally and physically, but it also disrupted the rhythm that we seemed to just start to find … we bounced back and tried to find ways to still stay engaged and work hard through small fitness groups…”
In the week leading up to Helene and Milton, the Lady Mocs earned themselves a comfortable 3-0 win vs. Bentley University, a gritty tie vs. Assumption and a road win at Georgia College to leave with a 5-6-5 record.
“Since coming back from the hurricane we did feel prepared … we came back and hit the ground running with practices and film sessions to make up for lost time,” King said. “We have experienced smaller improvements and although our record is not what we would like … there have been little victories along the way.”
Golf
Golf was affected in both positive and negative fashions. While the team did have about ten practices canceled as well as two tournaments, there was only one tournament left for the team to play this fall. During that tournament in Orlando, FSC placed 9th of 16 against the other performing programs.
According to sophomore Colton Swartz, “…our team didn’t have the best performance and a lot of that had to do with the hurricane and not being able to practice.”
However, Swartz seems to be more optimistic for the future of Florida Southern golf.
“It definitely did throw us off for that tournament but in the grand scheme of things, the spring is what really matters so we were lucky to have it happen in the fall and not the spring,” said Swartz.
Golf will resume in the spring semester, starting back up on February 10, 2025 at home for the Matlock Collegiate Classic.
