Erin Grant
Staff Writer
FSC’s track and field team is running full speed into one of its strongest seasons in years. With new school records, a positive team culture, and rising freshman talent, the team is determined to stand out.
The best part: the Mocs are showing no signs of slowing down. With the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) hosting its inaugural outdoor track championship this year, the team’s timing couldn’t be better, and the team is confident that they can go the distance.
This spring, both the men’s and women’s teams have shown up and shown out. junior Anthony Matthew delivered a historic performance in the 1500 meters, breaking a nine-year-old school record previously held by Evan Quinones. Matthew crossed the finish line in 3:46.89, taking down Quinones’ 2016 mark of 3:48.80. Not to be outdone, standout athlete Christian Giller recently ran a career best of 14:26.18 in the 5k, ranking third all time in program history, continuing a season of impressive times.
On the women’s side, Caitlin Beery has been consistently crossing the finish line in style. Beery recently clocked the third-fastest 800m time in program history at 2:19.48 at the Embry-Riddle Running Elements Classic.
This season also marks a turning point in the conference. The SSC is presenting weekly track awards for the first time, and the Mocs are no strangers to being in the spotlight. Senior Emma Mussante was the first Lady Moc, and she’s earned it three times including this week. She’s been on fire this season, determined to leave a legacy in her final year.
In late February, Mussante made history as the first athlete to receive the Sunshine State Conference Women’s Outdoor Distance Runner of the Week award after her outstanding performance at the Tampa Track Classic, where she hit an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 500m. With a time of 16:57.11, not only did Mussante beat her career best, but she also secured herself a place in history as the first woman in program history to run a sub-17-minute 5k. Just two weeks after receiving the inaugural honor, Mussante won her heat at the Tampa Spartans Classic, earning herself another SSC Women’s Outdoor Distance Runner of the Week.
While the upperclassmen are holding down the fort, the freshmen are already turning heads in their debut season. Freshman Alena Pezzoli has been putting in the work to showcase exactly how she earned her spot on the roster. In the indoor season, she opened her career with a time of 2:27.66 in the 800m. That’s the 9th fastest time in program history. Pezzoli admits that the change from college to high school athlete has been a change, but nothing she can’t handle, and emphasizes how much she enjoys being on such a competitive team.
“I really like the team, and it’s why I chose to become an athlete here. Everyone here is focused on a different level, and they pour a lot of their heart and soul and their day into this sport, so it’s really cool being around so many competitive and strong athletes every day,” she said.
Going forward, the Mocs are gearing up to finish the season strong at the SSC championships on April 19. To follow these outstanding track athletes, students can find their meet results at fscmocs.com.
