Florida Tech Athlete Conference’s Top Runner
By Florida Tech // November 9, 2012
Grad Student Powered To SSC Title
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech graduate student Chris Cacciapaglia has been honored as the 2012 Sunshine State Conference Runner of the Year.
Cacciapaglia, who is from Vashon, Wash., earned the award after claiming top honors in the SSC Cross Country Championships in Orlando.
He notched four top-10 finishes this season, adding three top-five performances. His victory at the SSC Championships was the first of his career.
Cacciapaglia also finished second in the Saint Leo Invitational and fifth in the UT Early Bird Classic.
Florida Tech IT also placed two more runners on the All-SSC Cross Country Team as senior Moses Kirui and junior David Boiywo earned that distinction.
Kirui grabbed three top-10 finishes and two in the top five. Boiywo claimed two top-10 slots including a fourth place finish in the SSC Championships.
The three award winners for the Panthers were the most among any program in the SSC. Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern each added a pair of runners, while Saint Leo’s Carl Dunne earned Freshman of the Year.
Voting for the All-SSC Cross Country Team was conducted among league cross country coaches and sports information directors.
This is the second year in a row FIT has earned the top runner award. Kirui was the SSC Runner of the Year last season.
The Panthers have qualified to appear in the National Championships on Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo.
