LAKELAND, Florida - The 2021 Sunshine State Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships are slated for Saturday, Oct. 23 at Holloway Park, and the Embry-Riddle men's and women's cross country squads will be running for some hardware. The meet, hosted by Florida Southern, is the first postseason race of the season, followed by the NCAA II South Region Championship in two weeks (Nov. 6) and the NCAA II National Championship two weeks after that (Nov. 20), with both being held at The Abbey Course in St. Leo, Florida.

On the men's side, the Eagles will in search of their third conference title in five season, and will be the favorite after having edged both Florida Southern and Saint Leo at the UAH Invitational in Alabama. The Eagles have relied on a strong top two with Ryan Szklany and Paul Kraemer, while Brendon Shea, Tanner Rosolino, Shaun Bullock, Micah Blair, and Austin Epstein also scoring for the Blue and Gold at different races this season. Both Szklany and Kraemer were first team All-SSC runners a season ago, while Bullock and Blair took home second team All-SSC honors.

For the women, Ukeyvia Beckwith will look to make it five straight races as the top Blue and Gold finisher. The senior is coming off the best 5K time of her career a few weekends ago in Alabama, but will have to add another kilometer with the SSC meet slated for a 6K length. Rachel Jones and Kelly Steffens have consistently been in ERAU's top-half of finishers this year, while Maggie Allen, Sara Towers, Ravyn Edge, Grayson Iller and Anna Miller have also scored for ERAU.

The Eagle women won the 2017 SSC title and finished as league runners-up in 2018.

The men's race is slated for an 7:45 a.m. start before the women get going at 8:45 a.m. Live results can be found HERE.

---

The 2021 Embry-Riddle men's and women's cross country seasons are presented by Radiology Associates.