Joseph Visconti and Madlen Kappeler shine at NAIA Pre-Nationals in Tallahassee

On Saturday morning, 17 September 2022, Tallahassee’s Apalachee Regional Park was the venue for a Pre-National cross country meet—the third Pre-National in the past twelve months. This time it was the NAIA Pre-National Invitational, and the meet opened with Joseph Visconti winning the men's 8K in 25:53. The Valdosta State men claimed too team honors with 40 points. In the women's 5K, Florida Atlantic's Madlen Kappeler threw down a 18:24 for the win, leading the Owls to first place in the team standings with 46 points.

Joseph Visconti

The starting gun fired at 7:30 AM in Field #1, the shot announcing the opening of the meet and the beginning of the men's 8K. At the end of the first kilometer Joseph Visconti led the field, racing unattached and wearing his old high school colors from the Christ School in Arden, North Carolina. Later in the first half of the race, Brishen House of Valdosta State moved up into second. Visconti was farther ahead. By the end of the sixth kilometer, Logan Kraus of Valdosta State took over third. Visconti was farther ahead. Maintaining a 15-second gap over the final two kilometers, Visconti crossed the finish line first in 25:53. House took second in 26:08, and Kraus was third in 26:25.


Valdosta State's Charlie Eaton took ninth in 27:21, giving the Blazers three athletes in the top ten. Dalton Pender (14th, 27:30) and Adam Mastrobuono (20th, 27:51) wrapped up the scoring for the Blazers, giving the team 40 points and first place.

Brishen House

Led by Carson Philbin (5th, 27:07), Savannah College of Art and Design at Atlanta put up 60 points for second. Scoring 78, the Cumberlands Patriots placed third in the field of ten teams. Their top finisher was Noah McClellan, sixth in 27:07.


Men's Team Standings, 2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals

1. Valdosta State, 40
2. SCAD Atlanta, 60
3. Cumberlands, 78
4. SCAD Savannah, 83
5. Mobile, 129
6. Ave Maria, 154
7. Thomas, 199
8. Florida Atlantic, 203
9. Saint Thomas, 229
10. Webber, 292

2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals Men's 8K, Top Ten

1. 25:52.2, Joseph Visconti (Unattached)
2. 26:07.6, Brishen House (Valdosta State) SR-4
3. 26:24.5, Logan Kraus (Valdosta State) JR-3
4. 27:05.0, Preston Webb (Mobile) JR-3
5. 27:06.1, Carson Philbin (SCAD Savannah) JR-3
6. 27:06.4, Noah McClellan (Cumberlands) SO-2
7. 27:16.2, Jonathan Werble (Unattached)
8. 27:17.1, Bryce Derick (SCAD Atlanta) JR-3
9. 27:21.0, Charlie Eaton (Valdosta State) JR-3
10. 27:23.5, DeShawn Crowe (Cumberlands) SO-2

By the halfway point of the women's 5K, Madlen Kappeler was in command of the race. Kappeler, Florida Atlantic's junior from Germany, started the second half with a fifteen-second lead. Angela Cipriani, a Valdosta State assistant coach competing unattached, narrowed that gap during the second half, but couldn't catch Kappeler. Kappeler reached the finish line in a winning 18:24, with Cipriani second in 18:29. Montserrat De Santiago, a senior racing for the Savannah College of Art and Design at Savannah, held off Cumberlands frosh Emily Bird for third, 18:39 to 18:43.

Madlen Kappeler

Bird was one of three Cumberlands athletes in the top ten. But in addition to Kappeler, Florida Atlantic also had Casey O'Connor ((5th, 18:53) in the top ten, plus Erin Shannon (14th, 19:36), Jordan Stevens (16th, 19:38), and Holly Arrison (20th, 19:55) in the top twenty. Owl pushers Paige Saiz (23rd, 20:03) and Anabell Reumann (24th, 20:12) added two more points to the Cumberlands score, giving the Florida Atlantic women a 46 to 49 victory.


De Santiago and the SCAD-Savannah women placed third in the field of twelve teams, scoring 83 points.

Angela Cipriani

Thomas University of Thomasville, Georgia hosted the 2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals. Half Mile Timing chip-timed and scored the races.


Women's Team Standings, 2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals

1. Florida Atlantic, 46
2. Cumberlands, 49
3. SCAD Savannah, 83
4. Dalton State, 113
5. Ave Maria, 118
6. Valdosta State, 157
7. Florida Gateway College, 207
8. Mobile, 244
9. Florida A&M, 264
10. St. Thomas (Fla.), 285
11. Tallahassee CC, 286
12. Webber, 338

2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals Women's 5K, Top Ten

1. 18:23.6, Madlen Kappeler (Florida Atlantic) JR-3
2. 18:28.7, Angela Cipriani (Unattached)
3. 18:38.2, Montserrat De Santiago (SCAD Savannah) SR-4
4. 18:42.3, Emily Bird (Cumberlands) FR-1
5. 18:52.7, Casey O'Connor (Florida Atlantic) SO-2
6. 18:56.0, Theresa Long (Ave Maria) JR-3
7. 18:58.6, Ashlyn Liddle (Cumberlands) FR-1
8. 19:00.0, Victoria Shedron (Cumberlands) SR-4
9. 19:06.9, Jane Eiselstein (Unattached)
10. 19:07.4, Caitlyn Koske (Valdosta State) SO-2

Links

• Complete results of the 2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals / Nighthawk Invitational
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSp1HpT65fZGITK2dljByouIM2bTnBW1shaccyjg2uRZxuiTpotC1qDCivBhDoXA0OGPSiMn73bGEF7/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of the collegiate races at the 2022 Thomas University Nighthawk Invitational
  
  • Men: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119582106164123
    
  • Women: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119582413438343
    
  
  
• Tallahassee area cross country meets in 2022
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/07/tallahassee-xc-2022.html
  
  
• Find your next race in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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