MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University athletics department is pleased to announce four members of the cross country team as 2015 All-Sunshine State Conference honorees with women’s runner, Anabel Knoll, earning Freshman of the Year.
From the women’s side, freshman runner, Knoll (Fr., Ingolstadt, Germany) obtains her first All-SSC honors along with the Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year award. Knoll led the Sharks multiple times throughout the regular season schedule and also gained her first SSC Runner of the Week the last week of the month of September. She won first place at the Moccasin Invitational 5K race with a time of 19:24 and got third place overall at the SSC Championship where she recorded her best 6K time at 22:31. In addition to all the honors, she also makes part of the Sharks women’s cross country all-time best times in fifth place for both 5K and 6K records.
“I’m so excited to have Anabel as Freshman Runner of the Year and also making the first team All-Conference,” said cross country head coach Bryan Hagopian. “It’s a big accomplishment for someone to achieve on their first year, we know there are going to be bigger things for her in the future because this is such a small sample.”
From the men’s side, junior runner Wade White (Jr., Bangor, Pa.) repeated as an All-Conference selection. White has led the team in various occasions throughout his career at NSU. This year alone he paced the Sharks in the Disney Classic by finishing 11th overall and recording his career best 8K time at 25:32. White also claimed fourth place overall with a time of 25:46 at the SSC Championship to help his team win second place overall at the tournament. Additionally he holds the third all-time best mark for the program in 5K and 8K competitions.
“What a great accomplishment for Wade to achieve All-SSC honors in back-to-back years,” said Hagopian referring to White’s successful season. “The staff and I are really happy for him.”
Senior runner Christian Oppel (Sr., Lautertal, Germany) also joined the list of honorees for NSU. By finishing fifth overall in the SSC Championship, just two seconds behind his teammate White, and by leading the Sharks in multiple races throughout the regular season schedule, Oppel merits the 2015 All-SSC Men’s Cross Country Award. Furthermore, Oppel holds NSU’s all-time best time for a 5K race which he recorded at the 2015 FAU Invitational with a time of 15:47 and the sixth all-time best time for an 8K at 25:48.
For the first time in three years as a Shark, Benjamin Manuel (Jr., Willemstad, Curacao) earns all-conference honors. The hard work he has put in throughout his entire career at NSU has come to fruition. As a freshman and as a sophomore Manuel was constantly one of the top five runners for his team. Ultimately, now in his junior year he was able to accomplish this huge achievement. Manuel recorded his career best 8K time when he finished in sixth place overall for the Sharks at the 2015 SSC Championship with a time of 25:57.
Hagopian added, “This is the first time we’ve ever had three All-Conference team honors in Wade, Christian and Benjamin. This is a historical mark for NSU’s cross country teams and I’m so excited to see what we’ll do this upcoming weekend at the regional tournament.”
The Sharks are now looking towards extending their success at the 2015 NCAA Division II South Regional Championships which will take place at The Abbey Golf Course in Saint Leo, Florida on Saturday, Nov. 7. More information about the meet will follow at NSUSharks.com prior to race day.