Flagler College Athletics

Maria Puccio-Ball of the women's cross country team was selected as the Academy Bus Athlete of the Week, for the period ending Nov. 15.

The junior from Oviedo, Florida played a major role in Flagler College winning its third consecutive Peach Belt Conference title last Saturday (Nov. 14). The Saints were trailing the University of North Georgia late in the race. With 800 meters left in the race, Puccio-Ball moved ahead of a trio of UNG runners. She held that lead all the way to the finish line, which resulted in a six-point swing. 

That move got Puccio-Ball a 12th-place finish. What resulted was a tie for first place between Flagler and North Georgia with 49 points. By rule, the aggregate times of the top five runners were compared and Flagler came out on top by nine-tenths of a second.   

Her time of 19:04.1 was a career-high in a 5K race.