CHANNAHON, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis men's cross country team began its season on Friday evening, putting together a first-place finish at the team's 5K Fighting Saints Twilight Invite.  USF's score of 30 points placed it nine points ahead of second-place finisher Governors State University (39).  A total of nine teams made up the field.

USF's top four finishers, consisting of Miguel Garcia, Jack Wright, Manuel Soto and Scott Crabb, paced St. Francis throughout the race and finished neck and neck in the 3rd through 6th positions, respectively.  Garcia posted a final time of 15:43.3, while Wright and Soto each crossed the line at the same time at 15:53.4.  Crabb was less than one second behind the latter two men at 15:54.0.  Sophomore Alberto Fernandez Arango rounded out USF's top five group with a time of 16:12.5, good for 13th place.

For the second year in a row, Sam Mickelson was the top alumni performer for USF with his time of 15:40.0, ranking second-best overall.

The top individual performer was Joliet Junior College's Nathan Ciarlette at 15:27.0.

Up Next
The Saints run next on Friday, September 19 at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) National Catholic Invite with competition set to commence at 2:30 pm.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.