NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- The University of St. Francis men's cross country team raced in its second meet of the 2026 season on Friday afternoon at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) National Catholic Invite and came away with a sixth-place effort in the 16-team field.  Seven of the nine Saints competing set personal records at the event.

USF, which netted a team score of 166 points, posted six runners in the top half of all competitors on the 8K layout at Burke Golf Course.  The field consisted of 203 runners from seven NCAA I, two NCAA II and three NCAA III universities, with St. Francis (Ill.), Madonna (Ind.), Mount Mercy University (Iowa) and Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) being the lone representatives competing from NAIA institutions.  Notre Dame earned the team title with its score of 15.

The Saints, who are currently ranked No. 24 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, were paced by Tyler Anderson's 18th-place time of 24:41.2.

Along with Anderson, Alberto Fernandez Arango, Miguel Garcia, Jack Wright and Karson Shrum all placed among the top 75 spots on the finisher's list.  Fernandez Arango's time of 25:01.5 claimed 27th place, while Garcia finished at 25:07.1, affording the junior the 30th placement.   Wright was the 41st competitor to cross the finish line at 25:23.3, and Shrum clocked in at 26:05.9 in claiming the 75th slot.

The meet's individual champion was Daelen Ackley of Notre Dame, who ran a 23:19.4 time to best his teammate Cameron Todd's second-place time of 23:27.6.

Next Up
The Saints will now prepare for the Seminole Valley Stampede, hosted by Mount Mercy University on Saturday, October 3, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The 8K race will be conducted at Seminole Valley Park and will begin at 9:00 am.

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