CHANNAHON, Ill. -- The NAIA No. 12-ranked University of St. Francis women's cross country team began its 2026 season on Friday evening, putting together a second-place finish at the team's 5K Fighting Saints Twilight Invite.  USF's' score of 50 points was only bested by University of Chicago (15) among the eleven teams competing.

Junior Evita Martinez and senior Dyannara Franco paced St. Francis throughout the race and finished back-to-back in the 10th and 11th positions, respectively.  Martinez posted a time of 18:56.57, while Franco finished at 18:59.32.

The next two USF runners placed in the Nos. 13 and 17 positions.  Leading that duo was Carmen Solis at 19:04.33.  She was followed by Savannah Richmond at 19:32.32 in her first race as a Fighting Saint.  Aaralyn Martinez (23rd overall) rounded out USF's top five, crossing the finish line at 20:00.00.

Kayla Rice was the top alumni performer for USF with her time of 20:48.31, ranking 33rd overall.

The top individual performer was University of Chicago's Katja Dunayevich at 18:04.84.

Next Up
The Saints run next on Friday, September 18 at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) National Catholic Invite with competition set to commence at 10 am.

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