JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Saint Leo University men's and women's cross country teams opened up the 2026 season Friday night at the Florida Intercollegiate XC Invitational. The field featured several NCAA Division I programs. The men took ninth as a team while sophomore Jevin Luna led the way with a career-best 5K performance while placing 46^th as an individual. The women came in 13^th as a squad while senior Meadow Millett leading the team in her Saint Leo debut. The New Port Richey, Fla. product placed 57^th while running a sub-20 minute 5K.
 
Luna was able to complete the course in 15:57.15. Sophomore Santiago Rodriguez and freshman Anderson Olea finished within two spots of one another as Rodriguez took 67^th followed by Olea in 69^th. The high school teammates stopped the clock at 16:17.62 and 16:21.17, respectively. Rounding out the scoring five were sophomores Jason Bracero Jr and Angelo Acosta. Bracero clocked in at 16:40.10 while placing 85^th. Acosta just missed out on the top 100 as he placed 103^rd in 17:01.64. The Lions had six other harriers toe the line Friday including a pair of freshman making their collegiate debuts.
 
Millett, a collegiate veteran but first-year member of the Lions, paced the women's team at 19:21.08. Fellow newcomer junior Eden Brumer was the next Lion to complete the 5K as she crossed the line in 20:00.07 while taking 76^th. Sophomore Delaney Glynn turned in a personal best mark of 20:38.31 to take 99^th. The final two in the scoring five for the Lions were sophomore Jasmine Fajardo and freshman Chelsea Perez. Fajardo posted a personal best at 20:46.10 while placing 102^nd. Perez crossed the line in 21:28.29 in her first collegiate race while placing 118^th. Saint Leo had six other Lions in the race including four freshmen.
 
The men finished with 288 points following the race while the hosts North Florida won with a total of 41 points. Embry-Riddle (62) and Florida Gulf Coast (82) took second and third, respectively. The men were the second finishing NCAA Division II program while also finishing ahead of NCAA Division I programs South Florida and Jacksonville.
 
The women totaled 379 points while UCF won the event with 39 points. North Florida (69) and Florida Atlantic (83) rounded out the top three. The Lions were the second finishing NCAA Division II program while the team finished just ahead of NCAA Division I Bethune Cookman.
 
The Lions will be back in action Friday, Oct. 2 at the 27^th Annual FLRunners.com Invitational in Lakeland, Fla.