JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's cross country earned the top team spot in the season opener against its in-state rivals at the Florida Intercollegiate XC Invitational hosted at Cecil Field on Friday evening.
Sebastian Hernandez led the way for the Ospreys with a stellar time of 24:51.9 to clock in third overall.
Aiden Arnold was shortly behind him to join Hernandez in the top six at 24:56.1.
Four runners placed themselves inside the top 12 overall, along with seven total in the top 24. It was the first of two meets that will be hosted at Cecil Field this season, as the second will take place in late October at the ASUN Championships.
For the fourth straight season, UNF took home the team title in its season opener over Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State and Stetson. Three of the four occurred with the Ospreys hosting in Jacksonville, Fla., while the outlier was in 2023 at the Mountain Dew Invitational hosted by Florida.
FINISH LINE
- UNF placed over two in-state, Power Five squads in Florida and FSU, as well as a pair of ASUN teams in FGCU and Stetson.
- It's back-to-back seasons for Hernandez with top-three finishes to start the season at home.
- Arnold returns to team action after taking a redshirt year during the 2024 cross country season.
- Paul Lespasio and Cole Perry finished just outside the top 10 placements in 11th and 12th respectively.
- Alejandro Romagosa was the fifth Osprey in the top 20 placing 18th overall at 25:24.9.
- Banzhaf was one of five newcomers to debut for the Ospreys in the season opener, alongside Jayden Santos-Gonzalez, Craig Allard Jr., Isaac Morrison and Joshua Gammage.
- Christian Ruocco rounded out the scoring UNF athletes with a top-25 time of 25:33.6.
UNF RESULTS
3.
Sebastian Hernandez - 24:51.9
6.
Aiden Arnold - 24:56.1
11.
Paul Lespasio - 25:12.1
12.
Cole Perry - 25:15.6
18.
Alejandro Romagosa - 25:24.9
23.
Parker Banzhaf - 25:33.3
24.
Christian Ruocco - 25:33.6
27.
Kameron Wallizada - 25:43.7
30.
Ryan Douihech - 25:47.6
40.
Colton Lawson - 26:13.7
43.
Shamar Henry - 26:18.9
44.
Andrew Mahorner - 26:19.3
54.
William Montanye - 26:42.7
65.
Jayden Santos-Gonzalez - 26:55.4
66.
Ben Tary - 26:55.6
70.
Craig Allard Jr. - 27:07.8
71.
Isaac Morrison - 27:12.7
73.
Joshua Gammage - 27:37.1
