TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - North Florida men's cross country placed second overall as the runner-ups of the FSU XC Open, finishing over the likes of Florida State, LSU and Miami on Friday morning at Apalachee Regional Park.

The Ospreys earned 91 total points in the 8k race with five runners placing in the top 25, only trailing Georgia in the 34-team race. Aiden Arnold was the top finisher for men's squad taking the early lead for the group and placing ninth with a mark of 24:54.8.

"Overall, we had a tremendous weekend," Director of Cross Country Jeff Pigg stated. "We've been training hard for a month, and this meet was an opportunity to see where we're at. Coach [Tyler] Stahl and I are very please with where we're are as a team."

Cole Perry was right behind Arnold placing 15th overall at 25:11.5, while Parker Banzhaf jumped onto the scene as a true freshman with his blazing time of 25:23.2. Banzhaf went from being 91st at the 2.2k checkpoint and 63rd at the 4k checkpoint to leaping his way up to the top 20 overall.

Sebastian Hernandez and Paul Lespasio rounded out the Ospreys' five runners in the top 25. Seth Martinez and Ryan Douihech added a pair of top-40 times with marks of 25:44.8 and 25:50.2 respectively.

"There's a lot of running left to be done this season, but at this point, we're excited and proud of how we did," continued Pigg. "We certainly understand that there's a lot of work to be done and a lot of running left to be done and we know we're going to trend in the right direction. We know we can keep getting better."

PIGG'S POINTS

"I was really proud of how well they competed as a group. Aiden [Arnold] had the best cross country meet of his career. Cole [Perry] did a great job being up there with Aiden. I'm proud of Parker [Banzhaf], but this is also what we expected. We thought he was going to be good and he is, so it was really nice to see that from him. Sebastian [Hernandez] and Paul [Lespasio] rounded out our top five and that's what we wanted to see out of our good guys."
-- Director of Cross Country Jeff Pigg

UNF RESULTS

9. Aiden Arnold - 24:54.8
16. Cole Perry - 25:11.5
20. Parker Banzhaf - 25:23.2
23. Sebastian Hernandez - 25:25.3
24. Paul Lespasio - 25:25.9
36. Seth Martinez - 25:44.8
39. Ryan Douihech - 25:50.2
57. Christian Ruocco - 26:10.3
62. Craig Allard Jr. - 26:15.4
64. Colton Lawson - 26:21.2
66. Andrew Mahorner - 26:23.0
67. Ben Tary - 26:23.5
79. Shamar Henry - 26:36.7
104. Joshua Gammage - 26:52.5
121. Isaac Morrison - 27:07.6
123. Kameron Wallizada - 27:09.6
128. William Montanye - 27:15.4
138. Jayden Santos-Gonzalez - 27:28.1