BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Lynn University men's and women's cross-country teams will be traveling to Lakeland, Fla. to compete in the Sunshine State Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 21. Led by second-year head coach Junior Cadet, the Fighting Knights will look to take home some hardware after a successful regular season.
 
"Everybody was in a better headspace coming into the season," said Coach Cadet. "The men's side had the guys from last year step up to lead the young guys and the additions on the women's side really uplifted a young team."
 
The men's team has had an eventful regular season, capped by senior David Cueje Luque's 8k win at the Ave Maria Invitational, the first individual win in program history. The senior was dominant in 2023, finishing inside the top-30 in all three races.
 
"David is a talented athlete, he works hard and his training has been remarkable," said Cadet. "It's always great to have somebody put the program on the map."
 
Junior Luke Anthony Sweatman ended the season on a high-note, earning a pair of top-7 finishes in the final two races. Sophomore Renzo Almeida finished inside the top-45 in all three races but captured a top-10 placement in the final race. The duo of sophomore Robert Davidson and junior Cameron Matejka were nearly-identical in all three races, finishing top-70, top-50 and top-25 in each race, respectively. Freshmen Kyle Juliano (86th/55th) and Ethan Friedman (85th/56th) finished within one spot of each other in the last two races, and sophomore Netsanet Collins captured a top-70 finish to end the season.
 
Sweatman was Lynn's second finisher in 43rd place overall (28:15.96) at last year's SSC Championships.
 
"Cueje Luque winning the Ave Maria Invitational showed the guys what they had been training for, so that was huge progress," said Coach Cadet. "Now, everybody understands that we're ready, and we can place where we should be placing at important meets, especially this Saturday."
 
The women's side has been a strong unit throughout the regular season, capped off by a pair of third place finishes in the final two races. The Fighting Knights are led by senior Blair Vignes, who paced the team in all three meets this season. The senior captured a pair of top-6 finishes in the final two meets.
 
"Vignes has always been a distance runner, but the biggest thing was teaching her how to turn tempo into speed," said Coach Cadet. "Once she realized how to do that, everything clicked."
 
Freshman Skyler Gillett (16th/7th) and junior Brooke Mullins (13th/11th) performed strongly in the last two races, with the duo finishing no lower than 16th place. Junior Lily Koch captured a pair of top-30 placements to end the season, and freshman Davyn Dreibelbis finished inside the top-35 in the final race. Freshman Mia Gagliardi and sophomore Brooke Bond both captured top-80 finishes in the Keiser Flagship and top-60 finishes in the Ave Maria Invitational.
 
Vignes took home 20th place (23:52.74) at last year's SSC Championships, while Koch (25:29.37) and Mullins (25:36.65) were Lynn's second and third finishers.
 
"They have all done what they have needed to do and improved in every single meet wherever they needed to," said Coach Cadet. "Going into the SSC Championships, I think that we might shock a lot of people."
 
With everything on the line, Coach Cadet is hoping to see his runners leave it all on the course and do everything they can to earn the highest placement possible.
 
"Coach Jonathan Kigel has done a lot to get everyone ready for this season, and they were in the mindset of getting ready in that time," said Coach Cadet. "But now, it's basically who is willing to step up and put everything on the line and have no regrets once you finish the race."
 
Fans interested in following all of the action of the SCC Championships can get up-to-the minute information at the Championship Central webpage below.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL: 2023 Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships