LAKELAND, Fla. - Lynn University's men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 2026 Sunshine State Conference Championships on Saturday morning at Holloway Park, with Jessica Lombardo and Jackson Wood leading the Fighting Knights in their respective races.
 

Lombardo continued her impressive junior campaign with a 19th-place finish in the women's 6K, clocking 22:47.51. Annabelle Daley joined her among the top 25 finishers, placing 23rd in 23:00.25.
 

On the men's side, Wood paced Lynn for the fifth consecutive meet, finishing 71st overall in the 8K with a time of 28:08.05.
 
The Fighting Knight women finished eighth in the nine-team field with 201 points, tying Eckerd in the team standings before the Tritons claimed seventh through the tiebreaker. The men placed ninth out of 10 teams with 280 points.
 
Tampa swept the team championships, winning the women's race with 33 points and edging Embry-Riddle by a single point, 41-42, in the men's competition.

FIGHTING KNIGHT WOMEN: 

- Lombardo led Lynn with a 19th-place finish in 22:47.51, earning 19 team points. The two-time SSC Runner of the Week finished just over one second off her season-best 6K time of 22:45.98, set at the FLRunners.com Invitational 

- Daley followed in 23rd with a time of 23:00.25, improving her previous season-best 6K time of 23:18.34 by more than 18 seconds 

- Davyn Dreibelbis was Lynn's third finisher, crossing 66th in 25:44.46, lowering her previous 6K time of 26:08.36 by nearly 24 seconds 

- Mia Gagliardi placed 77th in 26:56.57, contributing 52 team points 

- Madison Shatkus completed Lynn's scoring five, finishing 86th in 28:27.69 

- Lindsey Byer followed in 87th at 28:37.45, while Celeste Richards rounded out Lynn's lineup in 91st with a time of 29:16.88 

 

The Fighting Knights totaled 201 points, matching Eckerd's score before falling to eighth on the tiebreaker. Lynn finished ahead of Barry (272), while Tampa captured the team championship with 33 points, followed by Embry-Riddle (52) and Florida Southern (63).

Embry-Riddle's Emily Tubbs claimed the individual championship in 21:30.47.

FIGHTING KNIGHT MEN: 

- Wood led the Fighting Knights with a 71st-place finish in 28:08.05, earning 45 team points. The freshman recorded his second-fastest 8K time of the season, trailing only his 27:55.4 performance at the FSU Pre-Regional 

- Dylan Herzog was Lynn's second finisher, crossing 90th in 29:57.04, contributing 57 points 

- Brett Guyett followed immediately behind Herzog in 91st with a time of 30:02.22, earning 58 team points 

- Denzel Rigaud finished 92nd in 30:22.85, contributing 59 points 

- Logan Goelz completed Lynn's scoring five in 95th with a time of 30:38.89 

- Roman Ruggiero crossed 105th in 32:09.14, followed by Colton Barry in 106th at 32:30.26 

- Ethan Chance rounded out Lynn's lineup, finishing 110th in 34:14.38 

The Fighting Knights totaled 280 points to finish ninth, ahead of Eckerd (310). Tampa captured the men's team championship with 41 points, narrowly edging Embry-Riddle (42), while Florida Southern finished third with 57 points. 

Embry-Riddle's Taye Newman won the individual 8K championship in 24:05.30. 

Saturday's conference championship marked Lynn's fifth meet of the fall, with Lombardo and Wood having paced their respective teams in every competition this season.