BOCA RATON, Fla. – A new era begins for the Lynn University men's cross country team in 2026, as head coach Junior Cadet welcomes a nearly entirely new roster with aspirations of establishing a championship-caliber foundation for the program.
 
The Fighting Knights enter the fall with eight runners, including six freshmen, sophomore Roman Ruggiero and senior Denzel Rigaud. Colton Barry, Ethan Chance, Logan Goelz, Brett Guyett, Dylan Herzog and Jackson Wood make up a freshman class that will have an immediate opportunity to define the direction of the program.
 
For Cadet, that youth is part of what makes the upcoming season so intriguing.
 
"What's exciting is they set the standard of what they want the program to look like moving forward," Cadet said. "I've made it very clear they are the start of how the mid-distance is going to look, how cross country is going to look moving forward."
 
With so many new faces, developing chemistry and learning to race together will be among Lynn's biggest priorities early in the season. Cadet believes the Fighting Knights have the talent to compete near the top of the Sunshine State Conference, but their success will depend on how quickly the group embraces accountability and team racing.
 
Ruggiero provides one of the few familiar faces for the Fighting Knights. After an injury limited his first collegiate cross country season and continued to linger into track season, Cadet is looking for the sophomore to take a step forward as both a runner and leader.
 
"For me, I'm looking for him to step up and be a leader, push the guys towards the limit," Cadet said. "It's not one person, it's literally all eight guys. Five of them score, six and seven are the tiebreaker, so it's really getting everybody on the same page."
 
Rigaud adds another veteran presence despite entering his first season with the cross country program. The senior has been a leader for Lynn's track and field team and brings previous cross country experience from high school. Cadet expects that experience and leadership to prove valuable for a roster dominated by freshmen.
 
"He's been a leader on the track team since the first day that he got here," Cadet said. "He's also another voice when I'm not there that's going to be helping the young, new athletes understand what we're trying to go after."
 
The six-man freshman class, meanwhile, arrives with a shared opportunity to build something together. Cadet was particularly impressed by the group's eagerness, competitiveness and willingness to accept responsibility for the program's future.
 
"They're all eager, they all want to be good, and they all want to actually build a program," Cadet said. "I said this is going to be your team. You guys are going to have to build this team, build the chemistry, build what needs to be done."
 
The transition from the high school 5K to the collegiate 8K will be one of the first challenges for Lynn's newcomers. Cadet plans to progressively introduce the group to the increased distance while continuing to develop the speed that made them successful at the high school level.
 
That process begins Friday, Sept. 4 at the Keiser Invitational at South County Regional Park in Boca Raton, Fla. The season-opening 5K will give Cadet his first opportunity to evaluate how well the new-look Fighting Knights race as a group.
 
"Keiser to me is to just get everybody's feet wet, to get them back to racing," Cadet said. "For the men, I think it's going to be learning how to run in a pack. That's going to be the biggest thing."
 
One week later, Lynn heads to Miami Gardens for the Bobcat Invitational hosted by St. Thomas on Sept. 11, where the newcomers will get their first taste of the collegiate 8K.
 
The schedule then ramps up with the FSU Pre-Regional in Tallahassee on Sept. 18. Lynn returns to the meet for the first time since 2021, giving the Fighting Knights an opportunity to measure themselves against several conference and regional opponents.
 
Following a two-week break, the Blue and White travel to Holloway Park in Lakeland for the 27th FLRunners.com Invitational on Oct. 2. The meet will be particularly valuable because Lynn returns to the same course for the SSC Championship on Nov. 7.
 
"For the newcomers, it's a great chance for them to go feel the course, know the course," Cadet said. "The fact that you can actually go on the course and actually have a chance to learn it a month before we actually run on it is a good thing."
 
Lynn's postseason begins with the SSC Championship before the Fighting Knights travel to Huntsville, Alabama, for the NCAA South Region Championship at John Hunt Park on Nov. 21.
 
Despite the youth throughout his roster, Cadet isn't lowering the standard. His goal is for the Fighting Knights to put themselves among the conference's top teams and begin laying the groundwork for sustained success.
 
"This season, for me, the main thing is to be in the top four," Cadet said. "I think we have a talented team to be in the top four on both sides."
 
For a men's program entering 2026 with a new identity, the opportunity is there for eight runners to determine what comes next.