BOCA RATON, Fla. – An experienced core at the front, veteran leadership throughout the lineup and an infusion of young talent have head coach Junior Cadet optimistic about the Lynn University women's cross country team's potential to make a significant jump in 2026.

The Fighting Knights were selected eighth in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing eighth at last year's conference championship. Lynn collected 56 points in the poll, while Tampa received eight of nine available first-place votes to take the top spot ahead of Nova Southeastern and Embry-Riddle.

Cadet, however, has set the bar considerably higher for his group.

"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."

Unlike the wholesale makeover taking place on the men's side, the Fighting Knights return an established core led by juniors Jessica Lombardo and Annabelle Daley, along with Davyn Dreibelbis and senior Mia Gagliardi. Senior Lindsey Byer joins the cross country roster after competing with Lynn's track and field program, while freshmen Celeste Richards and Madison Shatkus round out the seven-member roster.

"My top two are back. Jess and Annabelle are back to lead," Cadet said. "Davyn's returning from an injury that she had last year which held her out. We added three new athletes to run and Mia's back as well. I think this year the women's team have really done everything they need to do in the summer."

At the center of Lynn's expectations is Lombardo, who emerged as one of the Fighting Knights' leading runners during her sophomore campaign. Now entering her junior season, Cadet believes Lombardo is capable of taking another significant step.

His goal for her is straightforward: reach the national stage.

"My expectation, and what I know she's capable of doing over the two years that I've been coaching her, is she has the talent to be a national qualifier," Cadet said. "She knows it, and I think this year is going to be her breakout year to where she actually does exactly what she needs to do to get to that national meet."

Daley gives Lynn another proven runner near the front of the lineup. After a strong track season, Cadet believes keeping the junior healthy will be the key to unlocking her potential this fall.

Daley's absence from last year's conference championship proved significant after she had established herself as Lynn's No. 2 runner. Cadet's focus in 2026 is having her healthy when the season matters most.
"For Jess, making nationals, and for Annabelle, our biggest thing is getting her to that regional meet and letting her actually compete the way I know she's capable of competing," Cadet said.

Dreibelbis returns after an injury kept her out last season, adding another experienced option to the lineup, while Gagliardi provides senior leadership after making significant strides under Cadet during track season.
Cadet pointed to Gagliardi's continued improvement and growing confidence as reasons for optimism and believes the experience throughout the roster will be particularly valuable for Lynn's newcomers.

Byer adds another intriguing piece. Although the senior is entering her first cross country season at Lynn, she is already well established within Cadet's program after competing in the 800-meter group during track season.
"I think she has the talent to run cross but nobody's ever made her run cross," Cadet said. "I think this year, her biggest thing is going to show how talented she truly is."

Cadet believes Byer could emerge as one of Lynn's scoring runners and praised the senior's competitiveness and determination.

"She's one of the athletes on this team that do not like to give up," Cadet said. "She's going to give everything that she has no matter what we put her in."

Richards and Shatkus bring additional upside as the two freshmen on the roster. Both arrive with successful high school track and cross country backgrounds, and Cadet sees plenty of room for development as they adjust to the collegiate level.

"For those two ladies, it's the hunger that they have," Cadet said. "Now you have two freshmen women coming in that are also eager and they want to make things better. They want to be in that top level."
Perhaps just as encouraging to Cadet has been the chemistry already developing between the newcomers and returners.

"The chemistry's already there," Cadet said. "They've been talking to each other all summer. The women have gotten to know each other. It's going to be great watching them and seeing how they develop."

The Fighting Knights also possess considerable leadership beyond the top of the lineup. Cadet pointed to the veteran presence of Dreibelbis and Gagliardi, as well as Byer's familiarity with the program, as an important component of the team's chemistry.

Cadet specifically praised Dreibelbis' influence on the group.

"She's the glue that actually holds half this team together from my opinion," Cadet said. "She understands this sport. She understands the coaching that we're trying to accomplish. She understands the vision that we have."
Lynn opens the season Sept. 4 at the Keiser Invitational at South County Regional Park in Boca Raton, Fla. Cadet views the opening 5K as an opportunity for the Fighting Knights to reacquaint themselves with racing and establish their pack.

"For the women, again, it's getting their feet back underneath them, relearning the race, staying in a pack, or somebody leading and then everybody else coming," Cadet said.

One week later, Lynn competes at the Bobcat Invitational hosted by St. Thomas on Sept. 11 before traveling to Tallahassee for the FSU Pre-Regional on Sept. 18.

The return to Tallahassee will give Lynn an early opportunity to see how it stacks up against several SSC opponents before championship season.

"We'll get to see how everybody's actually running, what we need to improve, where we can make some adjustments to be ahead of certain people in our conference," Cadet said.

Following a two-week break, Lynn heads to Holloway Park in Lakeland for the 27th FLRunners.com Invitational on Oct. 2. The meet serves as the Fighting Knights' final tune-up before returning to Holloway Park for the SSC Championship on Nov. 7.

The familiarity with the championship course should provide an added benefit for both Lynn's newcomers and veterans.

"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," Cadet said.

After entering the fall picked eighth, Lynn will have its opportunity to prove Cadet's top-four expectations on Nov. 7 before turning its attention to the NCAA South Region Championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama, on Nov. 21.

Cadet believes the Fighting Knights have the talent, experience and depth to exceed expectations. Ultimately, he believes their ceiling will come down to one thing.

"Mental toughness," Cadet said. "You can do all the work in the world. You can do all the running in the world. You can do all the sleeping in the world. You can do everything a coach has ever told you to do. But if you mentally psych yourself out, you're done."

With an experienced core, promising newcomers and ambitions that extend well beyond their preseason ranking, the Fighting Knights enter 2026 with an opportunity to reshape expectations by the time they return to Holloway Park in November.