Channahon, Ill. – The Saint Xavier University men's cross country team started the 2026 season with a fourth place finish out of 12 teams with a team score of 135 on a hot and humid Friday evening at the University of St. Francis (Ill.) Fighting Saints Twilight Invite at Channahon Community Park in Channahon, Ill. Senior Andy Damon (Crestwood, Ill./Oak Forest) placed 30^th overall, 21^st in scoring, with a new personal record (PR) in a 5K race at 16:47.46, nearly 30 seconds faster than the mark he set on the same course last season at the same meet. NCAA Division III University of Chicago (Ill.) came away with the top score of 15 for first-place honors.

• Senior Alejandro Velazquez (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) established a new 5K PR as well, crossing with a time of 16:54.86 for a 36^th place finish, 25^th in scoring, close to 17 seconds quicker than last year.
• Sophomore Will Morrey (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) PR'd by almost 28 seconds with his 38^th place time of 16:59.22. He was 26^th in scoring.
• Junior Logan Schmidt (Bolingbrook, Ill./Joliet Junior College/Bolingbrook) made his SXU debut, clocking in at 17:14.12, one second better than his previous best with JJC. He placed 42^nd overall and 28^th in scoring.
• Sophomore Josh Bosstel (Portage, Ind./Portage) turned in a time of 17:45.46 to round out the team scoring as he was 54^th overall and 35^th in scoring.
• Sophomore Michal Wreczycki Jr. (Palos Park, Ill./Stagg) placed 57^th overall with a time of 17:50.09.
• Junior Trey Maciejewski (Rensselaer, Ind./Rensselaer Central) crossed the finish line with a mark of 18:27.61.
• Sophomore Sam Slana (Oak Lawn, Ill./Trinity Christian/Oak Lawn Community) debuted for the Cougars, posting a time of 20:15.44.

Saint Xavier returns to action on Saturday, September 19 when they compete in the Rumble in the Fort hosted by Purdue University Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Ind. The race is slated for a 9:45 am central start.