GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Flagler College men's cross country team opened the 2023 season at the Mountain Dew Invitational on Friday, where the Saints earned a fourth-place finish at the 7.8-kilometer course at the University of Florida.

Leading the way for the Saints was senior Joel Nesi who finished in 30^th place with a time of 25:07.0. Three more Saints were right behind him with Will Stone (25:07.8) and Jon Eide (25:08.9) finishing back-to-back in 31^st and 32^nd, respectively. Junior Francisco Ramirez finished in 36^th with a time of 25:15.3. Rounding out the top 50 were juniors Brandon Knieja (25:18.0) and Christian Fernandez (25:24.9). 


Flagler sent 14 runners to compete at Mark Bostick Golf Course. Other finishers for the Saints were Ethan Tank, Dieumerci Ufitimana, Logan Seifert, Kaleb Hollins, John Carbone, Bryce Dufrene, Paul Schedlbauer and Logan Burch.
 
"I'm proud of our boys. Last year we took a beating in the cross country season. We lost to some good teams, but it wasn't close," said head coach and director of cross country Brian Beil. "These guys all just kept quiet and went to work. I think today, while just a start to the season, showed what kind of work they've put in since last November. They've been quiet all year, just working. However this season plays out, I'm proud to have these guys as mine."

The Saints return to the course tomorrow when they travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. for the Embry-Riddle XC Classic. 

Complete results and times from today's race can be found here.

Team scores in order: North Florida (30), Georgia Tech (40), Florida (117), Flagler (154), Embry-Riddle (158), Vanderbilt (168), Florida Southern (181), Tampa (211), South Florida (232), Chattanooga (236), Florida Gulf Coast (270), Stetson (318), Florida Atlantic (419), FIU (451) and Bethune-Cookman (490). 
 
 
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