FLORENCE, SC – The Francis Marion University men's and women's cross country teams will open their 2026 seasons when they run at the Chanticleer Challenge on Friday (Sept. 18) at the Hackler Golf Course in Conway, S.C.

The 5,000-meter women's race will start at 5 p.m., followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 5:45 p.m.

FMU head coach Mark Bluman, entering his 26th year directing both programs, welcomes back nine lettermen from last year's men's team and seven runners on the women's side.

Pacing the men's squad for the Patriots is sophomore Luis Cedeno, who placed in the team's top three of the final three meets. The 13-man roster includes four freshmen, three sophomores, four juniors, and a pair of seniors.

The FMU women return five finishers from last year's conference meet. The Patriots regained the services of junior Alia Turcios, who was a reliable top-three finisher in the regular season and has led this team in the preseason per Bluman. The Los Alamitos native made an impact for Francis Marion at the conference meet placing 81st, while junior Rowan Hearn placed in the top five of the Patriots throughout the regular-season events. FMU also welcomes back junior Katelynn Roberts, who also made impressive strides in the preseason. The crew's MVP last season, junior Emma Steen, will be sidelined until further notice due to injury.

"The biggest priority is to keep everyone healthy and try to avoid bad luck," Bluman said. "Last season we were snake bitten throughout the year. We didn't get to show what we were capable of. Thankfully, we rebounded with the track season…our distance runners got their confidence back. That carried into the summer, and the guy's team has had a pretty good preseason so far."

Dalton Horton (Landrum HS product), Nicholas Bresnan (West Florence HS), Andre Maldonado (Northwestern HS), and Zachary Newton (Cheraw HS) are the four freshmen for the men's program this year. Bluman proclaimed that all of them have shown flashes of great potential for this season. He also mentioned that Horton has been up front and is the most consistent of the bunch prior to the 2026 campaign while the others are adjusting to college running and hopping on the learning curve.

Cedeno and juniors Kyle Elliott and Caleb Gary are the top returners to watch. "Luis and Kyle had great track seasons. Caleb's our heart and soul of the team," expressed Bluman. "He's the leader. He's healthy now. And his attitude trickles down into the team. Looking forward to seeing him return and having a full season under his belt."

On the women's side, the top three to keep an eye out for are Hearn, Turcios, and Roberts. Despite the absence of FMU's top two contributors due to graduation and injury, the head coach remains optimistic. "We're looking forward to seeing what they do. Katelynn had a pretty good track season," said Bluman. "They looked pretty focused on what they can do this year."

The closest home meet will be on October 23rd at Darlington Raceway for the Coker College Invitational. The coaches are hopeful about a good turnout from the Florence community with it being a short drive up the road.

Both Francis Marion squads will face a six-meet schedule this fall that concludes with the NCAA Southeast Regional Meet on Nov. 21 at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, S.C.