CONWAY, SC – Freshman Dalton Horton led Francis Marion University in his collegiate debut, as the Patriot men's and women's cross country teams kicked off their 2026 campaign at the Chanticleer Challenge hosted by Coastal Carolina University. The men's squad recorded a fifth-place finish while the women's side did not record a team score.
 
FMU will toe the line at the Royals Cross Country Challenge, hosted by Queens University of Charlotte on Friday, Oct. 9. The women will start at 3:30 p.m., followed by the men's event at 4:15 p.m.
 
In the men's 8,000-meter race, Horton, a product of Landrum High School, was the first Patriot to cross the finish line in 25th place overall with a time of 29:08.41. Freshman Zachary Newton was next in line, placing 33rd with a time of 31:57.63. The final cluster of top finishers placed 35th through 38th which included junior Kyle Elliott (32:35.03), senior Niclas Giessler right on his heels (32:57.41), freshman Nicholas Bresnan (33:37.21), and senior Grayson Hartson (33:41.38).
 
Junior Rowan Hearn dictated the pace in the 5,000-meter run for the FMU women's squad with a time of 23:57.30, placing 30th. A trio of Patriots finished shortly thereafter in 33rd, 34th, and 35th, including junior Alia Turcios (27:04.18), sophomore Lyric Boykin (29:18.29), and just behind her was sophomore Deyra Martinez (29:23.39).
 
Coastal Carolina would captured both the men's and women's team title at its home meet at the Hackler Golf Course.